Buckinfantastic

I also went to Delta State for the MCA. In my experience, it has helped to open the door to higher paying jobs in general (I'm in operations). That said, having 12 years of experience in operations is what sealed the deal- the MCA would be fairly useless without the experience I think.

For a pilot looking to pivot into management or non-line flying jobs, it could be helpful although I think that an MBA from a reputable school would be more useful (and a lot more expensive, unfortunately) simply because it increases the number of industries you could apply it to.

As a fellow double degree in aviation person, I have to agree that it is positively useless outside of aviation. I do a lot of training and curriculum development work as well as having a good amount of management experience and of 100+ applications I put out outside of aviation (for curriculum development work) I got precisely one interview for a position that they wanted to offer me at half of what I was making in aviation.

Unfortunately, aviation degrees do seem to pigeonhole you. If I had it to do over again I would have gone for the MBA.

If you do decide to do the MCA, my review of the program is that it was adequate. I went to UVU for UG and the MCA really didn't cover anything we didn't learn there. In my opinion, the program is the literal definition of "checking the box".

G550Guy

To the OP...

Don’t listen to these hacks giving you crap about a Masters.

Good on you for wanting to better yourself. It’s your life and your dime, so go and do whatever you want. If you have the money and the desire, that degree certainly WONT hurt you.

Best of luck... keep your app up to date and attend a job fair.


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geosync

As you can see, there is no right decision here. But given your undergrad and real life experience, consider a masters degree/certificate/trade program that you have a real interest in(I never use the term 'passion'). You already have the pedigree to land non-flying positions should you lose your medical. Why not cultivate experience in something that would at minimum lead to a fun hobby, and at maximum a potential second career? Maybe that is in fact aviation, and if so, then go for an aviation MBA/finance/logistics etc. But don't dismiss the skills you already have; actually life experience(OJT) is far greater than any diploma you have tacked on the wall.

JohnBurke

Quite so. Those years spent hammering out a useless degree, the years that could have been spent doing something useful, productive, those years you can't get back, were throw-away years anyway. There's plenty of time after to go do a degree in a useful discipline.

The rest is only money

Firefly899

I am in same boat roughly. Our age group is the lost generation. The HR scientists dont want us for some reason. Was thinking of finishing my graduate program. Now Im considering getting into welding, CNC etc.

cactusmike

For what it’s worth, here is my take.

If you aspire to management then a MBA is the way to go. If you want to be a cubicle warrior in flight ops then your masters in aviation will do just fine. Managers just want people who will do the grunt work of updating manuals, dealing with ops changes and interfacing with the federales.

If you are established in the career as a line pilot then get a degree in something that interests you. I have several friends that got law degrees after being caught up in the legal battles we had during our previous merger. They are actually doing quite well with their practice.

Other pilots I know have become home contractors, high end motorcycle constructors, real estate agents, just about anything you can think of. The key is, they were established on a seniority list they were not going to move from. Once you have the time and the schedule you can spend a fair amount of time pursuing a degree.

I got an BBA in business years ago and worked as a systems analyst when I was first building time. I wanted a degree that wasn’t aviation related as a fall back. That did pay off after the first few nonscheduled cargo operators I flew for cratered. But after a couple of years I was able to get on with a commuter and had to make a choice, cubicle dweller crunching code or flying. Flying won out and after a few years of starvation wages I was settled. And in those few years I quickly was outpaced in the tech world by new programs and languages. Back up plans and degrees work only as long as you can stay current in them!

Buckinfantastic

What if you're a manager that has to do that?

An MBA is highly credited advice. I'd say you're looking more at a Director/VP position with the MBA vs. manager (for which the aviation masters is sufficient).

Another avenue is teaching. That's why I got my masters in the first place. The jobs are incredibly hard to get though which is why I'm not currently doing that, lol.

av8n

Thanks for all that posted