0 hours to CFI...What to do?

[bobbysamd]

Thrill

Welcome back Bobby, Goose is a chicken, trust me 167 of the 172 airlines could care less about a degree.

. . . . but with the degree one qualifies for the other five, too. With the small number of employers available and the hoardes of pilots trying to get what few jobs there are, those five companies become significant.

This man is leaving the military, he is older, if goes the degree first route he will be getting a late start in the flying business. He needs his rating and quality time building jobs. He can do his degree on the side, if he feels he needs that to make the final leap in his career. Bobby surprised I never saw you chime in on the "Fallback value of the College Degree".

I never saw that thread.

Most guys agreed with me, after being flying for 20 years and becoming unemployed they found their college degree had little value in the job market.

Little is still better than none, Yip. As long as you have the degree, doors that are otherwise closed can open and glass ceilings that are otherwise impernetrable can be pierced.

Moreover, Yip, without even reading the thread, I know your spiel. "Forget college, start flying because flight time, in particular 'TJPIC' gets you the job." What you (continue to) fail to recognize is the competition is still primarily college-educated, and, without the degree, the playing field is not level. Moreover, unless one has quals, getting that coveted "TJPIC" job is like being a salmon swimming upstream. Not all the salmon make it.

I'll give one of my standard responses to, e.g., the "Waa, Waa, Waa, I don't wanna go to college, I wanna be a pilot" argument. That response would be that despite someone's wants, if there is a goal and something is needed to achieve that goal, sometimes one just has to suck it up and get that something, even if it means having to put forth a little extra effort and putting one's desires aside.

The degree debate turns its need for succeeding in this business. Perhaps this individual, who is older and probably disciplined, could go to college on the side. However, your anti-college-first arguments are still read by impressionable teenagers who likely lack the same discipline. These teenagers may have been geared to go to college, but, after reading your irresponsible recommendations, may have second thoughts. Second thoughts which are unwarranted. Discouraging a young person from going to college right after high school is irresponsible, for all the arguments previously set forth. A few of these arguments include (1) it's hard to get back in "school/study mode" after being out of school for a couple of years; (2) going to school while working is tough, at best; and (3) after working for several years, despite all good intentions, sticking with school is tough. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

There is the degree debate, in a nutshell.

 

[Goose Egg]

Welcome back Bobby, Goose is a chicken...

Naw, just a pragmatist.

-Goose

 

[pilotyip]

Value of unused college degree over rated

Bobby, you know I have couple degrees, but at age 53 I was making $250/wk loading cargo. After Zantop pretended to go out of went out of business in 1997, I became a temporary High School Chemistry Teacher up until the end of the school year. But they do not teach school in the summer. So two weeks later I got the cargo job. The value of an unused degree is highly over rated. 53 year old unemployed airline pilots are not eagerly greeted in any industry that I know of, even of having a couple degrees. Of course I did not apply for many of the "College degree preferred jobs" such as apt manager, telephone direct sales, plumbing floor manager at Home Depot, etc. If you get a college degree you have to use the knowledge gained in college to develop a career or the degree is basically useless. After getting a degree, flying an airplane is not a knowledge expanding experience; it is skill development experience. Anyone care to chime in and share their experiences on entering the non-avaiton job market after being out of college 20-30 years?

 

[bobbysamd]

College degree need - now and later

I have couple degrees, but at age 53 I was making $250/wk loading cargo. After Zantop pretended to go out of went out of business in 1997, I became a temporary High School Chemistry Teacher up until the end of the school year.

Your degrees still got you work. Your Honor, I rest my case.

I like how you said that Zantop "pretended" to go out of business.

The value of an unused degree is highly over rated . . . . If you get a college degree you have to use the knowledge gained in college to develop a career or the degree is basically useless.

I agree fully. I have a degree in Accounting. If I ever went after an accounting job, even at the lowest levels, I'd be laughed right out of the door, but,

Anyone care to chime in and share their experiences on entering the non-avaiton job market after being out of college 20-30 years?

Yeah. Me. I went back to school eleven years ago, twenty years after graduating from college, to earn a paralegal certificate. A four-year college degree was required for me to be accepted, and exhibiting the piece of paper wasn't enough; I had to order an official transcript from my college. Thank G-d I had my degree, because I would not have been accepted to my school otherwise.

As it turned out, in my legal jobs I finally have used my accounting training. In one job I was preparing estate accountings and tax returns. I wouldn't have had a clue on how to do either but for my accounting background. In my current job, I prepare funds distributions, which is nothing but accounting.

Circumstances vary, but I believe that my case proves that learning gained from college can be put to use - sooner, or later.

 

[pilotyip]

The Zantop pretend shutdown was a going out of business shutdown under railway labor act where we were all given 6 weeks notice of the airline's intent to cease operations on the day of the first pay raise under Teamsters contract. They kept two management crews to keep the certificate alive, one for the L-188 and one for the DC-8. Then they worked a deal with the Teamsters to cut pay and days off. Once they had the new contract they started recalling. I was two from the bottom when they pretended to shut down; I was not going back. They still have two or three L-188's still flying, one or two crews.

 

[Goose Egg]

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