I like to think that a degree is valuable but no substitute for real experience.

Doctors, lawyers, dentists, go to school for 8 years to get licensed to learn. It's the work experience that makes them valuable....You can't fly an airplane from just reading books.

 

Actually, it came out in the way that I meant it. In "....college English", the idea of college level English in general is implied. I did not imply anything about "course". back at you!

But hey, I'm no professor, so I could be wrong.

 

[quote=alvrb211;606196]

Having studied psychology, I believe you have some issues that stem from your not having a degree.

Having studied mixology, I think you have delusions of grandeur.

When you take upper level Math and Physics, you'll develop a greater understanding of aviation that goes way beyond FAA ATP level!

Please explain how advanced math and physics will make it physically easier for me to fly an ILS to minimums or land in a 30 knot crosswind? What vital missing elements will be added to my skill set?

You will have to put in hours of study when you either have little time, or simply don't want to. You will have to cope with a lot of deadlines, pressure, and stress. That will be a measure of your coping skills. You will be frequently tested. You will be measured. Your grades will be compared.

All of this has already occurred while I studied at the FAA Academy, graduated while over 50% of my classmates washed out, completed training at LA Center while another 60-70% washed out. It continued as I earned PPL, I-A, CMSEL, CFI, AGI, IGI, CFII, CMEL, MEI, and Part 141 Chief Flight Instructor certifications while working a 40+ hour a week job.

Will you succeed, will you fail, will you give up, will you graduate with a high or low GPA?

You haven't done it so who can say?

I have done other things that demonstrate the traits you describe and esteem.


It’s clear that you don’t appreciate, or have respect for, the amount of work it takes to graduate from a good school with a four year degree. Evidently you think it’s much easier than it is.

I respect it. I consider it on a par with other achievements in life. These include some of my own achievements.

Work experience is valuable but it's no substitute for a degree.

This is only true because employers tend to use the possession of a 4 year degree as a quick and dirty measure of a person's ability to absorb knowledge and reach goals.

When there is a shortage of pilots, no degree is needed, when there is a surplus of pilots, the degree becomes mandatory. I would like to earn a degree, all I need is time and money. So long as I have the desire to try for the majors, I will pursue a degree that can be achieved in the shortest time. If someday I have more time, I will pursue a degree in a subject I love.

The Dash Whisperer

 

I just don't see how learning in a classroom compares to dealing with and learning from real life scenarios, issues, implementations, etc... I've learned so much from working in office environments, constructions sites, branch offices, job site trailers... They all need internet/phone/fax connections, and they all need to be connected to home office via secure VPN, they all need their own local network, and it all needs to be done YESTERDAY. I learned how to adapt to strange environments, put fires out from the inside OUT after being thrown in the middle of it, I learned how the business world operates and how to navigate and communicate within it, I learned how to deal with REAL deadlines, REAL pressures, I've learned how the WORLD connects to the rest of the WORLD... I learned way more about network infrastructure from designing and building it custom tailored to the companies requirements. Those requirements always change on the fly and cost caps always force me to come up with different solutions, the list goes on and on and on. I got to see Vegas, Florida, Suburbs you never heard of, back woods and hidden closets of shopping malls, new stores or condominiums in construction, I've met and dealt with people from all different walks of life, made friendships that I'll always cherish and enemies that I'll always loathe. Worked with blue collar contractors and white collar crooks. I've climbed ladders wearing jeans and a hard hat one day, sat in a cubicle wearing a suit the next. I've worked 32 hours straight with no sleep! I've slept with older women, I've slept with younger women (Not illegal, lol)... All from doing this job. Can't say I experienced or learned 1/100th as much from college. Did you ever have to tell a multi-millionaire CEO that something simply is not possible with him just not getting it while you were in college?

My advanced learning didn't start until I was out on the job. There are many things books in a controlled environment will never teach you.

Work experience is every bit as, if not way more important than college. That is my opinion from my experience.


Hell this doesn't even include what I learned about life in general from working in restaurants and auto shops...

 

Will this thread ever die?

 

..........not as long as people keep asking if this thread will ever die!

 

Ooooooo...you got me.

 

Based on?


Perhaps you fly heavy jets into some of the most challenging airports in the world. Maybe you ace all of your approaches. Regardless, there's a lot more to flying skills and knowledge than one's ability to fly an ILS. Upon completion of upper level physics, you certainly will be better qualified to make decisions on meteorological issues and aircraft performance. Maybe climatology knowledge that isn't in the FAA sylabus will help when your enroute to Tokyo and the Kurosiwo/Oyasiwo current is a factor on the approach.




The most demanding theory exam in flight training (at least in the US) would be the FAA ATP Written. It's a very easy exam. I'm sure it happens but, I've never heard of anyone actually having trouble with it! I saw many people drop out of training but certainly not because they had trouble with the written exams!
On the other hand, I’ve seen many people fail exams in University. Perhaps that's because they are much tougher!



Perhaps. But, can you prove it to prospective employers and expect the same recognition? If so, good for you!


Evidently you're proud of that. But, are you able to convince others that your "other" qualifications are "on a par" with 4 years successful study at university? That's a tall order anywhere in the world.



Not so. Sure you can gain experience in the field but if you haven't opened the big fat textbooks with no pictures, you're never gonna see the stuff. Ever!

So, you wanna convince an employer that a highschool diploma is adequate preparation for a demanding and highly lucrative career?


I wouldn't buy it.

You are gonna have a hard sell trying to convince others that a degree is of little worth.

AL

 

Another point I might add...

My work experience put me in NUMEROUS situations where the success or failure of hundreds, or thousands of other people depended upon MY success or failure alone. You just don't get that kind of pressure in college. All of the kids that are like "OH MY GOD college is(or was) soooooo stressful!" have no idea what that kind of pressure is like. THAT cannot be replaced or substituted by a degree of any kind.

 

Ocean current - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Bammm just saved you all 50 grand



lol