Well as far as I know airlines do not give preference for what of degree you have, so his advice is good. It sort of reminds me of people wanting to be police officers getting almost useless type degrees such as criminal justice or criminology. It's best to get a degree to fall back on when they won't give preference to ANY degree you may have earned.

freezingflyboy u misunderstood me. i very much take into account skyhighs advice and i did read his post carefully before i replied. i understand the concept of a backup. its good advice and ive heard it brought up many times in the forum but i wanna major in something im interested in and thats aviation and minor in something that i can fall back on incase my dream doesnt work out and am also interested in which i mentioned was psychology or geography. i have no problem with the idea of a business degree as i posted for many people it is a useful and practical degree as I said in my earlier post but its not what I want to spend the next 4 years of my life trying to get a major in and I see no reason throwing money down the drain doing something I don't wanna pursue..and brav989 we can argue all day about employers favoring one degree over the other Im not majoring in aviation because I think it will increase my chances of getting hired by a regional, i am majoring in it because it is what I love to do and want to pursue in my future. please some of you read my previous post more carefully next time before jumping to conclusions that i ignored skyhigh's advice.regards, chris

Isnt the market for ATCs pretty hot or will be soon because of retirements? Could that be a fallback for a fallen out pilot?

Just rememeber.....chapter 7 is no longer a viable option after 10/18/05!:(

Oh yea just noticed you were talking about CWU. Where abouts are you now? I'm from the Vancouver/Portland area presently.

I agree.. I prefer to get paid less and love what i do, than getting paid more and be misserable. I have been on both sides of the coin and i prefer doing something i love.

I third that.

I am also cautious in that my soon to be completed degree is in telecommunications and i have 6 years of Satellite Communications, and Commercial switching professional military experience to fall back on.

I have thought about it long and hard because the field i am in now can bring easily upwards of 100k per year but at least at this present time i would prefer to pursue flight. I have ZERO interest whatsoever in the IT field, it just can not hold my interest or keep me happy at this present time.

The plus side is that my degree, my certifications, and my experience in my present field will not expire. I may have some catching up to do but it is not limited by a timeline so i know it is there for me if all else fails, at which time i will buy a Citabria or something of the sort and live the alternate dream.


I think SkyHigh although seen as one of the more negative posters on this site has alot of great information to share and shares it in a valuable way which can enlighten someone and help "tunnel vision" people like to see the glory but often forget the guts involved. As for BT...he occasionally chimes in with equally important information but seems more or lese to just start threads meant to antagonize and bring out the worst in others. He is a professional at rubbing people the wrong way and starts threads and post comments just to get a rise out of others. He posts to see which kinds of replies or reactions it will bring, not to actually inform or enlighten others. I will say that it is not all the time, just most of the time.

This is all in my limited two month experience on this site. Many have been here for a few years and may have seen otherwise, i am just going on what i have observed.

You sound like you have your mind already made up and don't want to hear anyone's opinion that differs from yours. You are focusing on the one area of aviation that's the most unstable, least profitable and with the lowest long term earning potential, passenger flying. You sound like the type that has to be seen strutting through the terminal in your uniform so all the kiddies can see you and ogle over the sight of an "airline" pilot. You should do good in the mighty RJ. Problem is, that will probably be the biggest thing you ever fly. There is no way the passenger side will ever return to it's glory days as you say. The regionals, kids like you and mainline management who sees that they can take advantage of you will see to that. Good luck with your "dream" and hope it doesn't become a nightmare for you. One last thing, no matter how much you may "love" flying, after awhile it does become a "job" and you will grow tired of it. You better be sure that when this does happen that you haven't paid a too high of price to get to the point that it is just a job, especially when you find yourself stuck at a regional your entire career.

Brav989,

I use to live in Vancouver when I was flying for Horizon and taught ground school at Evergreen Airpark at nights to make a little extra money. I really enjoyed my time there.

CWU1919,

The college is great MidState Aviation however is a miserable place that overcharges for everything. The instructors are like used car salesmen. The Flight Tech program is run by a bunch of academics without any real experience. As far as I know not a single one of them has ever flown for an airline and most don't have any professional flying experience at all. I would get a geology degree and fly on the side someplace else.


Times have changed. Back when I was a freshman at CWU no one would have considered aviation as a career unless it came with the promise of a healthy income. The price is so high and sacrifice so painful that everyone of us had expectations of owning a 120 acre hobby ranches and buying a new truck every other year. You guys are already bracing yourselves for a modest to impoverished life before you even start. Our dreams slid from well off to barely making a living. What do you think the future will be like for you guys if you already have as a high hope of just being to earn a simple living?

SkyHigh

Keep your eyes on the skies !!

Sky High is right on the money as usual. But then again, if you start out with low goals, then a regional career might turn out to be satisfying!