SaltyDog

Will go against the prevailing winds on this one. If you are a sharp and have grit, go get a regional job as soon as possible. Many of the education folks recommend you stay to get the social aspects of life in college. Awfully expensive social life. You do need the degree. It is absolutely required long term. Online with Embry worked for some Navy Officers years ago when they took folks with Associate degrees but were required to get bachelors. The Navy considered them valid ( I proctored some for the tests) Also, when I was in college, (not ERAU) there were a few pilots like you who started school, got a flying job, and worked it out with existing credits to come back on days off and finish a degree. Very creative, demanding, but worked. Will your school work that out with you?
The few that did this were mature, resolute, and had a good social life from the school and job end. They were all single. You know the saying: Get a degree in basketweaving to satisfy the requirment. I got one in Aerospace engineering as my backup in 3 years going full time (my goal was military commision though).
If you mix it between residence and non residence, you will only be joining the expanding world of corporate professionals who do this because they already are on the corporate ladder. You get get your MBA and other Master degrees with very little residence at reputable institutions.
In any case, Good luck, there are alot of good considerations given in this thread, just threw in my penny for you.

maveric311

Get the Degree and become a CFI! after graduating consider moving to a place like Arizona or Florida to work as a CFI where there is much more GA flying weather. The experience I've gained while being a CFI has been extensive. I look back on when I had 250/50 comm. int. and I am much better off now heading into the regionals one year later. I got my degree first and then started training. So your ahead of the curve as far as that goes, but finish the degree! It is nice to have somthing to fall back on and the experience you gain as a CFI is honestly so great it cant be valued! It also makes you a much more attractive interview if you have the degree and CFI.

2 cents from someone who has been there and is at the begining of the regional career.

Dash8Guy

again thank you for the advice guys. I do have a good social life and do enjoy college. I also do understand the importance of an education and have and will never consider dropping out of college. My dad who has supplied all of my funding is very stern on me getting my bachelors and unfortunately i am the only pilot in my family. I really wish i could explain to them how the hiring is going right now in the regionals and how i could do school online at a slow pace, because i truthfully wont be needing that degree for a while and the fact that i would have to wait 3 years to upgrade to captain no matter where i go would put me in no rush to get through school. In this day and age i really think the only difference between online schools and or not online is the social life. Other than that i dont see much difference in what you acheive.

Maveric311-
I was thinking that I should take advantage of the hiring right now and give it a shot, i can always come back and get my CFI if need be. Just a thought.

maveric311

Just another thought for you to ponder is that it has never been a better time to be a CFI than right now. With the Regionals lowering their mins instructors are leaving fast. With schools crowded with students (especially foriegn ones), schools are desperate for instructors! for example my school is currently offering a $5,000 bonus to sign on to instruct for a year if you have your CFI and they will pay for your mei and cfii. Not a bad deal at all!

I have been to several interviews lately and no one has got the job with comm. multi and inst. all of the reputable regionals are hireing with like 500 and 50 at least but to be truly competitive in the interview you have to have more than that + a degree + have been a CFI. I was hired on at Eagle and will be there starting Jan 21. I got denied at Exjet however and so did a lot of others. I have about 1000 and 200 M.E. Good luck with everything though. I beleive Piedmont, TSA, PSA, and a few other will hire you with your hours but search these forums for those airlines and you might find your better off where you are now, than again you might not...

Again,

Good luck with everything.

Dash8Guy

Once again great advice. I wont be making any decisions for quite some time as to what I do but I really appreciate you informing me of these things.

tcraft

I had the whole get everything done as soon as possible attitude that yourself and so many others have had and do have. It was my driving source through college and through all of my ratings. The thing that kept me going was what the next step would be and how I'd "get ahead of the game." I was never happy with being where I was supposed to be at, I always needed to be ahead. This all pushed me to graduate at 20 and get hired at 21.

I, on the other hand, flight instructed for over a year (which still isn't a very long time compared to what it's been). I've always told people that the first two or three hundred hours or so of doing that scared the hell out of me. Not because my students were "trying to kill me" or because I had to live on near poverty-level pay. But instead because it allowed me to realize how much stuff I didn't know. It's one thing to pass your multi-engine commercial checkride by meeting the PTS standards that the examiner chooses to evaluate you on. It's a completely different thing to have to teach every possible PTS area to a student not only on the level to pass a checkride, but to the level of being a safe and proficient pilot.

The times I spent in school and flight instructing were some of the best times of my life... but now I've made it to my goal of becoming an airline pilot. And now that I'm here the inevitable has set in: "now what?" Don't get me wrong, I love my job and the flying I get to do, but my life is not the perfection I told myself for so long it'd be. I've now realized that the "stepping stones" I regarded as the necessary steps to get where I wanted to be were the times I enjoyed more than any other.

You're young, enjoy the time when you've got it. Don't be in a huge hurry to spend 10 nights a month in your own bed or not have the seniority to bid Christmas or your own birthday off. Thanksgiving just isn't the same when your dinner is Pizza Hut delivered to your hotel room in North Dakota.

coldpilot

That pretty much sums it up for me as well. Except Thanksgiving was in JAN at the Waffle House with the Captain. Living the dream!

Slice

I had one of the best Thanksgiving dinners ever at my crashpad this year. I wasn't better than being with family but it was a good time.

aerospacepilot

That is great. It is good to see someone who values an education.

I wish their was another pilot in your family too, because I know exactly what he would say. He would say finish your 4 year college degree at a normal school. Why would he say anything different than what most everyone on this board is saying. He would know that you have no chance of getting hired by a major airline without a college degree. He would know an online degree is not the same as actually going to college. He would know that the regionals will still be hiring in several years. He would be saying the exact same thing your dad is saying. Any smart pilot would say STAY IN COLLEGE!!

Listen, I understand your urge to be flying for an airline yesterday. Everyone wants to. But the smart majority know what is best for themselves and their future career. That is going to college. I am glad you understand the value of an education. But you get so much more out of going to an actual university than just an education. A lot of time, it is not just what you know, it is WHO you know. In college, you will network more than at any other time in your lifetime. You simply won't get that getting an online degree. And you are right about the social life. Never again in your life will you get the chance to have as much fun as you will in college.

Let me add a few other things too.
1. College WILL NOT take 5 more years if you actually focus. College is designed to be finished in 4 years (so 3.5 more to go for you). And I can tell you the regionals will still need pilots in 3.5 years.

2. Is there a flying club at your school? If not, you should start one. I guarantee there are atleast a few pilots at your school. Get to know them. Go flying together. Split some time. Go on flyouts. Bring some girls along. Have fun with it.
Joining a flying club at my university was such a great move. See my profile picture... that is me flying a full motion 747-400 simulator for a few hours from the captain's seat. I learned about these simulators when I went on a public tour of United's DENTK with my university flying club.

3. Get your CFI ratings and flight instruct while in college, or over the summers. This is a good time to be a CFI. There is a slight shortage, and pay is going up. You could teach some flying club members how to fly. Then when you graduate, you will have plenty of experience to go to any regional airline. Honestly, NO regional airline will pick you up at 260/whatever and NO college. But if you go to college and instruct a little for the next 3.5 years, you will be able to go to any regional airline with your experience and a 4 year degree.


Finally, let me leave you with this thought. Every day or so, some newbie comes on these forums, says he is not in college, and asks if he should skip college to "get ahead." And everyone gets the same answer... They get told that skipping college is only going to put you behind. Then some ask about online degrees, and they all get told the same thing.... College is about more than just the degree. It is a combination of education, networking, extra cirricular activities, social life, and the overall experience. You will not get this by getting an online degree. Honestly, an online degree shows that you are not just lazy and actually somewhat value education. But an online degree is not as good as a regular 4 year college degree. That is most everyone's opinion.
You are lucky. You understand the value of an education, and that is huge. Also, you have someone close to you (your Dad) giving you good advice. Stay in college. You will not be getting ahead by going to an airline today. You will be getting yourself behind.
Listen to your dad.
Listen to the smart pilots on this board (especially Rickair and boilerpilot on this thread).
STAY IN COLLEGE.

Good luck with your decision. Let us know if you have any more questions and let us know what you decide.

Nightsky

I have a captain friend at a regional that has 3000 pic and who is trying to move on to the 'big boys'. When he was younger, he opted to go the fast route to the cockpit and skip college. He now DEEPLY regrets it. Not a week goes by that he doesn't tell me how bad it's holding him back. I made getting college done my priority, so yes, I'm still an FO, but I have the 4 year degree. He doesn't. I think in the long run I have the advantage. Now he has to try to fit in correspondence courses online to get a degree, and he hates it.

Just get the school done. You're young, so don't rush into a bad decision that will have serious outcomes. Like the poster above me said - Finish College!