edik

DO NOT GO TO EARU, ITS NOT WORTH IT. YOU WILL BE SO FREAKIN BORED THERE. There is nothing to do there except fly. You will regret it. Man 45k/yr is crazy.

edik

fredd

I agree go to a community college like Big Bend http://www.bigbendaviation.com/ you can have all the same licences for around $28,000. Add on the CFI, multi or float for a few thousand more. Get an Applied Science degree (commercial pilot), and an Associates and Arts and Science (1st two years of a 4 year program/tranfer degree) plus work on a third degree via Embry Riddle or CWU all at the same time. I spent around $40,000 when it was all said and done with my flight fees, room and board, books, tuition.......

They don't charge for ground time which was really nice. Not on the clock asking questions which I don't think anyone else in flight training does. They also have 6 full time faculty that are career flight instructors not the off the street CFI who are building flight time. You will get the chance to fly with each of the 6 faculty during the two year program, which really gives you a well rounded look from a wealth of training experience. They also do the ground schools and checkrides.

The airport is huge, with the longest of the 5 runways being 13,500 feet. When I left they had around 13 instrument approaches.

Great 141 program that I think few people are aware of.

Seems like a simple choice 3 degrees, 1/2 the cost, quality instruction.

rickair7777

In aviation, the only schools that offer any kind of hiring advantage over other pilots are Annapolis and Colorado Springs.

Jet training at the entry level is the biggest SCAM going in the flight training industry. Guess what...your airline will pay for all of your jet training after you get hired!

In todays job climate, you must assume that you will get stuck at the regional level making $70-90K/year (unless you graduated from one of the two schools I mentioned earlier). Even if you grab the brass ring and get on with a major, it will be years before you make $150K+...if you do the math, you will likely find that the amount of interest you pay on your ERAU loans will be more than any economic benefit you might gain by getting hired a year ahead of other.

Also, the industry is full of pilots who resent "Pay for Training" short-cut takers, and if you encounter one of them at your major airline interview you will wish you had not taken the shortcut.



I have many, many friends who went to ERAU, and they all regret it because it doesn't get you any further or faster than anyone else, but you will get to enjoy 15-20 years of Top-ramen while you pay off the loans. One friend is STILL a flight instructor because she can't afford the pay cut to go to a regional!

If you think you would enjoy working as a controller, that is almost guaranteed to be more stable, comfortable, and has a great retirement at age 56 (orr earlier if you like). It probably will pay better than any but the most stellar and lucky airline career.

ksdc

Dear all,

Browsing the web searching for answers found your forum and read the posted responses regarding the EU.

Already a private pilot w/o any additional ratings -just VFR PPL. My great aspiration is indeed to go into the airline pilot buz. The truth of the matter is I don't know how to better go about finding the "optimal" training path. Some time has past since I was 18 years (+++...) but have a VERY strong science background (PhD in applied physics+work experience in aerospace R&D) my dream is still alive.

The reality checklist has among other items the key question: provided I complete the min requirements i.e. commercial, instrument, multi and somehow build some time would ever an airliner hire someone approaching 40s with no prior airliner experience? Alternatively, what are the prospects for Buz-Jet aviation?

Thanks.
ksdc

rightseater

another ERAU grad...'05. Makes me sick to hear from guys my age who say they spent 40 grand on their training who are now working at the same airline as I am. I mean I only spent 100,000 more than them...if you like ramen noodles, canned tuna, and not seeing any college girls for 4 years, then riddle is the place for you.

SkyHigh

GEE You are not some dreamy eyed kid. What gives??? Few will hire you without "any" prior experience. Why would you want to do it anyway?? You will be poor and abused by your employer. Often science geeks have difficulty applying their "knowledge" to the real world anyway. Why not stay in the office and give up this high school kid idea?

Skyhigh

SkyHigh

and the same unemployment line when your done !!!

SkyHigh

Uncle Bose

If you have no other marketable skills (and if you didn't going into ERAU, you sure as hell didn't have any coming out), the only thing left to do to salvage some dignity and a decent quality of life is to go back to school, get a real degree, and then a real job. Otherwise, I hope those few minutes of excitement bookending an otherwise boring flight are worth eternal tuna.

ERJ135

Well, I think if you can build enough hours meaning 1000+ hrs and a few hundered hours multi engine you might be marketable for a regional. However, remember the pay sucks real bad, as a new FO. If I was you I would instruct or fly freight for a while to build hours and the Biz jet idea is a bit more promising. There are still some good corporate jobs out there that can work well with family (meaning a lot of out and backs) and decent pay.

Good Luck, I'd shoot for a biz jet job.

Hot Sauce

If you've got the dedication and money, go for it.

OT: I know of a dude at PDK who works a desk. He's an ERAU Aero Sci grade, all instructor ratings, and 1000 hours. He's perfectly healthy, and could probably run through a wall. Unfort he decided to quit flying, and is now pursuing Business Admin, while still stuck paying off loans.

There's also a school around ATL that publically announces that they will not hire ERAU grads.