meh. some would argue folks NOT going to school are more educated these days. look who "the educated" reelected? ignore my grammar and punctuation. just typing fast and don't give a rats a$$.

In a past life my job involved interviewing pilot applicants. To most panel members the major didn't matter. What matters is that the applicant has a diverse background and can effectively communicate. For most that is what the college experience provides.

there are a slew of fully bonafide, board certified, accredited, etc etc online BA degrees. take one course a semester and knock it out over a few years.

My experience as a coach tells me that many times the self imposed stress and concern about the "lack" of a degree often erodes confidence, while many times the interviewer really doesn't care at that point.

That said, with so many accredited online programs out there, I encourage guys to just suck it up and knock it out when you can. Yes...its an ass pain, but in my case so was SOS, ACSC, and AWC in the military. However, the rewards for going ahead and doing the stupid work was usually worth the payoff.

Don't have one? Press hard and move on. But get it when you can.

(And...I hate to admit it...but sometimes you really did learn something of value along the way...)

I totally agree. But, to be fair, if you were up against a huge number of guys who do have the degree, and you present without one, that has to be a stressor.

Tell your friend to get it done if he is serious about this business. I have a degree and everything else required to go to a major. And, I'm already at a major. I still want to make a move and I'm still hoping and praying I make the cut.


Good luck to your friend.



JJ

Sure flying has nothing to do with a BA in basket weaving... But for those of us who put up with classes, studying, working meaningless jobs to pay for college etc.... It is nice to know that our sacrifices allow us an extra notch up the ladder.

There is a reason the jobs that most strive for require a degree. And the less desireable flying jobs don't require one... There's a guy on FI.com who swears up and down that a degree is meaningless, and flying has nothing to do with college. But then take a look at where he has only been able to work.. (Some night freight job in YIP) It's the way it is... SWA, FEDEX, DL all require a degree.....and in general those are the top notch jobs. You want to work there you'll probably need a degree..

“You blew 150k on an education you could have gotten in$1.50 in late fees from the library" is a nice quote and technically true- but getting a degree is not simply about the degree but the work that it took to complete a 4 year college program. This is why "attending" college for four years is not enough to get a degree.
Get the degree.

Southwest doesn't require a degree!

This has gotten of the rails a bit

It's unfortunate, but your friend simply won't be competitive without the degree. It's something like the 100hr ME requirement to get that first regional job. It's way more than is actually necessary to become a competent FO, and holds a lot of good people back, but it's used to narrow down the applicant pool.

Same reason doctors and lawyers have to get a degree before starting med school or law school. The degree doesn't do much for them once they get to med/law school, it's just used to limit the applicant pool.