Originally Posted by
skyrice
I can't really see the economic advantage of training at a regular flight school instead of getting an aviation degree. It seems that the actual cost of flight training is the same, but you pay for tuition to the school on top of it. Both of these costs would be there whether you were getting an aviation degree or not, right? The only difference is that your BS is fortifying your flight training, which I couldn't see being a bad thing at all. I also don't think employers won't see me as well-rounded, considering my current career in computers and my AS in Math and Science. They also accepted all 62 of my credits from community college.
Total flight training costs at UND (without tuition): $54,007
This includes private, commercial, instrument, multi-engine, CFI, CFII, ATC simulation, altitude chamber lab, CRJ-200 FTD, and FAA written.
From the UND Brochure:
"UND Aerospace has pilot hiring programs with several regional airlines. These airlines have significantly reduced flight experience hiring requirements exclusively for UND graduates--an example of the confidence the industry has in our graduates."
Sounds good to me... Also, is it possible that the situation for pilots will be changing in the next several years? Air traffic is supposed to double within the next 20 years, meaning more opportunities for pilots?
For $54K you should be able get an MEI and a LOT of multi-engine time.
I would expect to pay $35K for all ratings through MEI, including about 20 hours ME time (and I live in SOCAL $$$). You could get it cheaper in middle America.
The Air Force will give any civilian pilot a free ride in one of their altitude chambers.
You don't need a CRJ FTD, especially if they charge you thousands of dollars for it.
You can take the FAA writtens on your own.
For $54K I'd expect academic tuition too. If you have cash to burn, go for it.
But if you're planning on taking out a loan, be warned that regional FO pay will not cover that large of a loan. Even $30K would be a lot.
This should be a real attention getter: The lending agencies usually do NOT approve flight training loans based on your income potential as a pilot after training...it's like approving a Mcdonalds crew member for a loan to buy a new, high-performance Mercedes. Financially it does not make sense. The lenders invariably base your loan approval on your (or your parent's) CURRENT income, conveniently ignoring the fact that you will be quiting that job to train and work at a regional.
I know too many folks who are slaves to their student loan, and with 15-20 year loans there is no end in sight. Unless you get hired by UPS, SWA, or FDX you will not be paying that loan off early.