About this episode

Zach interviews Jackson Howard about his journey to becoming a CFI and navigating the competitive job market.

In this episode of Pilots Say What, Zach talks with Jackson Howard about becoming a CFI at just 20 years old, what the transition from student to instructor was really like, and how he navigated the competitive CFI job market after training. Jackson shares what made private pilot training the hardest rating for him, why he failed his first commercial checkride, what he learned from instructing outside of Thrust, and the advice he would give to anyone trying to land their first CFI job.

People in this episode

Host: Zach

Guest: Jackson Howard

Topics covered

• CFI job market
• pilot training
• aviation careers
• checkride experiences
• instructing

Keywords

• CFI
• pilot training
• aviation
• checkride
• instructor
• job market
• career advice

More episodes of Pilots Say What?

• Ep. 109: Why This Pro Baseball Player Became a Pilot · May 8, 2026 · 52 min
• Ep. 106: From Fear of Flying to Flight Instructor · April 17, 2026 · 54 min
• Ep. 105: From Student to CFI: What No One Tells You · April 10, 2026 · 52 min
• Ep. 104: He’s Not an Airline Pilot Yet… But Already Has Flight Benefits · April 3, 2026 · 53 min
• Ep. 103: He Quit His Corporate Job to Become a Pilot · March 27, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Ep. 102: He Spent $25,000 Just to Get His Medical · March 20, 2026 · 51 min

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