But it also gets you the possibility of that Delta widebody
Captain seat at Age 45. 20 years in that seat and it will look like a good investment.

However, not everyone gets to the top of the pyramid. How big a gambler are you?

And if you were really that much of a stud, how come you don't go the military route. Ever heard of AFROTC or NROTC?

No one thinks ERAU-BS Aviation program is good inside or outside of aviation. Engineering is a different story.

The rich and the recipients of government schemes. Fascism at its finest.

My point still stands though. There is no way on earth it costs a quarter mil for a bachelor's degree and multi commercial/instrument with a cfi. Not even remotely close. Anyone paying anywhere near that much is in fantasy land and needs to be cut off all forms of government assistance.

Or you could take that money and spend it on a medical degree or spend half of the money for a top flight MBA program and you'll be making what that widebody captain makes at age 30.

Now does it look like a good investment?

Thank You!!! The real conversation is why would anyone right now want to learn to fly and spend the money for a $25k job. Now where you decide to go to school for this dying profession is another topic. If you are reading this and thinking of being a pilot. Go to any school and get a non aviation degree and get your license and a local airport. Going to UND or Riddle will give you no advantage when you apply for your first 121 or 135. When airlines start compensating pilots what they should be making, then I could justify wanting to go to Riddle. For the wages pilots make now, I wouldn't drop one dime at those expensive schools.

You have to first get into a Tier 1 MBA program. A general MBA from a place like State U only gets you more debt. MBA degrees are a dime-a-dozen in the real world. You'd be better off spending it on flight training.

Not true at all, unless you are trying for a big firm on wall street. I will agree for your first job it help a bit in the long run wont mean crap.

I don't buy lotto tickets either.


ROTC is fine. Actually AFROTC worked out great for a couple friends in the 80s when the AF gave out too many full rides. At graduation, they were given the option of NOT going active because there were too many officers already.

Or there is the enlisted route. With Tuition Assistance, good planning, and persistence in a six year hitch a guy could get out with a BS for next to nothing...... And after getting out, the GI Bill could cover about half of his flight training at a less expensive 141 school. An 18yo kid could get out at 24 with a degree, Comm ASEL/AMEL, and CFI with zero debt if he saved a few bucks while on duty and had a part time job during flight school. Instruct for a year, fly a Caravan or Navajo for a year, move up to a King Air (preferably with glass), and then a Brasilia. Now he is about 28, zero debt, great experience, and can be pretty picky about where he goes next: corporate, charter, fractional, regional, or (if he really works the job fairs, etc) maybe even mainline.

But it takes work, planning, and sacrifice.

Or just get a bunch of loans and be in debt forever because it is easier.

Disclosure: that enlisted route was almost exactly the one I took. CFIIs were more in demand and I took a signature loan of $2000 (about 20 hours of Instructor pay) to finish up. Loan was paid well before I quit instructing, and I haven't eaten ramen since ;)

All that worked well until the new ATP rules came out. Now to get hired under the new ATP rules, you MUST have an Professional Pilot Degree or be a graduate of a military flying program. It is a completely new world under this rule. The days of going to your FBO, building time and getting hired are over, unfortunately. There are going to be two ways to get hired in the future. Go through a military program or a college program. And the cheapest Professional Pilot Degrees in FAA approved programs are $150K.

Personally I spent $30K to get into this profession. If I were looking at this now there is no way I would spend 150K for it. The return just doesn't justify the investment.

You don't know what you are talking about. My brother got his accounting and MBA degrees from State U for $75K and was making $150K a year at a Fortune 500 company by age 30. Lots of work out there if you have an MBA and an accounting background.