Originally Posted by
wheresmyplane
I'm sorry, I know I've said this before but I can't think of any reason to justify spending money on an extra four years of college that you don't need. I knew I wanted to be a pilot, so I went to flight school. That was my training. I have a piece of plastic in my wallet that says I successfully completed the training. That means I stuck with and finished something I started. The one thing we don't need in this industry is a requirement that we spend MORE money for the return we're seeing. I'm not so sure that such a requirement would result in higher pay, either. Reading a little history about aviation will show you that airline management has been trying to lowball pilots on pay since the beginning. A unified pilot group is what we need, not more hoops to jump through.
I strongly disagree with you. I think that the standards to become a pilot are practically non-existent. There are no filters. This was done intentionally to bring our pay down. They have flooded the market with pilots that have no business being in an airliner cockpit. It was unheard of going from 0 flight time to the cockpit of an airliner in less than 2 years until about 10 years ago. I feel that a degree is a filter that should be MANDATORY in order to fly ANY airliner. I feel to make this a reality, there would have to be a grandfather clause. More hoops to jump through decreases supply which increases our negotiating position. Unfortunately, our over-supply of pilots is so great that it will take years for things to balance themselves out. It makes me laugh how many college drop-outs feel good about themselves because they completed pilot training. A degree takes more work, determination, and commitment to get than pilot licenses.