Pros & Cons of the Self Paced vs. Fast Track

[PSA Josie]

The program itself is exactly the same. Basically the self paced is the fast track on the nights/weekends. You have to train at least 10 days a month, usually it falls on the weekends for most people with jobs. I like to list the pros/cons when making a decision so here it is:

Pros of the Self Paced:
1. Able to keep your job
2. Able to be home with family
3. You have income still coming in during training
4. You can live at home (although technically you could do that w/the fast track, though most people stay at the housing included in the cost.)

Cons to the Self Paced:
1. You are limited to flying around your work schedule
2. You can often get rusty from not flying all week
3. Often those who get rusty need a little extra time (which means extra money sometimes) to get back up to speed.
4. Same price as the fast track and the housing isn't included.

Now for the fast track, Pros:
1. It's quick and you have all your ratings in 90 days
2. You live with other pilots who can teach you a lot from their experiences
3. You become very efficient in the airplane when you are in or around it 24/7
4. Usually you stay with the same flight partner

Cons to the Fast Track:
1. No income for 3 months
2. You are taking checkrides almost every other week, and it gets stressful!
3. You will be working/flying/studying every day of the week...no days off
4. Away from your family possibly for 3 months

Obviously, those are my opinions for the course. I personally chose to quit my job and do the 90 day fast track. If at possible, I would recommend that route. But in today's times I might choose to do it differenty to keep an income to pay the bills! I can't tell you how great it was to live with other pilots and learn from them. Usually there was a couple guys that were a month or so ahead of you. So you can ask how the checkride was, get the "gouge" from certain tests/checkrides. Plus it was a blast being around it 24/7 up until CFI school. Then I was just ready to be done. You tend to get a bit burnt out by that time as you have no breaks.