The pilots that United hired who do not have one are smiling at your assertion. Granted, there aren't a lot of them, but they're out there. While a degree is certainly preferred it hasn't been mandatory for some guys.

Nobody. He started his own company. Which you are of course free to do, and may the force be with you.

As far as degrees & aviation...

1) A small number of people get hired at the top-tier without one. More in the past, fewer today. That will almost invariably require exception aviation credentials and experience... and that takes time to acquire, meaning they get on the seniority list later in life.

2) There's no point or need to school experienced professionals who don't have a degree... most are past V1 on that and are just trying to make their way with the hand they were dealt or chose.

3) Young people starting out in aviation DO need to realize that the degree is usually definitely worth the investment, even if it's just a barely accredited virtual diploma mill. If you have the time and energy, get a real degree even better at a brick & mortar school where you can have a social life.

There is also the aspect of pilot-group culture. When the top-tier hire a guy/girl without a degree, they're going to be highly qualified and will typically fit right in. But if you had a large pilot group where nobody had a degree, it would be a different culture. Not picking on any one individual but on average you'd see a difference.

This whole thread makes me smile. Some things never change. 30 years ago I remember this being a discussion among peers as to why a degree was important, and why it didn't matter. Valid points and arguments could be made for both sides.

I simply looked at it from a numbers point of view. If 97-98% had at least a bachelor's degree, I didn't want to decrease my chances of getting the interview and job I wanted. It's easier than ever to get a degree online, in person, or a combination of both.

Does my degree make me a better pilot? Probably not. Did it help me get the job, 100% certainly yes!

I don't need a tie to fly this jet. Why the heck do I have to wear one to the interview? It's so stupid! Their loss.

Bingo. Bill Gates started his own company. Charles Lindbergh did not graduate college.

When someone complains to me about needing to have a 4 year college degree, when they think they do not, I remind them of two points:

1) Major airlines set their hiring rules. Some airlines want pilots to wear hats. There game, their rules. If you want to play their game, play by their rules.

2) When reminded of the rare exceptions, I remind them they are no Charles Lindbergh.

Also an important point... many examples of no-degree success stories are from a different era. In Lindberg's time college was the exception, not the rule. Even 30-40 years ago, there was still a space for success without college (and college wasn't quite as readily available as it is today). Back then the question might have been "how did you manage to go to college?", while today it will be "why did you choose not to go to college?"

By the 1990's college was pretty ubiquitous and readily available, both admission and funding.

IIRC the modern day Bill Gates (Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, etc) all went to college, and top-tier at that (although some dropped out to pursue their ultimately lucrative visions, so you can give them credit for good SA, just like a top pro ball prospect who bangs out of college as soon as the pros will have him).

Also, not all college-dropouts are created equal.

I listened to an interview recently of a headhunter for top tier Silicon Valley tech companies and what they valued. He said something to the effect of, “We want someone who can get into Harvard, they just don’t necessarily need to waste the next four years studying there.”

Many of those people might qualify as "visionaries". But college drop-outs who don't become tech-billionaires are much more likely to qualify as "losers".

Comparing the personality type of an entrepreneur/disruptor to an airline pilot shows a pretty low level of our collective personality/self awareness.

all you really have to do is imagine that you are trying to create a system of screening applicants for a job that requires a high level of standardization adherence. Do you really want someone coming into your organization that has the attitude “I know better?”

most of us will never face the situation that requires a dramatic thinking outside the box, to save our lives and of course the 150+ lives behind us. There’s a reason Captain Al Haynes got to do speaking engagements for decades after his incident.

just like the hogan, you are definitely weeding out some really great pilots, but you are also ensuring that those who make it through more closely resemble the widget you are trying to plug into the machine. It shouldn’t require a college degree to understand that basic hiring principal