Originally Posted by Boeing 777-300
thanks for there replys. i just visited another forum and found dozens of Anti-Embry Riddle threads. most people say it is a waste of time and money. its so hard to get actual opinions and fliter the biased arrogant gossip.
I fly with lots of ERAU grads. They invariably think they got good training, BUT they are bitter about the massive loans they have to pay off. The reason for the bitterness is that the airlines don't give a sh*t about the "quality" of your flight training, for the most part they only want to see specific ratings, a certain number of flight hours, and no FAA violations (or DUIs). If you are independently wealthy, do whatever feels good, otherwise look for the most economical way to get you ratings and flight hours. Military is by far the best deal, otherwise get your ratings and work as a flight instructor. You should be able to get your private, instrument, multi, commercial, CFI, CFII, and MEI for $35-40k roughly. If you are going to pay more than that, ask yourself WHY are you paying more and WHAT are you getting? Remember, better "quality" training is really meaningless at the entry level. You also need a 4 year degree along the way somewhere.
If you are ok with military service and can get into a service academy DO IT. It is an experience that will pay off for the rest of your life, in aviation or otherwise. They are one of the few places where an airline actually will give you extra credit for the quality of the education. I can speak to that from experience. Military aviation is the fastest and surest way into a good commercial aviation job. You won't get there until age 32, but neither will someone who goes the civilian route, and military pay and benefits along the way are beyond compare. Just stay out of helicopters.
Enlisting will NOT get you into aviation (except maybe army helicopters). Enlisting could get you VA benefits to pay for college and flight training if you need that, but Service Academy or ROTC would be better.