Originally Posted by KSCessnaDriver

Is it just Daytona you hate or is it the school or the flying? If it's just Daytona, maybe take a trip out to Arizona and see if you'd like it out there any better?

Originally Posted by jarretk

Take it from someone who is a recent alum and leave. If you stay, get a degree in something different that interest you because it will be a backup plan if something happens with a medical. If you have mom and dad that are paying for most of it then it's a toss up but the debt that you take on being there 4 years is so astronomical that it makes it not worth it due to pay as an instructor or regional fo. You get a good education and you will learn things about jets and turbines that other people won't know. That will help in the future if you keep all the power points and homework and such like I did but if you don't go to riddle you can put in the time and effort and learn it on the side. Meeting restricted atp early will be nice but imho it's not worth the mental anguish of crushing debt on your mind all day so unless you have a guaranteed gulfstream job at 100k a year after school it's best to look other places. Other schools have flight programs at half the cost and allow you to meet r-atp mins (ou, osu, siu, purdue, ect). Sorry for this being scattered around but thinking about my first year regional fo pay and my school loans gets my blood boiling and mind scattered, haha. I got very lucky and found a corporate jet job with 800 hours that allowed me to save for the regionals but alot of people aren't so lucky and friends that I went to school with that went straight to the regions are struggling big time. But hey if you like seeing everyone buy houses while you pay off loans or worry about ever saving money because all your money goes to loans, then stick around. Sorry for the long rant

Originally Posted by tom11011

I am an ERAU graduate from over 20 years ago.

It's not the kind of degree that is important to an airline, its important that you have a 4 year degree if you want to go to an airline like Delta as it is still a requirement (not a recommendation).

In my opinion, you need to have a college degree in something other than aviation, something that might have some value in the real corporate America. Given that you are interested in aviation, hands on careers and/or degrees in fields such as Information Technology, Medicine, Sciences, and Engineering are probably compatible with the way you tick.

Here is another suggestion to consider- you are already at Embry Riddle, have you looked at some of their other degree offerings? They are incredible. ERAU is also the first university to offer a degree in Commercial Space Studies.

I also feel that you should know many pilots in the profession would leave aviation if only they knew how to do something else. Pilots do leave and go on to other things, but I suspect more would leave if they felt they could do something else.

Originally Posted by Flyhayes

The ATC program is completely worthless now a days since the FAA has recently stopped giving preferential treatment to ATC program graduates, so I wouldn't use that as a back up.

You might want to look into ERAU's aerospace engineering program or the UAV program instead.

As for flight training, don't write off part 61, even though the hour requirements are different for the individual courses, you may save quite a bit of money over the long run.

Just for the sake of comparison (and inserting a shameless plug). I'm based in New Smyrna, and charge 40/hr for instruction and $105/hr (plus a small fuel surcharge) for a 172. Just imagine how much more flight time your could have put in your logbook compared to Riddle!

Originally Posted by Beaver Hunter

I told my kids, no aviation degree for you!! One kid is wanting to do a chemical engineering degree. She has the smarts and the temperament to do it. The other wants mechanical. Together they will make a good pair. I have told them they can thank the Navy or Airforce for paying for it. Not me:-).
You plant the seed and at nine and watch it grow.
Lucky in the kids god gave me.

Originally Posted by Beaver Hunter

If you have the temperament for a engineering degree. It will open up lots of possibilities in flight test engineering. Especially if you do a military background. It's worth the commitment in my opinion. It's worth the sacrifice of not partying etc. the long play is very rewarding.

Originally Posted by JOutten

Would you suggest doing engineering at Riddle and just bite the bullet for loans? Or go to another school and doing it? And what about flight? Should I continue to do flight at Riddle or goto a nearby FBO in Daytona and do flight at a cheaper price?

Read my 2nd post. More detailed questions that were left unanswered.

Originally Posted by JOutten

Would you suggest doing engineering at Riddle and just bite the bullet for loans? Or go to another school and doing it? And what about flight? Should I continue to do flight at Riddle or goto a nearby FBO in Daytona and do flight at a cheaper price?

Read my 2nd post. More detailed questions that were left unanswered.