Certified flight instructor vs flight instructor

The differences between certified flight instructors and flight instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a certified flight instructor and a flight instructor. Additionally, a certified flight instructor has an average salary of $54,283, which is higher than the $51,324 average annual salary of a flight instructor.

The top three skills for a certified flight instructor include CFI, syllabus and aircraft systems. The most important skills for a flight instructor are aircraft systems, syllabus, and CFI.

Certified flight instructor vs flight instructor overview

	Certified Flight Instructor	Flight Instructor
Yearly salary	$54,283	$51,324
Hourly rate	$26.10	$24.68
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	59,767	25,735
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	4

Certified flight instructor vs flight instructor salary

Certified flight instructors and flight instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Certified Flight Instructor	Flight Instructor
Average salary	$54,283	$51,324
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $84,000	Between $32,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	Plymouth, MA	Atwater, CA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	California
Best paying company	Beta	Cirrus Aircraft
Best paying industry	Education	Manufacturing

Differences between certified flight instructor and flight instructor education

There are a few differences between a certified flight instructor and a flight instructor in terms of educational background:

	Certified Flight Instructor	Flight Instructor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Aviation	Aviation
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Certified flight instructor vs flight instructor demographics

Here are the differences between certified flight instructors' and flight instructors' demographics:

	Certified Flight Instructor	Flight Instructor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8%	Male, 90.9% Female, 9.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 11.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 11.4% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between certified flight instructor and flight instructor duties and responsibilities

Certified flight instructor example responsibilities.

Achieve business objectives require by corporate standards.
Used PowerPoint to create grind school lessons.
Provide world-class flight instruction that meet the training course outlines and syllabus.
Present ground lessons and prepare all flight lessons in accordance with syllabus.
Provide grind instruction to primary, commercial, instrument, and CFI students.
Provide flight instruction for new and ongoing private, commercial, and initial CFI students.

Flight instructor example responsibilities.

Manage the daily maintenance efforts for 9 P-3C aircraft to meet short and long range flight tasking.
Manage and monitor all flight systems and electrical in-flight avionics of various commercial aircraft equipment types.
Conduct training using, CBT, stand-up lectures, PowerPoint, Wicat 2D FMS, and FTD trainers.
Diagnose, troubleshoot malfunctions and perform extensive maintenance operational checks on all systems.
Create and maintain training records for USAF students.
Maintain relationships with both local DPE's and FBO managers.

Certified flight instructor vs flight instructor skills

Common certified flight instructor skills

CFI, 23%
Syllabus, 19%
Aircraft Systems, 12%
Emergency Procedures, 8%
Single Engine, 8%
MEI, 6%

Common flight instructor skills

Aircraft Systems, 9%
Syllabus, 8%
CFI, 8%
Flight Operations, 6%
Training Programs, 5%
PowerPoint, 5%

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Certified Flight Instructor
Certified Flight Instructor vs Flight Instructor

Updated January 8, 2025

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