Can anyone tell me if the majors give any credit for having a masters degree in aviation? I know that some credit would naturally be given, and I am wanting to know how much?

 

While I do think they give some credit to a masters, I doubt that they care about the subject...unless maybe it is in aeronautical engineering and you have some test pilot experience.

 

If it is a Masters in Labor Relations, they may have some hesitancy ... :-)

 

Why would you assume that some credit would naturally be given?

 

I think that any degree and a especially a degree in aviation will be looked upon favarably. I don't think that I could assume how much credit it will be worth. Probably not much.

 

You thought wrong. It may come as a surprise, but aviation degrees are not highly regarded in the piloting profession or the airlines. Generally people assume that you got a lot of the credit just for doing your ratings (the same ratings every other professional pilot did) and paid somebody some money to package that up with your gen-ed and wrap it in a diploma. So no the fact that your major was aviation will not help.

Your major generally makes no difference, although something like engineering will indicate some intelligence ad work ethic = more likely to successfully complete airline training.

A masters will really only help if everything else is equal between two candidates...it could be a tie breaker. A masters will not substitute for quality flight experience or quality internal connections.

 

From the Delta website:

" Graduate of a four-year degree program from a college or university accredited by a recognized accredited organization
Degrees obtained from a non-U.S. institution must be evaluated for equivalency to U.S. degrees by a member organization of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)

Postgraduate education will be given favorable consideration. "

I just got back from a family vacation and had the opportunity to speak with the first officer on my leg from atlanta. He specifically told me that his masters degree is what got him the job and highly recommended that i do the same. Everybody has a bachelors degree, so a masters sets you above the competition. While i have no personal experience with this, I figured i would pass on what I was told.

But as rickair7777 said, it appears to be all about connections and networking.

 

Statistically, pilots with masters are more likely to get hired by majors. But statistics can lie of course....it turns out that the underlying fact is MILITARY pilots are more likely to get hired by majors, and the majority of them have a masters provided by the government through any of several programs.

I'm all for higher education, but if you are a serious about a flying career don't put a masters ahead of getting turbine flight time. Also consider a major which will enhance your non-aviation employ-ability in the event it comes to that.

 

I don't know if the Masters Degree helped me get into the Majors, but I will say it made me competitive for outside employment during my two furloughs.

Pee-Wee

 

Not true. An aviation degree still requires all basic courses required by the state for all bachelor degrees. Also, my university gave no credit for ratings. All my required credit hours were all obtained in a classroom.