There are numerous other studies done by independent consulting firms, airline hiring/recruiting departments, the FAA, and other universities which confirm the findings of the above study.

The aforementioned data is far more concrete than anything discussed on this thread regarding airline pilot qualifications.

 

What frustates me is that getting through training events is not the greatest or better said, "true" measure of a pilot's value, experience, and capability. ( Though, I am not saying this as an attack on Marx, nor anyone on here. )

 

True. Other studies deal with metrics regarding the quality of line pilots - MFAs, fatigue, sick calls, disciplinary issues, etc. They all yield similar results - an aviation degree is usually indicative of a lower maintenance, more reliable pilot.

 

No.


Filler

 

When I was hired at a regional in 2008, my class consisted of four UND graduates and two ERAU graduates. We all sailed through training without a hitch. Classes ahead and behind of my class were a mixed bag of part 61/91 guys. Some of those guys struggled; several had to be retrained, two busted the checkride, one quit after having training issues, and another was let go. One guy that came from part 61 training and flew part 91 cargo had difficulty drawing on CRM to coordinate what he needed in the flight deck.

My point is these types of things are all addressed in a THOROUGH formal education format. Sure you may encounter these things out on your own, but sometimes they warrant a discussion or you may not even recognize the significance of what it is you encountered.

When I flew as an FO at the regional level, I always looked out for when ever a guy told me he was a second-career captain. Guys that left their 10+ year office job to become a zero-to-hero airline pilot. Don't get me wrong, there were guys that came from these backgrounds that were absolutely awesome, but the majority seemed to have issues.

There is absolutely no way you can substitute a four year aviation university education with a 90-day course certificate factory. When I did my CFI course during summer session, we were required to design our own lesson plans and aerodynamics outline - that in itself took three months to do!!

When I visited ATP's Fort Lauderdale location, I was shocked to hear their students talk about busted CFI checkrides for not knowing basic elementary things. Things like identifying those VORs on charts to listen to FSS and transmit on a seperate freq. Another student's comment was "aw yeah, that's not really fair because when are you ever gonna have to do THAT?"

If I want to hire someone that comes from somewhere with proven results, I will throw in the extra incentive to do so. Plain and simple.

 

Wow you guys sure you didn't work at NASA previously? I know plenty of aviation college types who have no business being in an airplane. They may be able to tell you EVERYTHING about aviation but that doesn't translate into being a good pilot. This is asinine to believe an aviation student has a better chance than someone who didn't go to an aviation college. It's all about the individual, it doesn't matter what school you go to.


With that said I do agree about the career changers. Scary.

 

An aviation degree is the biggest waste of time and money on this earth. Sorry if you didn't want to put forth the effort to get a real degree and are now extremely defensive.

Many of us, including myself attended real Universities and attained real degrees while also completing flight training on the side.

It was a tremendous accomplishment and I am a much more well rounded person because of it. Getting the "Aviation degree + flight ratings" bundle was an option I refused to even consider.

I wanted much more for myself.

 

Exactly +1

It is much more difficult to go to school full time and get your ratings on the side. How many credit hours does obtaining your ratings knock off your degree anyways? AGAIN it doesn't matter where you went to school, it all depends on you and how well you do in training.

 

My personal anecdote doesn't match your personal anecdote! We are now sworn enemies and will squabble like little *****es!

 

Don't be mad you only went to beauty school