Orangemx, I had a similar experience to you. I had to get out of the house upon graduation from high school and had no way to pay for college. The Navy was my answer. I spent 4 years working A&P in a phase shop in the Navy. During that time, like a lot of teenagers, I made a wrong turn and ended up married and having a child. I got out of the Navy at age 21 and immediately enrolled in college with the GI Bill. After a semester, it proved to be too much trying to support a wife and child so I went to work in a steel plant full time for the awesome wage of $10 per hour. It was full time work with decent insurance though and I made just enough to make it.

I took a few computer classes when I had time and started a job as a computer operator. I spent roughly the next 10 years in the I.T. field without a degree because it was a hot field and I specialized in a certain area that paid the big bucks. My goal was to take care of the family and get my child to college. As time passed, I was able to obtain all of my ratings through CFII on the side and finally, about 8 years ago I made the jump to full time instructing. I followed that up with a Part 135 job and then made it to a "decent" regional if there is such an animal.

I still sit here at this regional on the bubble of an upgrade. I completed approximately 2 years total of college during my working years but haven't gone back to finish the degree yet. One reason....the wife and I elected to go all out and pay off our home. Kiddo is now out of school and on her own so that became our priority. So, I did all sorts of side jobs over the past 8 years and we put every single dime into paying the home off. It's a 200k home and we aren't going anywhere. Plus, we have zero debt. No car payments, credit cards, anything.

My chances to get picked up at a major are slim. However, I've ridden plenty of jumpseats on Southwest, AA and United where at least one of the guys didn't have a degree. It's more rare than common but those guys are out there. I always try to steer the conversation around to college and ask since I'm curious if the guys have degrees.

In the end, it really is WHO YOU KNOW. If you know the right folks, you've got a shot at almost any job. I will probably be relegated to working at Spirit, Allegiant or the like if I want to move up, which I'm trying to. I don't mind that. I personally know a captain that left a regional after 18 years at age 42 to go to Spirit. They actually gave him a shot he thinks because he DIDN'T have a degree. They seem to be really worried about people bailing as the majors really ramp up their hiring.

I'm early forties now and could literally work at Lowe's for the rest of my life if I choose. We are now just going all out with the retirement and putting all our dollars toward that at this point. So, I do have some freedom being debt free which makes probably not making it to a major not so bad.

I've got just a semester and I can have my Associates. I'm looking into that now at least so I can have that if nothing else.

All that said, if you had a top of the line degree over the past decade, it would have done you just about zilch. Since there has been little to no hiring, unless you knew someone then, you would have been in the same boat as your co-worker at Brand X regional.

Yes, the degree will open those doors. Barring any disasters, the floodgate doors have cracked open and that trickle getting through now is about to grow into a roaring river over the next 5 to 7 years. At least one major now for sure, US Airways, doesn't REQUIRE a degree, it's preferred. There may be more that follow when that roaring river is blasting through the gates soon.

While true that its not required, in the most recent round of hiring they haven't hired a single person without the 4 year degree.

The point is, without the degree, you need to do more to set yourself from the crowd (And belong in the "O" peer set) either by networking or additional responsibilities at your regional (Check Airman, Sim/Ground Instructor, etc...).

While those with college degrees are in debt up to their eyeballs, YOU are ahead of the game. It "ain't" how much you make, it's how you live that counts. Someday hiring managers will see the sensibility of people like you living debt free vs the masses of broke people with useless Liberal Arts and Master's degrees. :)

You can earn 4 year degrees relatively cheaply if you just go to a state school and earn a scholarship or two.

This is an excellent post.

Yes you can. And I am not knocking education. I do believe one is better off with a degree than not. I just think the ROI has gone down tremendously for the last 20+ years or so. And an individual needs to weigh the cost/reward benefit.

That I will agree with. Also you get what you put in. If you go to college with the mindset that you are just there to get your piece of paper, that is all you will get.

My advice to the OP would be to get your degree, as I said, in a state or local college. Earn some scholarships, won't cost too much. Then work like heck to get a 3.25 or better while taking the challenging classes (3.25 is often a cutoff for recruiters).

I agree with this. In fact, when considering whether to invest our extra money in finishing my degree or paying the house off, we elected to go with the house, at least first. I consulted with a lot of smart folks beforehand and the advice split about 1/3 saying go for the house payoff, 1/3 saying go for the degree and 1/3 saying invest the money in mutual funds or stocks instead to get a greater rate of return.

I just decided my best ROI was to pay the house off just for peace of mind.

I would still recommend to the OP to get the degree as your time and finances allow. I at least plan to finish out the Associates here soon. State schools are cheaper yes, but it's still a lot of money to me.

Agree, hence my post that a degree isnt really that hard.

I agree with having a degree, but unless its in a tougher/stronger discipline, STEM, or from a school that's known for quality programs, it doesn't really say as much as it once did.

Okay, thank you guys for your advice and comments. I'm still going to just take it easy for a bit. I am so burned out right now. I really wanted to make it to the airlines by age 35 so that I could have a 30 year career. I know that I can definitely do it if I stop school for a little bit and just focus on my flight instructing.