Originally Posted by
Knightmare
Hey, I am currently an Aero Sci freshman student at ERAU in DB. I have my PPL, IRA, and I am going to be starting my commercial flight training soon. I have been contemplating transferring to a state school not only to save a ****load of money, but also to get a more useful degree. I say useful degree like a real business degree, something that could be used outside the aviation industry incase i lose my medical or the entire airline industry bottoms out. I want to have a backup option just incase, i feel that an ERAU degree is useless anywhere else but in aviation. Since i'll have my commercial at the end of the school year, that doesn't leave much training left if i wanted to CFI/CFI/ME. Would I be at any disadvantage for hiring if I went to a state school and did any extra training at an FBO? Im concerned that if I dont stay at ERAU, ill end up flying RJs for life if i transferred to a state school and had fbo training.
Schools im considering:
SUNY Farmingdale
Rutgers in Newark or Piscataway
honestly, that is a GREAT idea. and the fact that you are only a freshman is even better - you haven't spent too much on riddle yet.
I graduated from riddle a few years ago, and while I feel that the training I got was good.... the riddle degree is just not worth a six figure debt. After graduating and living with the reality of this debt on my shoulders, I now realize that NO school is worth being in that much debt. (OK, I guess I should make the exception for something like Harvard Business School... but you know what I mean.) I've been to a state school (before riddle) so I know that it's a lot more fun and soooo much more economical. Not to mention the practicality of a non-aviation degree, like you mentioned. If you do decide to go to a state school, try to go to one in YOUR state... I don't know about jersey, but at the time I was in college, the tuition discount for a NY resident was great for a SUNY.
Please, take this advice from someone who's living with the consequences of making a bad decision... hardly nothing in life is worth being burdened with so much debt! At least if this was a mortage, I'd be a homeowner. You are still a student, so you may not yet feel the weight of the loans you are taking out... but trust me... once those repayments start... it will hit you like a ton of bricks.
p.s. I'm not even sure how to respond to your concern about being stuck in a RJ if you dont have a degree from riddle... all I know is that there are thousands out there working at fedex, ups, southwest who didnt go to riddle. (and inversely, there are thousands of riddle grads who are "stuck in rjs".)