Originally Posted by
JamesNoBrakes
The specific issue in Alaska was that an advanced degree is not necessary to be a pilot, in appears in the docket that they are referring to things such as PhD, MD, JD, etc. In that ruling, an "advanced degree" was necessary to consider the person an "exempt professional".
An ATP is often considered an advanced degree due to the nature of it being a terminal rating in the field.....so not sure I would base the interpretation of it on that.
Remember in AK, a pilot is often viewed as one step above a Pizza delivery driver since pilots are so common...so might be more of a cultural thing as legal that caused a different interpretation.