TurboDog

Was just browsing and noticed that on the hiring page for Compass they are requiring a 4 year degree. Was that always one of their requirements? I am thinking that more airlines will be going to this.

meyers9163

It should have been a requirement all along..... At least a 2 year degree. To get this industry back to where it needs the 18 year old High School graduate whom never has had a job before and barely has 200 hours and a CMEL wet need not to be going straight into a jet..... Just like many were opposed to young men going from High School to NBA or there's a minimum age on a college football player going into the NFL there are reasons for such... The high school to a jet jump takes a level of maturity and hopefully by going through college one has gain more of that..... Who knows... Rant over...

TurboDog

I couldn't agree more. It should at least be similar to getting hired as a police officer. Most departments require that you have at least have 60 credit hours, or an associates degree. It's about the maturity like you said. Granted, there are people that go to college and join the military that still don't mature, but it's the bigger picture here.

Even look at flight instruction. You can hardly teach pre-school without a college degree, so why should we allow someone right out of high school teach someone to pilot an aircraft?

If there is ever a time to change a standard, it's right now. There are so many qualified pilots with college degrees and thousands of hours of flight time on the street that there would be plenty of time for aspiring pilots to get degrees and gain experience before coming to the 121 world.

fjetter

I think it also has to do with the flow-through to DAL. DAL requires a 4year means Compass requires a 4 year degree. I'm not sure if mesaba was required to do the same or not.

I agree with meyers in that in that it should be required, not be cause it makes you a better pilot, but for the life experiences and maturization that one goes through while getting the degree. Granted their are some things that I think may trump college in terms of life experience and learning responsibility such as military service.

I highly doubt that many airlines will be hiring without one as the job market is still uber-competitive. That 4 year degree just looks better to HR than someone without it.

meyers9163

Very true.... I have a lot of respect, as many do, for those whom have served... But most whom are pilots and in the military will also have degrees, most likely....

squawkoff

I was always told that a college degree shows that you can start something and finish it. Doesn't make you smart. Doesn't make you intelligent just educates the individual. In my 30 years in the workforce I can't count the number of educated idiots I have worked with and for. I wish I had a degree just to have it but it would not have helped me at all in my previous career.

I was interviewing with a company and I ask what was so desirable about a degree. I was told the standard sticking with something and completing it. I ask if having the same job for 25 years and being married to the same woman for 30 years would qualify. He said that I have an excellent point.

My dad (not an educated man but a wise man) always gave me this advice "Boy, if you're offered a pound of brains or an ounce of common sense, take the common sense."

In no way am I dissing those with a degree. I wish I had one. It's a companies right to require it but I just wish they would give weight to other factors also.

If the desire is to get those that are 22 years and older, just make that a requirement

stoki

Strange all the regionals don't require at least a 4-year degree.

The 4 year degree is like the new high school diploma.

meeko031

A college degree should be a requirement for all professional careers, but why no complaints when 18 year olds join the military? All of a sudden the stereotypes are dropped?

Gajre539

Compass added the 4 year college degree requirement in early-mid February of 2010.

What ^^ said.

higney85

very true. I believe the DL hiring page even says graduate level is favorably looked upon. I also thought that military pilots were officers- which required a 4-yr degree- could be wrong, not a military guy.