I plan on getting my B.S. degree... I'm already 2 years there... Read the rest of the thread and you will see both sides of the story. I'm not attacking people that have degrees, I just hate when people view those without them as less of a person, or not as smart, or not as professional, or whatever. Those who are "credential-obsessed" and pull that card often have an inferiority complex. Not everyone has the same opportunity as a kid to get one, some people have to work to make ends meet right from the beginning, others are spoiled brats and got that diploma without ever having to work a day in their lives... Should the latter get more credit, preferential hiring, or respect? I think not. So I just see it as kind of pointless to gauge a person’s ability or intelligence level based on a college degree that could have been bought for them.

 

If that's all you have on your resume as experience, what the heck else are they going to talk to you about?

 

Actually plenty as my first flying job in the passenger sector came at age 30.

I certainly hope that your experience training in an airplane doesn't define your entire personality and ability to an employer.

I could conduct an aviation (flying) interview for 3 hours and never once ask about a person's college experience if I didn't care to ask about it. The point was that for those employers, it mattered enough to them to ask pertinent questions about it. It didn't matter to them, as much, as where I went but rather what I felt I accomplished with my time spent while there.

That's the answers I'm looking to analyze when I ask those questions of candidates as well for my company.

 

Maybe my post was directed at the wrong person. If that's the case than my sincere apologies. However, I don't think that anyone on here has inferred that someone without a degree is any less of a person or is not as smart. If they have, than there an idiot. That being said, anyone who thinks being college educated is not important in this line of work is dead wrong.

Whether your credential obsessed or attended college out of a sincere effort to grow as a person, there is no arguing with the fact that it benefits your career. The perception among employers is that college is important. Now, whether that's true or not (and I believe it is) does not really matter. As some wise person said in a previous post "Don't hate the player, hate the game." The fact is you wont go as far without it. Are there going to be exceptions, yes. But does anyone really want to take a chance on being an exception? Don't fool yourselves people. College gives you a competitive edge, plain and simple.

To answer your question yes an no. Respect should never be given unless it's earned, regardless of what you have accomplished.

Credit should be given for what you have accomplished, including college or any other endeavor. College just happens to be weighted more than other things. Employers are not stupid. They just didn't wake up one day and decide that a college diploma is a requirement. Decades of positive results from hiring college grads reinforces there perspective. Good luck changing that paradigm.

As for preferential hiring, yes. Is this fair, not necessarily. But employers use preferential hiring because it works. If it didn't, they would not use it. Listen were not interviewing for a CEO job, where we get to explain every little aspect of every little experience to communicate how we are the best person for the job. We are labor. And when hiring labor you have to use the shotgun method. Question is what do you shoot at in order to hit as many acceptable targets?

Maybe this requirement will go away, but it's safe to say that as it does so will the quality of pay. Were already starting to see that at the regionals. If I can't find someone to pay me what I'm worth, than I'll go do something else and find someone who will. But at least I'll have more options because I went to college. Rant over.

 

A person may not go to college because they get too involved in building time up to get on at an airline/corp. and did not have the time to build flt time and go to college too.....regionals dont really care about college. The regionals actually realize that someone without college will stay longer....because they do not have a degree. I know alot of folks that then did the "online" thing to finish the college after they found out they were basically up against a wall if they wanted to move to a major. Some people will get on at a major without the college but it is less likely.

 

Okay, sorry about that. I have to qualify my statement meaning Commercial pilots who are acting as Commercial pilots in the professional market. Believe me, I know PLENTY of Commercial rated pilots who absolutely did not deserve to get the rating. I know it takes more than a ticket to make a good pilot. I've been teaching them for 34 years. I can tell with most on their first flight lesson whether they've "got it" or not. Degree? Good thing. No question. People who have put in the time and effort to be a good PROFESSIONAL PILOT, willing to expand their horizons and learn new things to make their profession as good as they can, have the right to compete for those jobs even though they may not have a degree. That's all I'm saying.

 

Problem is, the majority of Airline pilots out there can show they committed to both flight training, and 4 years of college.

Sure, it takes some commitment to get an FAA ATP. However, I recall my college classes being much more in-depth. It took a lot more serious study to get through the Math, Physics, and Business classes I took.

Nobody is going to be impressed with a High School Diploma alone.

Take the advice of the majority on this thread. Make the commitment and get your degree. Your commitment will be recognized. A lack of commitment will not!

AL

 

I couldn't agree more. I had the same experience. I'll be the first to tell you that my curriculum kicked my @ss in a major way. I knew I had 4-6 hours of homework every night for 4 years. No, it wasn't fun but I realized that my future was directly related to the work I was putting in.

I can't relate to some of these stories of sleepwalking through college and, more importantly, all of the employers in the aviation community in our future will not relate to that experience either.

 

You have a very good way with words and agree 100%

 

Dan,

I just saw this response. It's just my opinion, and one we hold highly in our family, that there is no such thing as a bad investment when it comes to education. I don't know one person that would ever fault a guy / gal for trying to better their future through education.

As for securing the funds, depending on your state, if you want to go to college, there will be a way to get the money.

Sure, there are no guarantees in life in the job hunting world but one thing for sure is that when you are done, you WILL be better off with than without and it can NEVER be taken away from you.

Now, that being said, there is a very big difference between educational facilities and what they offer.