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Old 03-28-2006, 07:52 PM
  #11  
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Get a non-aviation degree, or an engineering degree in the aerospace field. DO NOT get a Av mgt. or Av science degree...these have no practical benefit in the real world.
I would agree with this strictly from the stand point that it is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. On the other hand there are many degrees out there that have no practical benefit in the real world; take communications, political science, sociology, theatre arts, etc, etc for example. As I'm sure you will agree, one learns much more through out his or her college experience then just the knowledge required to earn a degree (regardless of the degree). One could make the case that these more subtle lessons are just as or more important in preparing you for life than a diploma. As Mark Twain said, 'I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.'
It is a staggering number of college grads that don't end up working in their field of study. I'm sure this applies to those of us with or working towards an aviation degree. As I have heard mentioned before, if you earned a degree 20 years ago and never did anything with it, it's not going to be a lot of help to you now anyway. With all of that said, I do not believe an aviation degree is useless or unpractical; there are many good jobs out there that a) do not require a degree or b) that do require a degree but it dosen't really matter what the degree is in (being a pilot if you consider that a good job).
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Old 03-29-2006, 03:56 AM
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Thanks for all the good advise. So, if a degree in Aviation isn’t so important, then why are all these carriers requiring that degree for their internship programs?

American Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

Midwest Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required

Northwest Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

United Airlines fall internship:
6. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

http://www.aviation.siu.edu/jobs/internships/
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Old 03-29-2006, 04:33 AM
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There is no requirement to do an internship to get on with an airline. I am guessing those programs you stated are there for those students that choose to pursue that field. Remember flying is NOT the only career in aviation. I suspect if you want to get into airline management for example a station manager or reservation manager or Cargo operations manager, you would need to do those internships. But if your goal is to be a pilot then you do not not need them. I agree with everyone else to get a degree in something other than aviation. However I dont agree that an aviation degree is worthless. Like I said above if you want to be a station manager or airport dierector than an aviation management degree is very important
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Old 03-29-2006, 07:00 AM
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Internships may help when an airline is hiring, however none of those are hiring right now nor will they be anytime in the near future. In most cases they still have more than a thousand on furlough that get to be recalled before they even consider hiring.
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Old 03-29-2006, 08:16 AM
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I was looking down the road to 2010 (They'll have flying cars by then)
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Old 03-29-2006, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by jacobsos
Thanks for all the good advise. So, if a degree in Aviation isn’t so important, then why are all these carriers requiring that degree for their internship programs?

American Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

Midwest Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required

Northwest Airlines fall internship:
5. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

United Airlines fall internship:
6. Enrollment in SIUC’s Aviation Management Program required, with preference of completion of AVM 373 “Airline Management” and AVM 377 “Aviation Safety Management”.

http://www.aviation.siu.edu/jobs/internships/
Internships provide a number of benefits...

Employer: Looks good by supporting education, gets free or low-cost labor, establishes relationship with educational institutions, gets the opportunity to "preview" potential future employees.

Student: Learning experience, possible future job opportunity (however, these opportunities apply almost exclusively to non-pilot jobs)

Because the internships listed above involve management operations, they want you to have some idea of how an airline operates so they can get some useful work out of you.

If you want to be a pilot, you still need to gain the requisite ratings and turbine flight time experince, pass the grueling interview process and pass the grueling new-hire training. An internship MIGHT get you a preferential interview AFTER you meet the flight time experience, but since that will take many years, your internship is likely to be just a distant memory...

Midwest might be hiring pilots (?) , but the others are in massive bankrupty and/or have thousands of furloughs...they won't be needing new pilots anytime soon...
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Old 03-29-2006, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by jacobsos
I was looking down the road to 2010 (They'll have flying cars by then)
If you're just starting out in college, then you will be looking at jobs at regional airlines, not major airlines in 2010. You will realistically need to work at a regional for 4-12 years before getting a major airline job.

All those companies you listed are majors.

The ONLY reliable formula for getting an aviation job is to:

1) Have the required flight time experience (non-negotiable unless you are a woman or minority)
2) Know someone. Networking is crucial, but the good news is that you will meet lots of people during your training and career.

Last edited by rickair7777; 03-29-2006 at 08:35 AM.
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Old 03-29-2006, 11:49 AM
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It's not only the majors with internships. Skywest, ASA, Skyways, Air Willy, and American Eagle, and probably more, all have intern programs. Most will reduce their hiring mins and guarantee you an interview at some point down the road. They like you to have some of your ratings and be working towards one of those unpracticle aviation degrees They are a good learning experiance, you are able to do some pretty nice networking (I'm sure having a letter of recomendation from a major chief pilot will help you out at the regionals), and you get travel bennies. On the downside most are unpaid and having living in a high cost of living area.
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Old 03-29-2006, 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by JMT21
It's not only the majors with internships. Skywest, ASA, Skyways, Air Willy, and American Eagle, and probably more, all have intern programs. Most will reduce their hiring mins and guarantee you an interview at some point down the road. They like you to have some of your ratings and be working towards one of those unpracticle aviation degrees They are a good learning experiance, you are able to do some pretty nice networking (I'm sure having a letter of recomendation from a major chief pilot will help you out at the regionals), and you get travel bennies. On the downside most are unpaid and having living in a high cost of living area.
You don't need an internship to get a regional job...just the flight time. I had two friends who did unpaid 6 month internships at ACA then got hired around 500-700 TT.

Guess what I did with those six months...CFI at my local airport, lived at home (wife not parents), got paid, got myself over 1000 hours.
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Old 03-30-2006, 06:45 AM
  #20  
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Private pilot: 50 hours of flight and simulation
Instrument rating: 44 hours of flight and simulation
Commercial: 120 hours of flight and simulation
Multi-engine rating: 16.5 hours of flight and simulation

So once I graduate from SIU with the previously mentioned hours, I’ll have to be a CFI for a couple of years to pick up more time, and then apply to a Regional? Is that pretty realistic?
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