I am a military trained pilot and work for a PART121 outfit. However, I have a former military enlisted friend who got out of the military and enrolled in Embry Ridiculous.

After borrowing between $60,000-$70,000 in student government loans and depleting the Montgomery GI Bill, my friend has a single-engine land instruments rating! My friend estimates another $20,000 to complete the degree and get the commercial multi-engine land (CMEL).

My friend is 31 years old. Single. No dependents.

I'm not sure what to tell my friend. Keep going into debt to finish the "degree" or to stop and admit defeat and try to get a regular job.

Assuming my friend completed the program, my friend is hoping to work for ERAU as a CFI to bridge the gap between 300 hours to the required 1000 hours for an ATP.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated.

 

I believe Embry Riddle has a number of satellite campuses. If they are cost effective, finish the degree through ERAU, and finish his ratings via a local FBO or aero club. Also, get a job that will help offset the cost. You can even skip the AMEL rating for now.

Once you have a CFII, teach where you got your rating until you think you have enough students to support yourself full time. Once you have enough hours to get hired at your operator of choice, then make the decision as to whether a flying career is for you. 31 is not old, and flight hours never disappear.

 

Damn. Too bad he didn't talk to you before he got himself in that pickle. If he takes on that debt and gets stuck at a regional he is well and truly hosed for life.

So he'd need even more debt to get a CFI so he's employable? Assuming that making $100K+ loan payments on CFI/regional pay is not in the cards...

Go get a real job.

Assess options to finish a degree at lower cost part-time and/or distance learning. Can he transfer credits to state U?

Get a better job with the degree. Live frugal, make progress on loans.

Assess situation. Consider pay-as-you-go flight training at the local patch. Make the jump to CFI and then regional when finances permit (if he's still interested when he gets to that point).

Hopefully no wife/kids in this...

 

They do if you pencil whip your time and can never get your tickets back.

 

Depending on the degree, he can get his flight certs. elsewhere and they still count as credit. For example, the degree in Aeronautics, 36 or so credits are awarded after the CFI is completed. So he can continue the degree online. $250 a credit hour for military i beleive. $340 for civilian...
But for any useful degree outside aviation. I dont think they count towards it.

 

Wow, painful to read... I'm currently finishing up my instructor ratings, all paid for by the GI Bill. If he had done it right, he'd be completely debt free. Not sure if there's a way out of the hole he has dug himself. However, I think debt means very little in the long run when it comes to succeeding in a life's goal. I guess it depends how bad he wants it. If it were me, I'd press on.

 

Hey Death2Daleks, could you tell us what the right way to do it is? I want to join the Air National Guard and was wondering how I could go about getting the GI Bill to pay for my flight training

 

The guard will provide flight training. A PPL will be helpful in applying for a guard flight slot, but the GI bill won't pay for a PPL, unless that's changed recently.

I wouldn't spend money or GI bill on ratings beyond PPL if you're planning on doing guard flying.

 

He may mean by "doing it right" to go back in time and enlist ONLY when they were doing the "yellow ribbon" program, which paid for pretty much all college and flight training, but only lasted a very short time before congress realized what a dumb idea it was. It was totally non-fundable and unsustainable, with guys racking up $200K+ bills and some even lacking the motivation to finish the degree, although I'd argue that a better way to implement VA benefits would be to allow GI bill vets to go to any PUBLIC school for free, but we'd have to pay like everyone else to go to a private school, seems fair for public service IMO. I also saw a wounded vet from before that program started get some amazing funding, but I'm not sure that's really worth the cost, money isn't everything. Continuing...I really have no idea what he means by "do it right".