Originally Posted by
Tee1Up
...and with that...add Virgin America to the club of "must have a 4-year degree". Your argument has merit for someone who doesn't want to be in this profession. But for those that do, there are many examples of professionals amongst us at all levels of this industry who came from meager means or were struggling in life and still made it happen. They were driven. And there are ways. Those who rise above and accomplish that goal get the call. Those who make excuses don't. It's that simple. It's actually more "ignorant" to expect that it shouldn't be expected.
Again. The college degree doesn't differentiate between somebody that is "driven" and somebody that is not. It is not the barometer that measures whether someone is successful or not. I get it . It's what the airlines use to weed out otherwise identical candidates. Being "driven" is someone in this industry that has toughed it out during lean times. That's an ambassador to this business. Has been a Check Airman, flown freight in the middle of the night single pilot. Has shown sustainability at one company for years and not a job hopper.
I'll take the ambassador to aviation with thousands of hours any day over the 2000 hour wonder girl/boy with a PHD. At some point, the aircraft has to be flown safely when the $hit hits the fan someday.
There are some new hires today that will become captains for the first time carrying 150 people in the back vs slugging it out at a regional flying an ATR or Dash 8 in the northeast with no autopilot. Remember those days of actual skill?