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Full Time Certified Flight Instructor Jobs in Chicago, IL

Coordinate with instructors to ensure students for flight. * Coordinate with Director of ... One (1) year of related experience preferred Certificates, License, Registrations * None ...

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Full Time Certified Flight Instructor information

See Chicago, IL salary details

$25.8K

$97.5K

$149.9K

How much do full time certified flight instructor jobs pay per year?

As of May 28, 2026, the average yearly pay for full time certified flight instructor in Chicago, IL is $97,472.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $71,100.00 and $115,400.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Full Time Certified Flight Instructor, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Full Time Certified Flight Instructor, you need a Commercial Pilot Certificate, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) rating, and in-depth knowledge of FAA regulations and aeronautical principles. Proficiency with flight training devices, aircraft systems, and logbook or scheduling software is typically required. Strong communication, patience, and adaptability are crucial soft skills for effectively teaching and motivating diverse students. These competencies ensure safe, effective instruction and help students develop into competent pilots.

What are some common challenges Full Time Certified Flight Instructors face and how can they be managed?

Full Time Certified Flight Instructors often face challenges such as adapting to students with diverse learning styles, maintaining safety while balancing instructional duties, and managing a variable flight schedule that can be affected by weather. To manage these, instructors develop strong communication and time-management skills, stay current with instructional techniques, and cultivate flexibility in their approach. Building a supportive network with fellow instructors and staying engaged in ongoing professional development also helps in navigating these challenges effectively.

What is a Full Time Certified Flight Instructor?

A Full Time Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) is a professional pilot who is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to teach students how to fly aircraft. CFIs provide ground and flight instruction to help students earn their pilot licenses and improve their flying skills. Working full time means they typically instruct students as their primary occupation, often at flight schools, universities, or private aviation academies. Their responsibilities include teaching flight maneuvers, safety procedures, regulations, and preparing students for written and practical exams.

What is the difference between Full Time Certified Flight Instructor vs Part Time Certified Flight Instructor?

AspectFull Time Certified Flight InstructorPart Time Certified Flight Instructor
CertificationsRequired CFI certificate, often with additional ratingsSame certifications as full time, but may have fewer hours
Work EnvironmentFull-time flight schools, flight academiesPart-time flight schools, freelance, or independent
Employer & Industry UsageCommon in commercial flight training programsUsed for supplemental income or flexible scheduling

Full Time Certified Flight Instructors typically work full-time at flight schools, providing comprehensive training and accumulating flight hours. Part Time Certified Flight Instructors work fewer hours, often supplementing income or training students on a flexible schedule. Both roles require the same certifications but differ mainly in work hours and employment structure.

What are the most commonly searched types of Certified Flight Instructor jobs in Chicago, IL? The most popular types of Certified Flight Instructor jobs in Chicago, IL are:
What are popular job titles related to Full Time Certified Flight Instructor jobs in Chicago, IL? For Full Time Certified Flight Instructor jobs in Chicago, IL, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Aviation Safety Assistant, Greater Chicago FSDO, GLSD07

Aviation Safety Assistant, Greater Chicago FSDO, GLSD07

Federal Aviation Administration

Des Plaines, IL • On-site

$50.76K - $73.33K/yr

Full-time

Posted 14 days ago


Federal Aviation Administration rating

8.1

Company rating: 8.1 out of 10

Based on 148 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

42nd of 272 rated public sector bodies


Job description

Summary
Incumbent is an Aviation Safety Assistant (Office Automation) (OA) in a Flight Standards field office. Provides administrative, semi-technical, clerical related support to the supervisor, or manager, Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs), and Administrative Officer. Utilizes tools relevant to the Safety Assurance System environment which includes obtaining background data, preparing reports, reviewing/interviewing applicants, processing certificates, and maintaining technical/administrative files.
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Duties
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Technical Program Support
  • Processes FAA issued airman certificates such as ground instructor, flight instructor, mechanic, repairman, and flight engineer.
  • Interviews applicants to determine qualifications for non-complex certificates.
  • Processes FAA authorizations such as inspection authorization, aircrew program designee, and aerobatic competency.
  • Processes FAA issued operator and air agency certificates such as air carrier, repair stations, and approved schools.
  • Examines applications and supporting documents for completeness, consistency of information, and assures correctness, if required.
  • Responsible for processing temporary airman certification files for certificates issued by designated examiners.
  • Examines applications and supporting documents for completeness, consistency of information, and fulfillment of Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) requirements.
  • Supports the Designated Written Test Examiner (DWTE) program by providing orientation and training of new examiners, providing required annual and periodic training as necessary.
  • Conducts FAA written examinations by assembling and distributing test materials, and following up to ensure corrective action is taken if necessary.

Correspondence and Reports
  • Researches, writes, and types non-technical and routine technical correspondence.
  • Responsible for maintaining correspondence control and suspense files.
  • Reviews outgoing correspondence for grammatical accuracy, procedural agreement, aircraft technical manuals and factual inconsistencies, attachments, enclosures, dates, and signatures.

General Office Support
  • Responsible for assigned administrative and technical files such as certificated operator and designee case files in accordance with agency directives.
  • Determines need for new files, initiates action to create files, prepares file folders, dividers, and labels.
  • Maintains administrative/technical library with includes orders, notices, Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), Master Minimum Equipment Lists (MMELs), aircraft technical manuals and advisory circulars, etc.
  • Assures that charts and office logs are kept current.
  • Coordinates organizations schedule with regard to inspectors schedules, flight checks, exams, itineraries and coordinates supervisors appointment schedule.
  • Prepares time and attendance forms for organization personnel, maintain supporting documentation, and submit to appropriate payroll office.

Communication
  • Receives incoming telephone calls, answers inquiries, and directs incoming calls appropriately. Interacts with the public (both domestic and foreign, when applicable) and other FAA offices.
  • Assists visitors, determines needs and provides information or refers as appropriate.

Automation Program Support
  • Assembles and enters information into various automated programs (such as Program Tracking and Reporting Subsystems (PTRS), Operations Specifications Subsystems (OPSS), Vital Information Subsystem (VIS), and Enforcement Information System (EIS)) and retrieves, prints, and reviews output.
  • Retrieves data concerning airmen records, certificates, violation histories and aircraft registrations for National Data Base (NDB) and EIS database systems.
  • Generates routine or ad hoc reports such as inspector planned activity, quarterly work program accomplishment report, quarterly NPG report, and inspector open items.

Administrative Program Support
  • Surveys organization to which assigned in order to ensure adherence to administrative procedures that are outlined in agency directives.
  • Examines current procedures and practices and recommends or implements changes.
  • Instructs organization personnel (including new employees) on proper administrative procedures.
  • Reviews program participants medical and flight check currency records and advises supervisor of program participants status.

Fiscal Program Support
  • As impress fund cashier, reviews requests, and receipts, disperses funds, updates records, maintains vouchers, and determines replacement of funds.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment
  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must submit an SF50 (See Required Documents).
  • Must be able to type 40 words per minute based on a 5 minute sample with three or fewer errors.
  • Selectee will be required to report to an FAA/AVS facility.
  • This is not a 100% telework position. Situational telework may be available based on the needs of the Office.

Qualifications
To qualify at the FG-303-6 level, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level of FG/GS-5 or equivalent. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as: experience performing a variety of administrative and clerical work such as assist in researching, writing and typing non-technical and routine correspondence; reviewing and distributing incoming correspondence; maintaining files; general office support; preparing reports; examining documents for accuracy and completeness and entering and retrieving information from a variety of automated systems.
To qualify at the FG-303-7 level, you must demonstrate in your application that you possess a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level of FG/GS-6 or equivalent. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as: experience performing a variety of technical administrative work such as preparing complex reports; assisting in interpreting and implementing newly modified directives and determining action needed; managing records; providing tracking and validation support of funds for employee travel; assist in writing complex technical and non-technical correspondence and reports; researching technical data; reviewing and analyzing complex information and interpreting directives.
Applicants should include examples of specialized experience in their work history.
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
Education
Education is not qualifying for this position and may not be substituted for experience.
Ingrade/Downgrade applications will be accepted.
Interviews: All or none of the candidates may be interviewed.
Selectee must report to the advertised facility.
INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS: Please ensure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or Omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job. Your application/resume must have your official title, grade, series and employment dates in your work history.
As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA)/Leadership and Management Dimension (LMD) NARRATIVES from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant for this announcement, you are NOT required to provide a NARRATIVE response in the text box listed below each KSA/LMD.
In lieu of providing a KSA NARRATIVE response in the text box listed below each KSA/LMD, in your work history on your resume/application, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA/LMD. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate.
Please also ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information: Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job); Duties (be specific in describing your duties); Employer's name and address; Supervisor name and phone number; Start and end dates including month and year (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008); Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week); & Salary. Determining length of Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information may result in a finding of ineligible due to an incomplete application.
Please ensure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job.
Your work history (please include applicable date ranges) examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualifications will be placed in alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration.
Applicants must apply online to receive consideration for this vacancy announcement. Faxed, mailed or e-mailed applications cannot be accepted. If you need to submit additional documents to supplement your on-line application, e.g. SF-50, you may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS.
This position may be filled at the FG-6 or FG-7 level. If filled at the FG-6 level, this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion to the FG-7 level will depend upon the employee meeting all training, qualification requirements and recommendation by the supervisor.
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Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire.
Additional information
We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions.
Position may be subject to a background investigation.
A one-year probationary period may be required.
The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. www.faa.gov/jobs/workinghere/financial-disclosure-requirements
Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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