Delta and college GPA

[PCL_128]

All that being said, I did find getting a Masters in Business very useful in understanding money, investing and budgeting. Good things to know when planing for retirement.

Really? Then why haven't you retired?

 

[DCAA320]

I guess you could say going to college ruined my career. don't ya think?

Nope, timing is everything and you didn't have a crystal ball.

As for me, I just happened to be taking a ME class, 75% of the Navy pilot test was what I had just studied (gears, pulleys, slopes, friction ...) so going to college is what got me into aviation.

I really hate to agree with Wave , but the HS only graduate great aviators are out there, but they are the exceptions.

Going to college never hurt anyone, and there is an idiot on here who thinks getting a masters is a bad thing, but hey, life goes on.

 

[inline]

I had a 3.0, did it in 3 1/2 years while flying freight and working two other jobs. I am glad DAL wasn't hiring when I was looking. Such superficial BS. I fly with guys that are lawyers, doctors or have maters in Engineering. Some of them cant fly worth a crap, have zero SA and no personal skills. Then there's the few who never went to college, great pilots and a blast to be with. Just another way for DAL and any other airline to miss out on great candidates. Same with SWA idiotic type requirement. We miss a lot of great pilots because of that.

Hear hear

 

[Whine Lover]

My Dad gave me a very good piece of advice many years ago:

" Son, what do you think the importance of attending college and getting a degree is? "

" Uh...to learn?"

" Besides that."

" Uh...I dunno'."

" Learning is part of it, meeting people from different backgrounds and gaining different perspectives is part of it....But, most importantly it's so you never lose out on a job opportunity because the other guy can check a box that you can't. "


Thanks, Dad.


YKW

 

[acaTerry]

Just stop arguing or trying to get YIP to think like the other 99% of the pilot profession.. It'll be like a dog chasing it's tail... Round and round and round til you forget why the heck you started the debate in the first place. He has some generic canned response for every scenario. And most of them he has used for the last decade or so on here.

99%...have you conducted a study? Try a new number, grabbing numbers out of the air is a classic liberal democrat strategy ---a la Bill Maher---when they are losing a debate (no insult intended--I'm not accusing you of being a liberal democrat).
There are times I disagree with Yip, but when he's got a point, he's got a point. And I have to say that I'd take trade school graduates for work over the average college grad any day. Someone specifically trained in their work is:
a) going to be better at it and
b) shows they have passion for it, unlike the Key Bank suckers with their "I think I'll try that pilot job because it looks cool" mentality that has led so many spoiled brats to enter the pilot ranks over the years.
BUT! Don't confuse trade schools with the pilot ticket factories that have popped up all over.

Like it or not, the world does not owe all of you a living because you went to college. It's just another feather in your hat. I'll take a hard worker who loves their work over a pseudo-intellectual who has been educated beyond their intelligence. I have my 2 degrees, big deal. I'll take someone with enlisted military background over a silver-spooned college grad any day. The military gives you more useful life skills that apply to ANY job in life, than some pompous ass professor in his ivory tower. Honestly, here's everything that college tried to teach me:
a) Everyone's culture should be celebrated and embraced...except the American culture. Assimilation is bad and shoving your culture and language on others is good.
b) If anyone ever failed at anything, it is somehow the fault of a white male who worked his way up to something.
c) If you believe in God, you are an extremist, and you are stupid. But theories that have no more proof than your own faith are taken seriously.
d) There is ONE acceptable religion, and that is atheism.
e) Gay is natural but gender is not.
f) Marital fidelity is why America's society has destabilized.
g) The military is for suckers (but "support our troops" is a catchy slogan so let's fake it).
h) The world hates us because we are bad. If we just hug them, they'll be nice. (BTW...that worked like a charm in keeping WWI and WWII from happening, didn't it?).
i) For an institution of broadening thought, college professors sure do not like students to attempt to broaden their thought by exploring disagreements. Take the professors' spew as gospel, and you'll be fine.

So all in all, the only people who get anything out of college are the ones who realize that they are not in fact better prepared than anyone else. The grads who think they are such fountains of ability and knowledge because they went to school...we had a term for them in the military, we called those Second Lieutenants.

 

[flyboyike]

Like it or not, the world does not owe all of you a living because you went to college.

The world doesn't owe anyone a living, regardless of educational background or lack thereof.

 

[acaTerry]

The world doesn't owe anyone a living, regardless of educational background or lack thereof.

Amen. I think if they still taught the story of the ant and the grasshopper in kindergarten, instead of how to get in touch with your feelings, there'd be a better work ethic.

 

[rumpletumbler]

I've found that most people who say you don't need a degree don't have one. I was numbered among them.

 

[BentOver]

Well those looking to get hired at Delta without a degree.... best of luck..

The non college advocates are arguing the wrong point.... Is it necessary to have a college degree to be a good pilot? Of course not....



Are your chances of getting hired at a reputable legacy carrier with a degree better.. Of course..

What guys like YIP are failing to recognize..... HR departments set the hiring standards.. Not a guy working at JUS in MI....

Don't like the playing field, go find another game....

Yes 99% is a legitimate number from a scientific poll I conducted using ALL FAA commercial pilots licenses from their website.. Just for this thread.. Because that wouldn't be a colossal waste of time.

 

[BentOver]

Maybe you've been flying too long to know what's the rest of the working world goes through...

He's a short breakdown of just a few members of my family..

Grandfather.. No college.... Factory worker

Grandmother.. No college... Worked at Sibleys, now part of Macy's

Mother... No college...bartender... Went to two year school at the age of 54..
Became LPN

Father... No college... Alcoholic/ drug addict bum dead at the age of 45

Step father... No college... Construction worker

Aunt... No college, odd jobs... After college in late 30's... Executive assistant at a prestigious university

Cousin #1... College, construction management

Cousin #2... College, register nurse

Half sister.... No college, cleans out dog kennels for barely above minimum wage
Her boyfriend, no college... Barely holds jobs as a tire changer

Myself.. Paid my way through college at ERAU ( and 2 other schools) while working full time at restaurants, night clubs etc... 767 FO and small business owner.. ( the guys I hire at just above minimum wage... No college)


Keep telling yourselves that college isn't a major avenue towards a better QOL.

It may not be the only way, but your chances are far greater with college.

 

[acaTerry]

Well those looking to get hired at Delta without a degree.... best of luck..

The non college advocates are arguing the wrong point.... Is it necessary to have a college degree to be a good pilot? Of course not....



Are your chances of getting hired at a reputable legacy carrier with a degree better.. Of course..

What guys like YIP are failing to recognize..... HR departments set the hiring standards.. Not a guy working at JUS in MI....

Don't like the playing field, go find another game....

Yes 99% is a legitimate number from a scientific poll I conducted using ALL FAA commercial pilots licenses from their website.. Just for this thread.. Because that wouldn't be a colossal waste of time.

I don't think that's the argument. I think the beef is with the ones who insist you are a "lower" pilot because of it. I hold my degrees, and I have to say I don't think it makes me deserve a job any more than a more experienced applicant without one. But like you said, pilots don't get to make the decision, HR does.

 

[Gorditas]

In other words, they want boy scouts that were born with a silver spoons in their mouths. I could have been done in four years with great grades if I wasn't working two jobs to put myself through college. If they don't want pilots that pull themselves up by the bootstraps, their loss.

I worked two jobs in college and averaged 18 credit hours a semester to complete two programs in 5 years. I was certainly born without the silver spoon, but was instead given a golden work ethic. Were there kids with a lot easier road to hoe that never worked a day in their life, drove new cars and had a slush fund? Sure there were. This is aviation, it has been and will always be an expensive pursuit. I was able to keep my overall GPA well above 3.0 though, exceeding 3.0 every semester except the first where I had a rude awakening to how much harder I had to work in college.

If you desire to work at Delta, or any major for that matter, your grades won't be nearly as much of a problem as your attitude. Unlike your college grades, that is still something you can work on.

 

[waveflyer]

This I find curious. Why? Other than your SWA koolaid drinking, you seem like an otherwise intelligent individual. Why do you think you "needed" college to do a rather simple job?

No mind is so great that it does not need other minds to sharpen, compare, shape, and bounce ideas off of.

I actually grew in college, and grew up. Learned how to work, and learned to stick with something until I was where I needed to be to get the A. And nut up until I was. That process taught as much as the actual content. Other experiences helped, but again, they were more challenging in college.
Sports being one of them.

"Our democracy depends upon an informed constituency"-Thomas Jefferson
Love learning and you'll find that required info, but Colleges are the best place to be exposed to everything the world has to offer.

For me, at some point early in college, but before I knew what I wanted to do, the world stopped spinning faster than I was. And it set me up for success.

 

[waveflyer]

Wave, Three of the best pilots I've known never went to college. They went right into flying complex multi engine aircraft at a very young age and made it into HA, Piedmont and AA (via AirCal). They were much better pilots than almost all the highly educated one's I've known. I've known pilots that over emphasize the importance of were they went to college too. They weren't so good.
That said, the reality is, having graduated from college is just one more resume builder that I can understand an employer would want to have checked off. But it in no way indicates any superiority or higher level of competence in the cockpit.

I believe I said the same thing-
But they are exceptions, not the rule

In my experience the most rough around the edges types are also uneducated. And it shows. And it's embarrassing at times. Social skills to not shining shoes, to showing up late-

Our jobs are not just flying. Being a good employee and professional is part of it.
I fine tuned that in college.

Besides, college was some of the funnest years of my life...and where I met some of my best friends. To me again, the argument isn't why. It's why not?

 

[waveflyer]

My Dad gave me a very good piece of advice many years ago:

" Son, what do you think the importance of attending college and getting a degree is? "

" Uh...to learn?"

" Besides that."

" Uh...I dunno'."

" Learning is part of it, meeting people from different backgrounds and gaining different perspectives is part of it....But, most importantly it's so you never lose out on a job opportunity because the other guy can check a box that you can't. "


Thanks, Dad.


YKW

Wise man

 

[waveflyer]

Maybe you've been flying too long to know what's the rest of the working world goes through...

He's a short breakdown of just a few members of my family..

Grandfather.. No college.... Factory worker

Grandmother.. No college... Worked at Sibleys, now part of Macy's

Mother... No college...bartender... Went to two year school at the age of 54..
Became LPN

Father... No college... Alcoholic/ drug addict bum dead at the age of 45

Step father... No college... Construction worker

Aunt... No college, odd jobs... After college in late 30's... Executive assistant at a prestigious university

Cousin #1... College, construction management

Cousin #2... College, register nurse

Half sister.... No college, cleans out dog kennels for barely above minimum wage
Her boyfriend, no college... Barely holds jobs as a tire changer

Myself.. Paid my way through college at ERAU ( and 2 other schools) while working full time at restaurants, night clubs etc... 767 FO and small business owner.. ( the guys I hire at just above minimum wage... No college)


Keep telling yourselves that college isn't a major avenue towards a better QOL.

It may not be the only way, but your chances are far greater with college.

Very similar examples in my life.

 

[Whine Lover]

Wise man

It's just that simple isn't it ?

Ever since there have been institutions of higher learning in this country, and ever since there have been employers and employees in this World...The employer has had the right to set qualifications as regards who he/she would like to employ.

One of those desired qualifications is, and has been, a College Education.

I would venture to say that for at least the previous two centuries, a college degree, (of any sort) makes one a better candidate for employment.

And, for the last 100 years...It has been known that, for employment as an airline pilot, it is almost a requirement. ( With many exceptions. )

It's just a box to be checked, it has nothing to do with who and what you are...But, if the employer cares to use that as part of their hiring criteria / filtering process, well....That is their prerogative.

I'm Color Blind. Many airlines would never consider me for employment. It was disqualifying. "Perfect Vision" was a box I couldn't check, through no fault of my own. But, by Christ...if there was a special "Color Blindness" school/procedure/whatever I could have participated in somehow, someway...I would have found a way to do it. ( Luckily, a waiver was good enough for many airlines. Oh, and I made damn sure I could check that box. )

Just that simple:

If you can't check the box ( for whatever reason(s) )... you don't get the job.

Life is just SO unfair....Now, isn't it ? ( Set sarcasm lever to " Max " . )




YKW

 

[pilotyip]

Really? Then why haven't you retired?

why I am doing what I like, hanging around airports, airplanes and pilots. I cannot believe they pay me to do this stuff. Been some great posts here, I am not the only one who sees other alternatives to college to help a person grow up as Wavy did.

BTW Yes I know hiring mangers can set any rules they want, they are just stupid rules.

 

[Whine Lover]

I say we all get together and form an Airline with the following hiring requirements:

- Big Watch / Breitling / Travolta Edition - w / "Gay-Time" Display

- Possession of "David Clark's"

- 3800 sq. ft. House Minimum- For One Person

- 2 Ex-Wives - Minimum

- Truck(s) / Car(s) / Boat (s) / - Size and Cost - Inversely Commensurate to Penile Displacement

- Attitude ( Mostly "Bad" , yet with moments of compassion and reason. )

- 4 year College Degree. Definitely.


I think we would have an outstanding Hiring Pool.....And one K-Azz Airline.

:0


Love,

Whine

 

[PCL_128]

No mind is so great that it does not need other minds to sharpen, compare, shape, and bounce ideas off of.

No argument there. But that's not really the question. The question was about why you think you needed it to be a professional pilot. I know it hurts some feelings, but the reality is that being an airline pilot is not a profession that requires serious academics. Pilots aren't lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. I guess your claim is that college helped you grow up? My question would be this, then: how do you know that other experiences wouldn't have helped you in the same way? They certainly have for many others.

Disclaimer: I'm not anti-college. I'm actually working on finishing a degree in economics. I just think it's a bit ridiculous to require it of someone who wants to be a pilot.