Hello everyone,
I am a new dad to this group and I have a 17 year old aspiring daughter and pilot with some questions and I'm looking for some help and insite.
Currently my daughter is enrolled at our local high school in Salt Lake City, with a combined GPA of 3.9 with numerous concurrent enrollment classes having been completed. She has completed her FAA ground course at Utah Valley University, passed her FAA written knowledge test, passed her medical test and she is currently enrolled at upper limit aviation here in Salt Lake City with about 15 hours logged so far towards her PPL.
Her goal is to become a Captain for a major airlines, we have a few questions and concerns that maybe you all experienced pilots can help out with. Recently Salt Lake community college and Westminster college have done away with there aviation degrees. So she's been accepted to Utah State University and she wants to enroll in their aviation program and achieve her bachelor's degree. It is our hopes that while she obtains her PPL and maybe her instrument rating before college to that will fast track her progress and help her become a flight instructor for the college while she completes her degree.
On the other hand there's a few programs around the valley such as ATP, FLT or her continued career path at upper limit aviation, she can achieve her multi-engine and commercial pilot's license in about a year's time. The sooner she achieves these ratings the sooner she can begin loging more hours with a small carrier, work her way up to first officer and hopefully start to making a wage then she can go to college and get a degree that will help her down the road achieving the rank of Captain.
So my main question is, are there any recommendations from all of you with experience. Is college the best route with an aviation degree, or should she fast track at a school of aviation and then get a degree on the back side maybe in something other than aviation so she has something to fall back on in case flying isn't always an option. It is to my understanding that major carriers don't really care what the bachelor or master's degree is in as long as that degree and level of education is obtained.
Any help and insite anyone can provide as to what steps you might think would be the best option would be greatly appreciated in helping me keeping my daughter and young pilot successfully in the air. We are interested in any information, mentoring programs or anything at all to help her become successful. Thank you very much