what an arrogant statement. just because your dad flew for the airlines without incident for many years and you did as well it means that getting a degree is overrated. some of us are eager to learn and are willing to go out and try to gain some intellect and find something that interests us besides flying airplanes. English, psychology, engineering the list goes on. many pilots out there don't do well in other fields because they have no other marketable skills. Like you, they thought getting a college degree was over-rated and then they get furloughed and it all goes downhill from there. All of your posts HotMamaPilot indicate to me that you didn't get a degree and it shows on these forums.

Good for you you're an FO for UPS and enjoy flying your "truck with wings". I hope your thankful everyday for the position you hold and realize that at any point something could happen that could end it for you. a car accident, cancer, breaking a company policy, etc. What will you do then? I hope you have a backup plan because if you are looking for a high paying respected job I don't see much hope for you with that kind of an attitude...

 

Sounds like a raging hormone flight inexperience complex to me.

 

CWU1919,

Clean out your PM inbox. I am trying to contact you.

SkyHigh

 

(Me again, not my wife) I know, I know... it's her account.

I hope everyone here understands that my position on education was not that it was "overrated" by any means. Prior to making the commitment to becoming a pilot, I had different priorities in life. Sometimes, education was not as high of a priority to me as it should have been. That might be attributed to my background, poor upbringing, lack of desire, focusing on my family, on my job, or a host of other excuses. The point is, I didn't make it happen in time for me to decide what I really wanted to do with my life. Don't get me wrong, I "wanted" to be an airline pilot from my childhood but I didn't have the drive to commit to it until later in life. Now, I find myself on the inside of the industry holding only an associates degree. I imagine that I will pursue higher education when I feel that I am ready but nothing is currently pulling me in that direction. The skills needed to operate the equipment safely and efficiently seem to be well within my reach as of now.

While I am a proponent of all forms of education, I find that I cannot usually identify fellow pilots who lack higher education unless I happen to hear about it in casual conversation. Their personal skills as an aviator seem to be unrelated. Some hold themselves to the highest of standards and then again some don't. I can find no correlation.

I think that we are all where we are for a reason. If there are those among us who fail to meet the demands of our profession, hopefully someone will soon identify that person and act accordingly before it's too late.

Otherwise, I think we genuinely have a good group of pilots here (in today's industry) and I am proud to be a part of it. ...albeit a little less educated, on average, than yesterday’s pilot.

 

Just give me one good reason why it's a beneficial to hold any college degree to fly an airplane.....
It's not....
Airlines just want you to hold on for peace of mind....so they know you can learn and will pass training.....
Why do you think they don't care what it's in?
Hell...get a degree in sexchology.....they wouldn't care...

 

Well said. I suppose there are other ways for an applicant to demonstrate his or her abilities during the interview. If the company is worth its salt, they’ll pick the right people for the job. After that, if the pilot continuously meets the company standards, then the individual’s educational background becomes irrelevant.

 

As I stated my father was an airline pilot for almost 40 years holding types in everything from a Convair 330 to the 747. He started college but quite soon after for many reasons, I admire him. He was determined to educate his three children. I have two degrees, one in Management and the other in Economics. Both my brother and sister hold degrees with my sister being the most intelligent (2 Masters). Why was he so determined that we all received degrees? It wasn't for what it quaranteed, nothing guarantees anything. It was because you're more likely to succeed. There are many that don't hold the degrees that I do and they’ll lap me when it comes to income because they have the same conviction my father did. They will not fall prey to their so called lack of education. I’m not saying that I don’t have conviction; it’s just not channeled with the same intensity and determination.

Education is important but dedication, discipline and conviction are key and you can't teach that.

 

maybe it wont help you fly an airplane better but it will increase your chances of getting a job to fly airplanes!!!!

 

That's what I said.
Unless ofcourse your competition are furloughed boeing captains...
Good luck getting that job with your Ph.d

 

apparently you aren't an english major . I said that you don't need a degree to drive a truck or a bus with wings. You probabaly do indeed need a degree to be an engineer, but that's not what i was talking about. ANd yes I do have a degree, am in good health, and don't break any company rules.