Originally Posted by Mesabah

You have the same info I have, you need to think about the taxes, housing assistance you don't get, medical benefits you have to pay for, and costs associated with having a job.

Gross pay of a college grad is much higher, however, take home pay with overall benefits, is about the same as someone who doesn't take the time to go to college.

Big money jobs require you to be either a licensed professional, or in business for yourself. Neither of these require a college degree, however for professions like attorney, doctor, etc, it is a prerequisite for their specific trade school.

As far as thread drift goes, you guys are getting bent out of shape for nothing. Delta has about 18K apps on file, and they need almost all of those pilots. So, everyone on this thread that applied, and is qualified, will get the call. It may take 5 years though. When you get the call, you absolutely need to go to a professional prep service.