And I’d take the decade-experienced RJ Captain who spent that time flying UEX without a degree over a 1000 hour FO with one, but here we both are: not getting what we want.

What’s a prospective newhire to do (regardless of background)?

Get the degree.

I agree with respect to the “newly minted Thomas Edison grad”. The discussion of online degrees is valid yet completely separate. AA/UA/DL are not (absent very remote exceptions) going to hire someone into a position that will end up out earning managing director level and keeping pace with VP level management positions in departments other than flight operators without 4 year degrees. The industry isn’t punishing people lacking degrees. There are plenty of airlines willing to look the other way. The airlines listed above generally do not in their off the street hiring processes.
If enlisted experience was deemed so valuable, why do career military still have to complete a degree before OCS and eventual pilot training? If anyone should know the value of a good soldier, it should be the Navy or Air Force, right? I personally think enlisted time should be a huge plus In our process. One who has served in this capacity has a healthy world view and probably treats non pilot coworkers with respect etc. I know many former enlisted who went on to earn degrees and ended up here. All well rounded great people that we were lucky to hire. That said, I do not believe the civilian world should somehow be deemed as less worthy of credentialed pilots. Get the degree or enjoy one of the many other opportunities available in the industry.

As well as “personal” quals.

If not already, start becoming active in a the community and volunteering.

We can all *****/moan/complain about what we think makes a pilot competitive and whom we’d like to see hired. But in the day and age, the above has proven to be huge metric/app point driver as well.

Their house, their rules......

Some will say get a degree in something other than aviation in case the industry falls apart. That’s good advise for young people just starting out. For someone already flying I recommend an aviation degree because it will be the fastest, and that’s what’s important if you want to get in and get a seniority number sooner.

Afterwards you can get an mba to fallback on.

I finished at Liberty University online and got on with a major not long after. And I am planning on doing the mba next year.

That's an awfully big gamble for a life long career

I met a guy local to me that flew for ASA. He was an ex--mechanic at LCAL and had a few thousand hours in the RJ....no interview at UAL. He was *****in and a moaning one day and I asked him "Do you have a 4 year degree" and he said "no".

I told him "You gotta play by the rules they set" I would suggest getting that degree as fast as possible, in which he did!

He works for UAL now....and very happy.

GET THE DEGREE

What a dumbass comment. Guess you’ve got your rejection letter, huh?

There is absolutely no denying that UAL uses an HR-centric hiring model. The girls that interview and screen don't know a pilot from an astronaut and can't even begin to talk about lift, weight, thrust, and drag. They only know what pilots sorta look like and sorta sound like and sorta act like. Beyond that, they don't know.


But, here's what we do know. The minimum requirements are set forth and written down for all to see. A dumb canjun from South Terrebone Parish (and that's far south) with a G.E.D. can figure out what is and ain't required to get hired.

Go get what you need so that you can get what you want. If you need a degree, go out and take care of that! It's the price of admission. Moreover, it is what it is. Just do it.

I've known a few guys that lost their medicals. Those fellas are sure glad they had a degree to fall back on. One guy was pre-law before the airline career. He went and finished law school. Good for him. Bummer the airlines didn't work out, but the degree sure helped him get back on track.

No one in management cares if you know the difference between APA and MLA format, but make no mistake they care that you care enough to get that degree.

Maybe not, but the Captain, F/O that is also in the interview room does...