Certified flight instructor vs program instructor

The differences between certified flight instructors and program 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 program instructor. Additionally, a certified flight instructor has an average salary of $54,283, which is higher than the $42,380 average annual salary of a program instructor.

The top three skills for a certified flight instructor include CFI, syllabus and aircraft systems. The most important skills for a program instructor are patients, K-12, and math.

Certified flight instructor vs program instructor overview

	Certified Flight Instructor	Program Instructor
Yearly salary	$54,283	$42,380
Hourly rate	$26.10	$20.38
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	59,767	92,369
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	4	4

Certified flight instructor vs program instructor salary

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

	Certified Flight Instructor	Program Instructor
Average salary	$54,283	$42,380
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $84,000	Between $29,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	Plymouth, MA	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Hawaii
Best paying company	Beta	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Education	Education

Differences between certified flight instructor and program instructor education

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

	Certified Flight Instructor	Program Instructor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 68%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Aviation	Psychology
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Certified flight instructor vs program instructor demographics

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

	Certified Flight Instructor	Program Instructor
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 88.2% Female, 11.8%	Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3%
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, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between certified flight instructor and program 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.

Program instructor example responsibilities.

Facilitate, manage and implement each classroom student's IEP
Lead DCMA personnel consolidation plan to increase synergies and communication amongst the teams.
Manage groups of kids on a daily basis in the field to ensure safety while participating in activities.
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.
Perform general maintenance work including HVAC, electrical, refrigeration and plumbing.
Assist high school students with math, computers science and computer programming (Java).

Certified flight instructor vs program instructor skills

Common certified flight instructor skills

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

Common program instructor skills

Patients, 25%
K-12, 15%
Math, 11%
Mathematics, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 8%
CPR, 4%

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Certified Flight Instructor vs Program Instructor

Updated January 8, 2025

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