Blastoff,

I'm not trying to be cute and have no way of knowing where you sit on the great totem pole of aviation.

My observation has formed from many years in the industry. I'll share a quick story. All names removed. I was a captain at a commuter airline. My co-pilot was a Flight Safety pay per view, ex F-18 pilot. All day, all he say was how the guys who had left his squadron 6 months earlier had gone to the majors and he had to sit in the right seat with me. I asked why he would spend the money to be my co-pilot making $800 a month when he could have waited for the next round of airline hiring and go ahead of me. It was clearly a case of loss of SA.

The question of why the push back is that my having a degree or not has nothing to do with the state of the major airlines. There are many jobs out there that require an ATP. Should we push for something that will have little or no effect on the airlines but could lock those out seeking all of the other fine jobs in aviation. Clearly, a few of us were able to demonstrate our ability to fly a plane. Let the employer choose if they want a degree or not.