It’s like fishing size restrictions. They are going to throw back anything that bites that is under a certain size. If you are a fish that wants to get caught and kept, deliberately taking yourself out of the keeper category isn’t a smart move. If you choose not to meet their requirements, expect to be thrown back. You may not like it, but those are the current rules of the sea.

This question routinely comes up. Yes, we do hire without it. Yes, the folks without the degree are highly qualified in other areas. (High total time, excess type ratings, evaluator pilot, management experience, former military, all of the above.)

But you're not competitive for getting the invite without it. Just keep plugging away until you're finished, knowing that chances are your phone won't ring until you update with the degree.

It could very well be, but my point was just about the math. 95% of the pilots that get hired at the legacies are white males, yet there is a lot of white males at the regionals complaining how much easier it is to get hired as a minority/female. Just because 95% of the people that get hired are white males doesn't mean it is easier to get hired as a white male, you need to know the percentage of applicants vs percentage of hired to answer the question if a degree is required.
(it probably is, just don't like sloppy math)

I am in the minority, and count myself fortunate. Interviewed 10/24 and received the CJO on 11/1. My stats:

8400 TT
7900 Jet
2300 PIC
12 years at a regional
Line Check Pilot

Several jobs prior to the airline with management/supervisory experience, but 2 classes shy of a college degree before my school closed.

My best guess is that the combination of LCP and other prior management positions is enough to satisfy their degree requirement.

Still waiting on a class date....

A college degree was still required through the CPP. Many otherwise-qualified pilots were turned down for that reason.

if you had 120 or more credit hours they likely gave you credit for degree. congrats

Not all were turned down. Some were given a CJO provided that they finish their degree within a specified period of time. We are not near the point where the degree doesn’t matter. Getting hired without one makes one the exception to the rule. We’ve all known how the legacies view a degree. Not having one is a choice that is made, one that will have an extremely negative impact on the odds of gaining employment at a legacy. We’ve all known that this hiring wave was coming, yet some still decided not to check the boxes that they want to see checked. A degree doesn’t make you a better pilot, but without one you will watch others move on while you toil away at the regional level.

Hope it wasn't Trump University!! Congrats. :D

Or Burlington College, bankrupt and gone. Run by Bernie’s wife. If only it had been free...

That’s basically what they told the Aviate candidates a degree isn’t required but if you don’t have one you need to have some serious leadership management titles on your resume to make up for it.