From cabin crew to cabin crew instructor: how I became a trainer in Rio, what the job pays, what it needs and whether it is a good exit
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#1 Ex GOL, eight years flying, three years as a cabin crew instructor at a training organisation in Rio, and the 'from purser to airline trainer' thread on here is the airline route. This is the training organisation route, which is different and which exists in every country.
Two kinds of trainer
Airline trainers: employed by the airline, training its own crew, usually promoted from the line (the other thread). Training organisation instructors: employed by an approved training organisation (the ANAC approved schools in Brazil, the EASA approved ATOs in Europe, the equivalent elsewhere) that trains the initial course for people who then apply to airlines, or that airlines contract for parts of their training. I am the second kind.
How I got it
Eight years of flying, the instructor qualification (in Brazil a regulatory instructor course plus the ANAC approval; in Europe the ATO's instructor training and the authority's approval), and an application to a school that was expanding. The flying years were the credential. The instructor course was a few weeks. The approval was paperwork and an assessment lesson in front of the school and the regulator.
What the job is
Classroom teaching of the initial course: SEP, first aid, security, dangerous goods, CRM, and the practical drills on the door trainers and in the pool and the fire rig. Assessing. Writing the reports. Updating the material when the regulation changes. And a lot of pastoral work, because the trainees are 19 to 40 and every course has a crisis.
What it pays
In Brazil, a bit less than a senior crew member's total with allowances, and a lot more than a junior's. In Europe the ATO instructor pay is comparable to mid seniority cabin crew basic without the allowances. It is a salary, not a roster: the same every month, home every night, weekends mostly free. The financial trade is the allowances for the stability.
What it needs
The flying years, obviously. The ability to stand in front of 30 people for six hours and be clear. Patience with the trainee who freezes at the door for the third time. The discipline to enforce the standard on lateness and uniform even when you like the person. And the willingness to keep learning, because the regulation changes and the aircraft types change.
Is it a good exit
For someone who loved the safety side of the job and wants to stay in aviation without the roster: yes, the best one. For someone who loved the layovers: no, you will miss them daily. For someone who wants to keep a foot in the industry with a family: it is the exit that gives you the school run.
The path
Get the flying years. Volunteer for the safety roles at the airline (the safety rep, the drill demonstrator, the recurrent assistant). Ask the airline's training department if they use external ATOs and which. Do the instructor qualification while still flying if the airline allows. And apply to the schools when they expand, which they do when the airlines hire.
I teach the door drills I used to fear. It is a good second career and nobody told me it existed.
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#2 easyJet trainer, so the airline kind, and Isabel is right that the two routes are different. The ATO route gives you the school run. The airline route gives you the airline. Both need the flying years and the patience for the third freeze at the door.
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#3 Ex Qantas, in airline training now, and I would add: the instructor course is easy and the assessment lesson is hard, because standing in front of the regulator and teaching a drill you have done a thousand times is a different skill from doing it. Practise the teaching, not the drill.
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#4 Ground ops, and the ATO instructors at Manchester are all ex crew with the same story. It is the exit that stays in the building. Good thread.