Yes, it does. I agree. Which I think is silly- when you get right down to it, please tell me what the difference is between the guy who had a degree and one that doesn’t? So the RJ guy who is behind you at JFK uses the same NAS as you. Flies the same jet until recently at a legacy ( Republic 175 vs 190 at AA) and has to pass the same checkrides as anyone one of us at a LCC/Legacy (I would say that most regional training is tougher then anything at the next level)

As a guy who is 99% sure I’m at my terminal job (and has a degree from Thomas Edison- got it while working at a regional because I knew I needed it move on- not that I agree with it but hey that’s how the cookie crumbles) I think the degree is silly. I’m a blue collar worker with a narrow set of responsibilities with limited power to affect change or make decisions at my place of employment. I cannot make policy change, I cannot deviate from company policy without a major reason. Let’s face it- we have a set of skills that are unusual, sure, however, a trade school that the company controls I think is the way of the future. Think United aviate school in PHX.

Feel free to disagree, but a college degree is “just a piece of paper”. It’s literally printed on the same paper as a water bill. I feel it doesn’t reflect on that person’s abilities or character (think the doodos who are in jail for buying their kids way to college- how stupid is that?) vs the HVAC guy who has to figure out how to bid, install and maintain a HVAC system in a condo complex. I think sure, we need to control the influx of new pilots- but a high quality training program that covers all aspects of a pilots scope of work is better suited to what the job requires then a political science degree from western governors university.

Flame away brother.