The first guy who was talking sort of freaked me out with his "airlines want all your ratings plus aviation related experience that you only find in a university with an avaition program" type talk. Maybe I misunderstood, but is he implying that going to ERAU/FIT/UND/etc... and studying Avaition Business while getting your ratings for $120-$180 grand is more attractive to airlines? Personally, i made the financially wiser decision to get my raitings at a flight school i can afford to go to while attending UCF's business school where my scholarships should pay for almost 100% of my tuition.
So my guess with this shortage is that it will magically return once the economy improves and the 65 year old retirees start leaving the industry? I certainly hope this is so. I was very interested in the points made about CFIs needing better pay and benefits as well as reforming the way flying is taught to us students.