Originally Posted by
bcrosier
Another important point - IF you choose to attend a university with an aviation program (again, pick the school based on the academic criteria OTHER than an aviation program): I don't know about all schools, but at some, the bottleneck is in the flight training portion - there are plenty of chairs available in the groundschools. You will gain more knowledge which you will use in the long term by focusing on being in quality groundschools (those that teach knowledge, not just passing a FAA written) than sweating the flight training. Not to discount the importance of quality flight instruction (by any means), but 10-20 years down the road it will be the knowledge you gained in subject areas covered in a good groundschool that you draw from routinely - you'll have had years and thousands of hours to refine the basic mechanics of moving the controls. While we all take pride in how well we maneuver the aircraft (and again, that is certainly important), it's the knowledge, reasoning, and decision making skills that truly set a professional pilot apart.
I agree, go to a school that has a degree outside aviation, Purdue has a program and would bet you could find flying lessons on the cheap ( so to say) , back in Daytona days it was easy to go across the field and get instruction for less and in some cases it was the same instructors that worked for the university. Many of us did this, it paid the instructor better and gave a less expensive access to aircraft use.
Riddle has its points, but for a job that pays 16 or 20 k a year to start, you have to wonder is it worth it. I managed to pay off my debt, but it was not easy. When your student loans are more than your car, rent, and all other expenses combined you have to ask yourself if you really want to sign up for this program.
This is coming for an out of work, 20 year captain who still has no solid job leads for after a year of looking for flying. Yes typed in both boeings and the airbus. The profession has taken a sprial downward, and continues to get worse. This is not what I imagined when I started. Just as long as you know what you are getting into, and don't expect things to get better, go for it. I do miss the flying and will jump at the chance to get back into the cockpit., but not at 20k/yr. I just can't do that.