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scorpion611 09-14-2008 12:49 AM


Originally Posted by Dualrated (Post 461222)
Scorpion,

First off, take it easy there. These people are trying to help you. The reason people say "have a backup plan" is that they have these things called a mortgage, wife, kids, ex-wife, etc... and in aviation, there are two guarantees: you have lost a job (furlough, airplane was sold, downsized, etc) or you will lose a job. Life is expensive, and hard to afford without a paycheck.
I went to ERAU in Daytona. I have a degree in management of techincal operations (aka business). I flew at the local FBO for half the price with instructors that trained at Riddle. Finished my flying twice a quickly as my buddies who flew on campus. I didn't get the "riddle run around" as it is known. My business degree helped me get my first job with a corporate flight department.
I think the aviation degree is useful (shows a lot dedication), but when I was there the school was 86% male.... you have to love it to be there, lots of friends went back to "normal" colleges.
IMO, Middle Tennessee is pretty well known, as is Auburn, Parks... don't be afraid to major is something other than aeronautical science (or the equivalent). 50% of my friends are using their minor to pay the bills right now (Safety, computer science, ATC)...
Good luck.

sorry didn't mean to sound rude

atpwannabe 09-14-2008 08:18 AM

[QUOTE=Dualrated;461222]

...I went to ERAU in Daytona. I have a degree in management of techincal operations (aka business).


Back in the '80's, the degree program was call Aeronautical Studies...Air Studies for short.



atp

tweakk 09-23-2008 07:49 PM


Originally Posted by scorpion611 (Post 457212)
Have any of you heard of Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology?

I'm currently enrolled at Spartan (of course the flight program), finishing up my instrument rating.

Uhm, if you can afford it, I'd highly suggest it. It's a quite exceptional school when it comes to covering all the content thoroughly, via classes and 1 on 1 instruction from your instructor. I gotta say though, they do a good job on weeding out the non dedicated and ill prepared. The stage checks and checkrides are quite brutal in making 0 mistakes on the flight portion and flawless on the orals. I'm currently cramming right now for my instrument stage 4 (mid course) stage check, it sucks lol.

Not really sure how to elaborate on it, but if you wanna ask any specific questions, I'm all ears.

Also, like someone else mentioned, don't expect to meet girls at an aviation college lol.

lear 31 pilot 09-25-2008 07:20 AM

Big Bend Community College is a great school in Moses Lake Washington. It is still reasonably affordable and you can now get a bachelors degree thru Central Washington University, which is a pretty easy school and it will get you the piece of paper you need. I would not suggest going to the Central Washington University flight training program which is way overpriced and takes 4 years to finish where Big Bend takes only 2 years.

scorpion611 09-26-2008 10:43 PM

Does WMU offer a skydiving club? Do any of the others offer it? I know ERAU does.

FlyByCable 09-27-2008 09:45 AM

What if someone only has a 1.7 GPA from High School? Any chance of them making it to the majors or will they be lucky to just get on with the regionals?

ComeFlyWithMe 09-27-2008 10:21 AM

I'm currently at Riddle here in Prescott and so far it's OK. The reason Riddle is more expensive is due to tuition, not the flight training itself. I'm looking into minors if possible to pay the bills after college. I'm assuming that I'll probably run into financial issues in the airlines due to furloughs, etc. So I'm looking into alternatives, possibly starting a business.

There's a few things to remember about degrees:
1. If you have a degree in a non-aviation field, 5 years down the road you find yourself needing to fall back on it, but because you didn't "pursue" that degree it becomes worthless. With degrees, if you don't use it you lose it.
2. Many places just want you to have a degree, regardless of relevance to your job. You could have an aviation degree and be a "network systems analyst marketing manager" at a tech company, the company wouldn't care as long as you know your stuff.
3. Aviation is like the entertainment industry: there's the up-front people who get all the attention (pilots) and then there's the behind-the-scenes support staff: scheduling, dispatching, airline management, etc.

FLY6584 09-27-2008 11:40 AM


Originally Posted by FlyByCable (Post 469425)
What if someone only has a 1.7 GPA from High School? Any chance of them making it to the majors or will they be lucky to just get on with the regionals?

Dude you can do anything you want. I was in a similar situation when I was in high school. My freshman year I got involved with the wrong crowd screwed around too much and also got a 1.7 gpa my first year. It wasn't until towards the end of my sophomore year that I started to turn things around. It was then that I started flying and actually had a goal to work towards. I worked my butt off, but was still only able to graduate with a 2.9. I ended up going to Auburn University to major in Aviation and ended up switching to Aerospace Engineering (I knew I wanted to fly for the military and I wanted a degree that was worthwhile), graduated Cum Laude in Aerospace Engineering, and now I'm currently in pilot training in the Air Force. I'm not trying to brag about my accomplishments I just want to make it clear that it's never too late and anyone can do anything they want with dedication and hard work.

Even if you ended up graduating with a 1.7 you can still turn things around. Enroll in a community college and work your butt off for 2 years then transfer to a well known reputable state school. Get a degree in something other than aviation, but continue to get your ratings and try to get your CFI so that you can build hours and make some money on the side. In high school I never realized that high school really does NOT matter(aside from applying to college). Your high school grades do NOT follow you, but your college performance will so make the decision now that you want to turn things around and I guarantee you can do it. At least you have a goal to work towards and that's half the battle. I saw too many "kids" in college that had no idea what they wanted to do and they were only there because their parents were making them. Being a pilot is one of those things that few people are "called" to, but when you know you want to be one nothing will get in your way if you really want it.

Best of luck to you. Let me know if I can offer anymore advice. Of course I'm going to tell you to enroll in AFROTC to get your school paid for and fly for the Air Force because that's what I did, but you can take any route you want.

Planespotta 09-27-2008 09:00 PM

Surprised not to see Purdue in here yet. Two King Airs that you are guaranteed 10-15 hours in, a Beech 400A for the select dozen who get 50-70 SIC each in the jet (the record is just over 100), and Warriors, Arrows, and Seminoles up the wazoo that are kept in amazing condition by Purdue's own maintenance program. And, you have Big Ten sports, great girls, and a great variety of choices for a minor. Hard to beat.

. . . and, yes, there is a skydiving club :)

cappelation 09-27-2008 09:04 PM

whatever you do dont go to University Nebraksa Omaha


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