twebb

Wad taken out.

cobber

Wow, that didnt take long to get personal and you took it completely out of context. I said "in my experience" which means not yours or anyone elses, only mine. I wasnt bashing people that had degrees in english or liberal arts and if you will un-wad your man panties and re-read what I wrote you would see that. I was simply saying that having a degree dosent make you smarter that someone one that doesnt in every aspect and it most certainly doesnt replace life experience.

It just so happens that I do have a degree and a very useless one to boot, its an aviation degree actually from an over priced over sold and over valued well known school. For as concerned as you are about my grammar well.....This was all typed on an Iphone (notice I capitalized that out of respect for your editing skills) I really dont care what it looks like on a message board and if you are so concerned about it you obviously have to much time on your hands, but from here on out I will PM you all my posts for proof reading prior to actually posting on here

To the rest of you who I might have offended that was not my intention and I am sorry if I did.

AirbornPegasus

Several folks are missing the point. A college degree, while it certainly rounds you in many ways, is generally a greater test of financial aptitude (or parent's funding) and perseverance than intelligence. What it provides is an entry barrier which prohibits quick fixes to labor shortages, establishes overall minimum intelligence levels (which one could argue the FAA tests probably do as well), and demonstrates an ability to overcome obstacles over an extended period of time. The most important of these to the pilot group is establishing the entry barrier.

Think of the technical/professional vocations that require a degree:
teaching, accounting, legal (both attorney and paralegal), nursing, engineering, physical therapy, pharmacy, economics, finance, chemistry, etc.

Now think of the technical/professional vocations that do not require a degree:
mechanics, IT, marketing, sales, theater, music, art, retail, hotel/motel management, event planning, secretarial, etc.

In almost every case, you can make good or even great money if you excel in any of these fields, but the entry level salary is generally higher with the degree required profession.

It will be argued on here until it happens, but until the day comes when Regional providers can not fix any pilot shortage with 9 months of intensive training, the wages will always be low and there will always be folks standing in line to take the jobs.

rickair7777

Different times, different technology.

Back in the day military airplanes cost one million or less, and we had ten thousand of them. Nowdays they cost tens or hundreds of millions, or even one billion dollars and we have a few hundred airframes...or in the case of the B-2 only twenty. If a pilot screws up in the B-2, he single-handedly puts a dent in national security at the strategic level...on that airplane maybe the mechanics should have degrees too.

Back then you could go fly a new airframe after skimming through the manual and getting a few pointers from someone who had flown it before...today it takes about 18 months of fulltime training.

The systems and procedures are so complex and the economic cost of failure so high that they need to hire proven learners...a degree is the most obvious and readily available measure of that. Aptitude is measurable, but motivation not so much...a kid who sounds motivated at the interview might lose his enthusiasm after months and years of grueling training. Training costs so much that they really don't want 80% attrition any more.

Also with so few pilot jobs available, they have plenty of degreed applicants to chose from, so why lower the standard?

Commercial aviation is a different story, the airplanes have become more reliable and probably easier to fly. But for those non-degreed commercial pilots...it would probably be in your best interest to have a 4-year degree requirement for commercial aviation. It's a lot easier to get your degree now than to be replaced in 15 years by a 19 year-old who is happy to earn $7/hour.

Ftrooppilot

There is a big difference between proven learners and proven performers. To be selected for then survive in the Aviation Cadet program, you had to be both..

THe last USAF Aviation Cadet to retire (2002) was Lt. General Russell Davis. There have been many Aviation Cadet graduates(without degrees) who went on to "complicated technical" aircraft operations. Some got degrees years after they completed flight training.

In the 1970s 50% of the USAF Generals were Aviation Cadet graduates. A short list of other notable graduates.

Chuck Yeager (Test Pilot - Started as an enlisted pilot)
Dick Rutan (Aviation Cadet in Navigator Training 1959)
Walter Boyne (Aviation Author)
Maj Gen Jerry Larsen (F111, F-16 and F-100 Thunderbird Pilot)
Col. Hervey Stockman (First CIA U-2 USSR overflight and POW in Vietnam)
Maj Gen Robert White (Astronaut X-15 Test Pilot)
William "Pete" Knight (173,000 ft flameout in an X-15, F-15, F-16)
Tony LeVier (Lockheed Test Pilot - first U-2 flight and others)
John Glenn (Naval Aviation Cadet / Astronaut, etc.)
Deke Slayton (Astronaut)
Mike Adams (X-15 Test Pilot )
Stuart Allen Roosa (Astronaut)
Gus Grissom (Astronaut)
Maj. Gen. Pat Halloran (SR-71 / U-2 Pilot)
etc., etc.

CaptFuzz

The vocations you listed that require a degree don't require just any 4 year college degree. They require academic training in their specific field.