theblueone

First post: I'm a lurker/newbie poster. Reading this forum brings up a couple questions:

1) How necessary is a degree for a career as a pilot? I know the statistics show that most pilots for majors have a four-year degree of some type, but there are those who don't have theirs. What got these pilots hired? Experience? Shortages at their times of hire? Do the majors presently hire or are they likely to hire pilots without degrees? Is an otherwise experienced pilot without a degree automatically disqualified from being hired at the majors?

2) Is an aviation degree as useless as is sometimes professed here? Admittedly, I don't know much about collegiate/university-level aviation degree programs, but from my experience in the work force, a degree is a degree is a degree. I can understand that an aviation degree could be most useful in an aviation profession, but isn't it generally true that for someone applying to an entry-level job in most professions, most bachelors degrees will be as competitive as most others?

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'll admit that I'm of the opinion that bachelors degrees in aviation aren't as useless as some people say they are. I'll also admit that I'm attempting to get my ATP and start my aviation career before I finish my degree. I'm mostly interested in whether or not this is a useless pursuit.
Thanks for everyone's help,

John