Four year degrees at the regionals....
#31
That’s a shame because I was working full time when I was working on my degree, taking anywhere from one to five classes a semester. I guess I should scratch Delta and FedEx off my list then.
#32
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Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 279
I would really like to know the percentage of college grads that were able to complete college in 4 years without help from Mommy and Daddy. My only friends that made it happen within 4 at least had their living expenses covered by their parents. To me this is a very dumb way to measure candidates, and it hurts those that may have taken even one extra year as they didn’t have everything given to them.
Last edited by Fixnem2Flyinem; 08-21-2018 at 10:16 AM.
#33
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Joined APC: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,948
I would really like to know the percentage of college grads that were able to complete college in 4 years without the help from Mommy and Daddy. My only friends that made it happen within 4 at least had their living expenses covered from their parents. To me this is a very dumb way to measure candidates, and it hurts those that may have taken even one extra year as they didn’t have everything given to them.
#34
I would really like to know the percentage of college grads that were able to complete college in 4 years without help from Mommy and Daddy. My only friends that made it happen within 4 at least had their living expenses covered by their parents. To me this is a very dumb way to measure candidates, and it hurts those that may have taken even one extra year as they didn’t have everything given to them.
#35
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Joined APC: Sep 2016
Position: air attack pilot
Posts: 50
The degree requirements will never be dropped as most young pilots entering the career have degrees, and the legacies have shown they care more about education, than experience. The legacies will simply hire pilots with less experience and a degree, vs more experience without a degree.
Also, I would get an aviation degree these days, the days of getting a backup degree are long over. You won't be using it on furlough, or if you lose your medical, etc.
Also, I would get an aviation degree these days, the days of getting a backup degree are long over. You won't be using it on furlough, or if you lose your medical, etc.
#36
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Joined APC: Sep 2016
Position: air attack pilot
Posts: 50
If you want my advice, the best thing an aspiring pilot could do is get a master's degree in some skill they could carry with them the rest of their life. Mine involves a lot of lab research (among other things). I had college buddies who went into wastewater treatment (sewage plants). Two of them eventually got into law enforcement, but every year they go to wastewater conferences and keep their certifications current. At least one of them plans to retire from law enforcement shortly and get back into water treatment. He always valued having the degree in his back pocket to fall back on. Plus having a degree helps advance in general even in his cop job. As I said in a previous post, I've used my master's when times were tough at the airlines. It hasn't always been the most lucrative, but it's better than doing unskilled labour when I was furloughed or didn't want to take a displacement or something. So, my advice is to do something like this with a degree and slowly build up flight time while doing it at a local airport. Make flight instruction your part-time job while getting the degree.
The 2nd best choice would get a bachelor's degree in anything but aviation and flight instruct part-time while doing that. My first degree was in history, which was kind of useless for a specific job, but it was something to build off of and getting a degree at a state college is far, far cheaper than going to an aviation college.
3rd best choice would be getting a 2-year degree at a technical college that teaches aviation. It would be useless for anything but 91, 135 and regional flying, but again a lot cheaper than a 4-year aviation college.
My last choice would be a 4-year aviation degree. It's useless for anything but flying and it's totally cost prohibitive. Some previous poster asked how many pilots had their educations paid for by their parents. I'm willing to bet almost 100% of the ones that went this route did. In my middle-class situation, there is no way on God's green earth myself, or my parents could afford that. And although I took on some student loan debt for college (also had the GI Bill and a part-time job) it pales in comparison to what kind of debt I would have had to take on to go to an aviation college. I'd still be paying it off! And, I guess if you have the silver spoon that could buy this plan for you then you really don't have to worry about having a degree to fall back on anyway because you have your family inheritance for that. I'm not trying to sound all Bernie Sanders, but just stating a fact that different people have different situations and different safety nets. I wouldn't go this route unless I had a HUGE family financial safety net!
The 2nd best choice would get a bachelor's degree in anything but aviation and flight instruct part-time while doing that. My first degree was in history, which was kind of useless for a specific job, but it was something to build off of and getting a degree at a state college is far, far cheaper than going to an aviation college.
3rd best choice would be getting a 2-year degree at a technical college that teaches aviation. It would be useless for anything but 91, 135 and regional flying, but again a lot cheaper than a 4-year aviation college.
My last choice would be a 4-year aviation degree. It's useless for anything but flying and it's totally cost prohibitive. Some previous poster asked how many pilots had their educations paid for by their parents. I'm willing to bet almost 100% of the ones that went this route did. In my middle-class situation, there is no way on God's green earth myself, or my parents could afford that. And although I took on some student loan debt for college (also had the GI Bill and a part-time job) it pales in comparison to what kind of debt I would have had to take on to go to an aviation college. I'd still be paying it off! And, I guess if you have the silver spoon that could buy this plan for you then you really don't have to worry about having a degree to fall back on anyway because you have your family inheritance for that. I'm not trying to sound all Bernie Sanders, but just stating a fact that different people have different situations and different safety nets. I wouldn't go this route unless I had a HUGE family financial safety net!
#37
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Joined APC: Jan 2007
Posts: 692
Learn from other people’s mistakes. I did the 4 year aviation degree and ended up putting myself in a world of hurt. And I even had a parent that paid for it. I became a pilot right before 9/11 so I think everyone knows what the industry was like after that. I was making 25,000/yr at the top of the payscale with no upgrade in sight. I cut my losses and moved on, but it was very difficult with an aeronautical science degree. Please don’t listen to the propaganda from the big aviation universities and academies. They do not have your best interest in mind. Some form of a backup career or degree is an absolute must.
#38
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,948
Learn from other people’s mistakes. I did the 4 year aviation degree and ended up putting myself in a world of hurt. And I even had a parent that paid for it. I became a pilot right before 9/11 so I think everyone knows what the industry was like after that. I was making 25,000/yr at the top of the payscale with no upgrade in sight. I cut my losses and moved on, but it was very difficult with an aeronautical science degree. Please don’t listen to the propaganda from the big aviation universities and academies. They do not have your best interest in mind. Some form of a backup career or degree is an absolute must.
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