I would add one more note to this question about degrees. I have an associates degree only, went up through the ranks at the airlines, skywest, then frontier, then netjets when frontier went bk. Now I'm furloughed from NetJets and very fortunate to have a good corporate flying job. However, I was recently diagnosed with a potential career ending heart disease I had no idea that I had. If this does end my flying career what then? If I want to do something outside of aviation I would more than likely need to go back to school. Believe me, more than anything I wish I had finished my bachelors degree so I could just go get a masters and not be looking at all the online degree programs in my mid 30's. Don't wait to get the degree, even if you have a job already take online classes or whatever it takes to get that piece of paper. You don't want to find yourself in my situation where I have a family to provide for and I am scrambling to get a degree. Also, consider a degree outside of aviation, that is practical, such as business, or finance....You never know when it might come in handy.