Originally Posted by ChecklistMonkey

No one in the United States REQUIRES a 4 year degree but certainly you need one to be competitive. That's life. US companies find value in their pilots having a college education, much to your chagrin.

And while a pilot had 5000 hours, he lacked basic airmanship skills that he would have learned if he hadn't stepped into the right seat of a passenger operation with a wet commercial. While an hour requirement is a broad net, even ignoring the wage pressure, it is a good requirement to mandate anyone stepping into the right seat of a transport category jet have a few years of experience as a commercial pilot.