Originally Posted by
CaptFuzz
I agree that increasing 121 FO mins to an ATP could have a significant effect of moderating the oversupply of airline pilots, therefore leading to better pilot compensation from the airlines. However, I'm not sure why the FAA would require a 4 year degree to be a pilot. Unless it's a requirement for some sort of aviation degree (and I'm sure ERAU would love to see that regulation) I don't see having a federal requirement for a 4 year degree really having any correlation to someone's ability to safely pilot an airplane.
And I see no justification to giving preference to US citizens (over, say, resident aliens) unless you're going to start requiring airline pilots to have security clearances (and there's no reason to do that).
As a side, I wonder what an ATP min for 121 FOs would do to compensation for other sectors of the pilot industry (135, CFIs, ect.). I could see it creating a glut of low time pilots, leaving a larger number of CFIs to compete for potentially less students, driving down CFI pay even further.
(for reference, I have a 4 year degree, a security clearance, and am currently applying to regional airlines with less than ATP mins)
Back when the ATP was established I believe it had an education minimum of High School Diploma written in the reg. Why? Because the founders of those rules wanted a certain caliber of person for an ATP above and beyond the average person who probably didn't finish high school back then. We are many decades later and now that equivalent should be a college degree since nearly everyone gets a high school diploma now. I'm not sure if they still have the education requirement anymore in the reg, but if not it's just another example of the dumb down of the profession that's been happening over the years.