NERD

Exactly! Just went on my 2nd graders field trip to city hall in a DFW suburb. The police department in our suburb will not hire without a 4 year degree. The fire department requires a minimum 2 year degree.

kevbo

I know that most people here are insulated from the harsher realities of life. Having to carry last years phone doesn't count as a hardship. What does count is the fact that Baby Boomers did not have enough kids nor did they save enough for a lengthy retirement. I can hear it now, "It's their own damn fault". Maybe so. Most of these people would die in gutters without Social Security and Medicare. In case you weren't aware, that comes from the government. Social payouts are the only mass form of benevolence that is provided. Otherwise government is a front for corporations and wealthy individuals who make sure every printed dollar gets filtered through their pockets. Unfortunately they get to keep more of it when they do really nasty things to humanity.

Das Auto

That's cute. Why not buy a Breitling after you pass your PPL and a BMW convertible when you get your CFI too?

You failed to mention the cost of your genius plan. Some people simply can't afford to pay for a college degree and their flight training, and are forced to choose one or the other accumulating huge amounts debt in the process. Especially with kids, mortgage, medical bills etc.

A college degree isn't necessarily a free chore that lazy people avoid because they can't be bothered to "get off their ass" as you so eloquently put it.

Sliceback

It's a balance between decisions and choices. Lots of people make decisions that facilitate, or hinder, future options.

gringo

Then they should have planned better. Plenty of opportunities out there for free college, including the GI Bill, public service or scholarships.

Their failure to plan in advance is now biting them in the ass. No big deal; they can still get hired on at an LCC, ULCC or decent ACMI (if such a thing exists anymore)

Excuses are like arseholes. They stink.

Want a Legacy job? Get the damn degree. It's been like that for decades, and it's not going away anytime soon.

"I'm too busy" or "it's too expensive" or "I just don't have time" are nothing more than rationalizations weak people put in their heads to justify their lack of upward movement.

Plenty of Legacy pilots out there with BS degrees from online universities, obtained while on layovers in East Frogballs, Arkansas. So no excuses whatsoever.

You want the Legacy job? Gotta get the degree.

Period.

And while on the topic, why the hell would you suggest someone buy a Breitling after passing their PPL? Or a BMW after the CFI? Do those somehow increase the odds of getting a call from United or Delta? How does your advice parlay at all into the requirement of having a degree?

I mean, there's dumb advice on this board left and right, but that's just stoopid.

StrykerB21

You sound like a great guy to fly with for a 4 day.

Das Auto

That's called sarcasm, facetious even. Didn't your fancy college teach you about humor or was it all about idolizing the football team and getting that piece of paper?

The thread is called "anyone getting hired without a college degree?" not "lets ridicule and name call those who don't have a college degree and have the nerve to ask if they should get one."

captjns

Airlines are short sited when it comes to hiring qualified pilots, even with about a college degree. In the U.S. airlines are hooked on the fact that a pilot without a college degree, an airline pilot does not make.

Many companies have Section 125 plans which include continuing education programs. Airlines have the ability to establish programs... hire pilots with talent they need. Establish relationships with distance learning universities. Encourage and mentor the degreeless to obtain their degrees. Take it step beyond... MBAs too.

CBreezy

Why? Because he makes his point clearly and concisely but is contrary to the mob mentality of this thread? By the way, "you sound like a fun guy to fly with" sarcastic insult basically says, "I'm not intelligent enough to rebuke your argument so instead, I'm going to insinuate that you're a donkey."

gringo

Your response was epic, thanks for making my day. Yes, you nailed my collegiate years to a "t". When I wasn't busy doing keggers and attending toga parties, and when I was off of super secret double probation, I was out at frat parties idolizing the football team or something. Yup, nailed it.

Sarcasm, by the way, would appropriately describe my response to yours. And while one could massage your Breitling "suggestion" as "facetious", it really wasn't; it was just stupid because it didn't make any point nor contribute to the discussion in any way.

Finally, it's 2017, not 1994. This question about degrees pops up 4-6 times a year, and if the OP can't be bothered to run a simple Google search before hand then yes, some ridicule is in order. There's a "search" function at the top of the page for a reason.

Also deserving of ridicule; anyone who replies "you don't need a degree to fly airplanes". Or anyone who advises high schoolers to "just start flying, get your degree later"; quite possibly the worst advice that somehow keeps popping up on this board. Yes, don't go to college while you're single and have no responsibilities, go get that flight time! Seniority is everything! Because it's way easier to finish that degree once you have a wife and kids and are stuck at a regional desperate to get out. Brilliant.

I don't understand why people have such a hard time with this concept. It's simple. If you want a Legacy job, you need a 4 year degree. If you don't want a Legacy job, you don't need a degree. If you choose not to get a degree and then spend the next 20 years *****ing about the "ridiculousness" of the degree requirement, hoping the industry will change (it won't, not anytime soon) then you're a fool.