awesomesauce17,

FIT is a great school. I went there. Great people to work with. If you choose to go down there, you best be ready to work though. College is a different world compared to HS...that's for sure!:P No matter what, do whatever it is to make you happy. You will be there for 4 + years. (especially if you stay there to flight instruct)

PM me if you have questions about the school

 

I personally went through ROTC and got a flight slot (I had zero flight time and had ridden on a plane only one time) while in school. The government paid for 13 hrs in a C-150 at a local FBO. That was the first time I was ever in a cockpit of an airplane. Walked through Reese AFB, Tx gates with a whopping 13 hrs total flight time, and 51 weeks later, had my wings. Total cost to me.....Nuthin, but I did 12 years of flying heavy muti-engines jets and seeing the world!

 

Im really curious about this route now. Why did they offer you a positing through ROTC? Ive been trying to contact the local rep here, but he is never in his office it seems. Im trying for that, and I hope to have a fair amount of hours before getting into the air force (Im hopefully going to be flying all through college). If I get vision correction surgery ASAP and my private pilots license, will I have an advantage?

 

[QUOTE=ubermich]I got an aviation degree and do I regret it? No. When I was in your same position senior year of high school a lot of the instructors told me to major in something other than aviation as a backup plan; something useful, like finace. Then I talked to someone who hires and fires people for a large corporation. He told me that after a couple years of being out of college that if a person has no real world experience in that field, that he consideres the degree obsolete. One of my dad's clients who holds a similar position told him the same thing. So this meant to me that if I majored in finance and CFIed for a while then went on to a regional, then lost my medical, that I would be in the exact same place as I would be if I majored in aviation or history or dance.QUOTE]

I have heard/seen the same thing. If you do choose to major in something else, it will only work as a back up plan for a short time, i.e. a couple of years out of college. No decent paying employer is going to hire you and pay you more than you are making flying, if you got your degree in Business some 3-5 years ago and have never done anything with it since then. They have plenty of better options. What airline would hire someone who hasn't flown at all in the past 3-5 years??? Same idea.

Futher, there are plenty of jobs out there that require simply a college degree, no specific major, that pay well.

Look around, evaluate all your options, there is definately a way to make it all work, but that doesn't mean it will be easy.

If your happy, and you are sure it will make you happy, go with it. You only live once.

 

Awesomesauce17,

A little advice from someone who was in your shoes a few years ago and jumped back into them just recently to finish his degree:

Aviation degrees, such as BS Aviation Operations, Aviation Management, etc. are highly specialized degrees. Just like a bachelor's degree in engineering or information technology, there are not that many jobs out there which require a bachelor's degree in aviation science. In essence, many of the colleges and universities in the nation have simply capitalized on the fact that pilots need degrees to work for major carriers, (also realizing that most flight students want to be airline pilots) and have created this major around flying. A good major, yes, but is it a major that can keep you employed outside of the aviation field if you get furloughed, etc: not really.

I recently received $50,000 in scholarship money to continue my flight training and finish my degree. If it wasn't for the scholarship money, I wouldn't be able to become a pilot. I suggest to you that you go with the university that offers you the best scholarship package. Why? Because your endowments can only increase monetarily if you keep your grades up, are focused and loyal to your educational institution; and it's better for you in the long run to develop a relationship with the people who hold the purse strings at your college. [i.e., minimize loans].

Secondly: If you decide to fly, become an instructor at that college and somehow remain actively involved in your education. (Pursuing an MBA makes you that more competetive during an economic downturn).

Whatever you do, don't go to Riddle. I have a friend who graduated from there in 2002 or 2003, he has loans up the ass, about 400TT, and no CFI. Granted he's sort of a dufus, it's still not the place to go.

Remember, take in the information here presented by everyone [we do care about you, obviously] but make your own informed decisions.

 

I agree with everything you said about the A.S. degree, but engineering and CS degrees are a different story...a specialized engineering degree can get you a job in your dream field (ex. spacecraft propulsion) if you're lucky, but also is a great fallback position because you can always get an engineering job in any field related to your specialty...our spacecraft propulsion guy could get a job designing single-engine propellor hubs or aileron fairings or whatever. CS degrees, even with specialization, open up the entire IT industry: software & hardware mfgs, integrators, end-user companies, defense, etc. (but a computer engineering degree is even better).

Also an engineering degree in the hands of a US citizen has the great advantage of eligibility for a security clearance...you have a pool of job opportunities that are ONLY available to long-term citizens, and they often involve some pretty neat stuff.

 

While I somewhat agree with your philosophy, I was simply trying to make a comparison: The jobs are NOT a dime a dozen for graduates with extremely specialzed, brand-name degrees. I'm simply trying to help this kid make an informed decision. Not waste his money and get stuck with 400 hours, three raitings and a huge amount of debt to pay back.

 

awesomesauce17, i am also a high school senior who's confused about where to go. I'm really looking at Lewis just due to the fact they are giving me $8,500 a year for 4+ years and grants. I have spoken with the aviation administrator from Lewis, and he says 95% of aviation flight graduates end up with a job. So $17,500 for tuition (-) the money they WILL give to you ($8,500) (+)flight fees (-)grants = still gives you plenty to pay off but not as much. Any lewis graduates tips?

 

as long as you dont go to Regional Airline Academy then I think any career move toward an education is a suitable one !

 

Sorry it took so long to get back, but been on the road.

First, USAF ROTC did'nt offer it to me, I earned it by competing against many others through my grades, scores on the military entrance exam, etc.

Dont know why the recruiters are ignoring you. After all, rotc is recruiting.

When I went through UPT (undergraduate pilot training) Nov'83 - Nov'84, there was no such thing called "vision correction surgery". YOu either had 20-20 or better, or you did'nt get a pilot slot.

Having as much private time when you go through is an EXTREMELY HUGE ADVANTAGE. The military will look at that as not having to "test the waters with you" as they say (IE-send you to Hondo TX to see if you can grasp the idea that if you push forward, trees get bigger, pull back and trees get smaller) There were two guys in my class who were regional pilots, each with over 5000 hrs. Needless to say, they breezed through the program, while I studied my ass off and sweated each day (had no clue to what a vor was).

Anyway, it was a fantastic experience. Good luck.

"If ya can't fly with 4 engines out on one side, you can't fly"