i need some help on deciding what to do
 

so i am a sophomore at embry riddle working towards my aeronautical science degree and i already have my multi private and im halfway done with my multi instrument right now. i am beyond fed up with the flight department. After hearing about the 1500hr bill being passed and how aweful it is being a pilot because of fatigue, low pay, andhaving to move around alot if your hub changes, im starting to reconsider what i should do. the good thing is i don't have to worry about the tution i am lucky that my parents have saved for it since i was born. but i feel bad that they are paying for a school that is really expensive and by the time i graduate il be spending so much money to work towards those 1500hrs. i used to work in the automotive shop in highschool and had fun with that. i would rather make $50,000 a year than only $15,000. plus if i went to a trade school i would be working in two years. i am also real good with computers so i was thinking of getting some degree in the computer field. have i gone to far at riddle and should i finish out, or should i start considering other carreers.

first off: Congrats on the multi pvt, and good luck on the instrument, it's by far the most fun checkride

I'll let others chime in as far as what you should do and whatever else but the way I live my life is this:

If I wanted to work at something for the money, I'd have been a lawyer or a doctor. I don't yet fly for a living, but I make as much as I would flying for a bottom feeder (less actually) so it's not a big deal to me at the moment with no mortgage no kids and no wife.

My bottom line is: Don't pick a career for the money.

and I don't think the rule has passed just yet.

my ex roomates friends all laughed when I said you shouldn't pick a career for the money. they are all in law school [studybuddies] and all their answers were along the line of: You think we like studying this much? If we didn't get 6 figures we wouldn't even think of doing this

Finish your flight training off campus, get your CFII/MEI as fast as possible, then go back and instruct for the remainder of your career there. Aero Eng or Human Factors would be a better degree to get, Comp Sci majors are a dime a dozen these days. Everyone I know that did AE or HF went on to work for NASA, Raytheon, Boeing, etc. Plus you can fly your ass off instructing part time. I had over 1000 hours when I graduated with 150 or so multi. If you decide to not chase the flying dream the AE or HF degrees will make you marketable in those fields and thus give you a ton of options. Aero Sci isn't a dead end, but it's going to be much more challenging and your next 5 years after graduation won't be easy. 1500 hours is not an insurmountable hurdle, just get your CFI as fast and as cheaply as possible. Also look into the Air Traffic Mgt minor and the ATC career field. Knew lots of guys that gave up on flying when the market tanked in 2000 and went that route, don't know one that regrets it.

I hope your friends are reading all of the studies (which I have posted in various threads) about the hardships that new lawyers are facing in today economy. I also have very close family members in the lawyer busines and they laughed when I told them what's your friends are saying about if they didn't make 6 figures then they wouldn't be doing what they are doing. Good luck to them making six figures any time soon in a majoroty of lawyer jobs. they might hit a jackpot or have an IN to some great legal job, but then again that happens sometimes in the aviation game and you still hear the complaining.

USMCFLYR

I made six figures. Hated getting up in the morning. I fly for a regional. Right seat. Worst pay in 20 years. If at all possible, I will never go back!

If I were you, I would switch schools (almost nobody cares where you went to school) and go to a much less expensive one. Get a degree, certificate, diploma, or some other credential in a field you will enjoy working in. If you want a shot at a major, you need a degree. I would finish flight training off campus. Once you have the ratings, you always have the ratings, barring something that gets your name in the newspaper. Then you can pursue flying part time while you do something else and see if it is something you really enjoy.

Life is short. Make sure you like getting up in the morning! When you don't, go do something else!

ATL

The money is pretty terrible to start but is has the potential to become liveable. I never want to leave my family to go to work but once I am there I never dread waking up in the morning to start my day. The job has its days but once the door is shut its a great job.....pending the person you are flying with is not a knob, in which case you will become intimate with the USA Today.

It passed, FAA has 3 years to implement but it is law now.


"In July of 2010, Congress passed H.R. 5900, the “Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act.” This bill aimed to authorize continued FAA funding (Title I) and enhance airline safety (Title II). The President signed the bill into law on August 1, 2010, and it is now officially recorded as Public Law 111-216."





SEC. 216. FLIGHT CREWMEMBER SCREENING AND QUALIFICATIONS.

(a) REQUIREMENTS.—

(1) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to require part 121 air carriers to develop and implement means and methods for ensuring that flight crew-members have proper qualifications and experience.

(a)(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—

(A) PROSPECTIVE FLIGHT CREWMEMBERS.—Rules issued under paragraph (1) shall ensure that prospective flightcrewmembers undergo comprehensive preemploymentscreening, including an assessment of the skills, aptitudes,airmanship, and suitability of each applicant for a position as a flight crewmember in terms of functioning effectively in the air carrier's operational environment.

(B) ALL FLIGHT CREWMEMBERS.—Rules issued under paragraph (1) shall ensure that, after the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, all flightcrewmembers—

(i) have obtained an airline transport pilot certificate under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; and

(ii) have appropriate multi-engine aircraft flight experience, as determined by the Administrator.

(b) DEADLINES.—The Administrator shall issue—

(1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, a notice of proposed rulemaking under subsection(a); and

(2) not later than 24 months after such date of enactment, a final rule under subsection (a).

(c) DEFAULT.—The requirement that each flight crewmember for a part 121 air carrier hold an airline transport pilot certificate under part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, shall begin to apply on the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act even if the Administrator fails to meet a deadline established under this section.

SEC. 217. AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT CERTIFICATION.

(a) RULEMAKING PROCEEDING.—The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to amend part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to modify requirements for the issuance of an airline transport pilot certificate.

(b) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—To be qualified to receive an airline transport pilot certificate pursuant to subsection (a), an individual shall—

(1) have sufficient flight hours, as determined by the Administrator, to enable a pilot to function effectively in an air carrier operational environment; and

(2) have received flight training, academic training, or operational experience that will prepare a pilot, at a minimum, to—

(A) function effectively in a multipilot environment;

(B) function effectively in adverse weather conditions,including icing conditions;

(C) function effectively during high altitude operations;

(D) adhere to the highest professional standards; and

(E) function effectively in an air carrier operational environment.

(c) FLIGHT HOURS.—

(1) NUMBERS OF FLIGHT HOURS.—The total flight hours required by the Administrator under subsection (b)(1) shall be at least 1,500 flight hours.

(2) FLIGHT HOURS IN DIFFICULT OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS.—The total flight hours required by the Administrator under subsection (b)(1) shall include sufficient flight hours, as deter-mined by the Administrator, in difficult operational conditions that may be encountered by an air carrier to enable a pilot to operate safely in such conditions.

(d) CREDIT TOWARD FLIGHT HOURS.—The Administrator may allow specific academic training courses, beyond those required under subsection (b)(2), to be credited toward the total flight hours required under subsection (c). The Administrator may allow such credit based on a determination by the Administrator that allowing a pilot to take specific academic training courses will enhance safety more than requiring the pilot to fully comply with the flight hours requirement.

(e) RECOMMENDATIONS OF EXPERT PANEL.—In conducting the rulemaking proceeding under this section, the Administrator shall review and consider the assessment and recommendations of the expert panel to review part 121 and part 135 training hours established by section 209(b) of this Act.

(f) DEADLINE.—Not later than 36 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue a final rule under subsection (a).

Diversification
 

I would cut your losses now and pursue your other interests in auto repair and computers. Then you could afford to flight train on the side under your own power once you are earning a good living.

In addition if you do decide to later fly for a living you would then have a solid back up plan or two should things go wrong. An unemployed pilot who only holds a degree in aviation is near worthless to the outside world.

Do not get an aviation degree.

Skyhigh

Skyhigh is a perpetual cynic. As much as the pilot groups shat on an ERAU degree, truth be told the Aeronautical Engineering, Physics, and Human Factors degrees do carry quite a bit of weight in the aerospace industry. Like I said, everyone I know that graduated with those degrees was hired within months of graduation, if not before hand. NASA, United Space Alliance, Boeing, Raytheon, Lockheed, Martin Baker, etc. I know one girl who went straight to program manager at the VAB at NASA. But he's right that an Aeronautical Science degree is worth about as much as the paper it's written on outside of a flying job or ATC.

If you want to fly, and your parents are flipping the bill, get the ratings (yes even the CFI ratings...you're going to have to suck it up and teach for 1500 hours)

If you want a career in the aviation field, don't focus on a flying degree..get it in mgmt, engineering, etc.

And please stop compaining about the 1500 hour rule..it doesn't take a lot to get that time..the days of the 200 hour FO are over..at least until the airline lobbyest get their way..