ComingInHot

Hi everyone,

My plan is to obtain a college degree since my long term goal is flying for the majors. Originally I was planning on choosing the easiest major/ fastest way I could complete my bachelor's degree but this virus crisis has shown me having a solid back up plan might be the smarter choice.

My question is, which college major is a good back up for the next down turn?
Specifically, which profession offers decent pay and job security during an economic downtrend?
Also, which line of work allows you to jump right back in after a long break?

As always I appreciate all the help and input!

FlyGuy17

Any STEM degree if you can hack it. If not, then Finance or Management are decent ones that come to mind. Stay away from things like History, Psychology (my major), English, and the Arts degrees. Those are completely worthless.

FlyGuy17

Also, if you want to know which jobs offer security during an economic downturn, just look around right now and take note of who still has a job. I’ll give you a hint, it’s a lot of blue collar workers.... plumbers, electricians, police, mechanics. The problem is most of those don’t require the type of degree the airlines are looking for.

bababouey

Mech engineering, learn the hvac trade, especially if you live in a warm climate.


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Bahamasflyer

The notion that one can simply fall back almost instantaneously on well paying work if they happen to have a degree in a certain field vs a degree in some other field is HIGHLY overstated if they have either little experience in said field working, or a lack of recent work experience there. Almost always, wayyy too much will have changed in the workforce to have on old degree be of any relevance.

Find something you LIKE studying and stick with it. It will pass the time in college a lot easier.

rickair7777

Try to find something you like which will also pay the bills.

You can have a fallback degree, or a fallback career.

Most fallback degrees (with no relevant and/or recent work experience) will require some time and maybe training to spool up. That's useful in a long-term context, typically a permanent medical grounding. Easier to start over with the four-year degree foundation to build on. Business may the the most flexible without going the extra mile for STEM.

For shorter-term situations, like furloughs, in order to have a lucrative fall-back you'll need to maintain it along the way. At a minimum, that will mean maintaining professional certs/licenses. It could also mean doing part-time work to keep your skills sharp and your industry contacts up to date.

Obvious skills which are portable and lend themselves to part-time flexible work are medicine (PA, RN, and yes there are MD's flying jets), computer science/programming/software engineering, accounting. Some STEM degrees in general can open a lot of doors, engineering and computers, even if it's not the specialty you studied. Other STEM may not get you far without a PhD (biology). Math or physics would probably get you a job doing some sort of technical analysis.

I have a rusty STEM degree, but I did work in the field once and by happy coincidence my brother works in the same field, so I have organic mentoring, guidance, and industry ins. Might get to press-to-test later on that this year.

Fatcat

Hey Rick, I have a electrical trades certificate and on the job experience. Do you think it's still a good idea to get a degree in aviation and minor in management or aircraft dispatch?

rickair7777

Your backup career by no means needs to be white-collar, if you can do skilled blue collar labor that should cover you, don't necessarily need to pursue a skill-oriented degree like accounting.

But keep in mind that construction is very cyclical with the economy too, although skill trades may be more in demand.

Maintenance/repair specialization is probably safer than new construction. HVAC needs to work, turds need to get chased regardless.

geosync

Late to the party but I'll echo the others. STEM is good. However, without proficiency in said area, it may not be the golden ticket you think it is. Medical training is good- nurse/PA/NP/doctor. If your license/currency lapses you can take a refresher and spool up again . Skilled trades are good- electrician, plumbing, machining, diesel mechanics etc, with a couple years experience. You can spool up again if necessary, and they cross over into other sub trades(marine electrician, train mechanic, etc.).

My arts degree is worthless. But my A&P I got after college(along with my pilot ratings) save my @ss. Did a few years in the space industry making GEO satellites, went around the world, saw some crazy s&*t, and then on the business side of aviation/aerospace(never made it to the big leagues, but I fly a little cessna for work, so there's that). If the crap really hit the fan for me I could spin wrenches on airplanes or make satellites again, or go to commuter rail, boats, etc.

so, no degree will let you just "jump back in" unless it's on the ground floor with fresh grads(unless you're proficient, or a savant), unless it is a degree(and subsequent licensing) in the medical field, with refresher training. The trades will, with the same refreshers. If you can pair a trade with a degree, well now you're talkin. You can find degrees that also offer the hands on training and trade test/certification.

The caveat to all of this is- who you know goes a long way. Make friends, keep friends. You may need to call in a favor down the road.