I don't want to offend anyone who may have attended a place such as Embry-riddle, or anyone who currently holds, or is working towards, a degree in aviation. I respect your accomplishments and willingness to pursue your aspirations.
With that said, here's how I see it:
Why get a degree in aviation? When you apply for a job within any area of the aviation industry (as a pilot), they're not hiring you because you have a degree, even if it's in aviation. I think it would be safe to say that the reason they're hiring you is because of your flight experience. In other words, the degree gets you noticed, but the flight experience gets you hired. So if the degree just "gets you noticed", why waste time and money on a degree in aviation? You could get a degree in something else, and still "get noticed". What I'm trying to say is that if sometime down the road, for whatever unfortunate reason, you have to leave the aviation industry, what good will your aviation degree be to you???
If you must get a degree to gain a competitive edge, why not acquire something else to further enhance your background, rather than just sticking with aviation. For example, if I get a degree in criminal justice, I can do a total of three things with it. First, simply having the degree may help me get a piloting job. Second, it may open up unique opportunities in other areas of aviation such as flying for US Customs, Drug Enforcement Agency, and possibly helicopters for major-city police departments. Lastly, if I were to totally abandon aviation, I could still do a few things with the degree in the area of law enforcement. If I only had an aviation degree, I wouldn't have the unique flying opportunities, nor would it be very useful if I had to leave aviation.
I would really appreciate any comments on the issue. I have convinced myself that I should work toward a 4-year degree, and I want to do the right thing.
With that said, here's how I see it:
Why get a degree in aviation? When you apply for a job within any area of the aviation industry (as a pilot), they're not hiring you because you have a degree, even if it's in aviation. I think it would be safe to say that the reason they're hiring you is because of your flight experience. In other words, the degree gets you noticed, but the flight experience gets you hired. So if the degree just "gets you noticed", why waste time and money on a degree in aviation? You could get a degree in something else, and still "get noticed". What I'm trying to say is that if sometime down the road, for whatever unfortunate reason, you have to leave the aviation industry, what good will your aviation degree be to you???
If you must get a degree to gain a competitive edge, why not acquire something else to further enhance your background, rather than just sticking with aviation. For example, if I get a degree in criminal justice, I can do a total of three things with it. First, simply having the degree may help me get a piloting job. Second, it may open up unique opportunities in other areas of aviation such as flying for US Customs, Drug Enforcement Agency, and possibly helicopters for major-city police departments. Lastly, if I were to totally abandon aviation, I could still do a few things with the degree in the area of law enforcement. If I only had an aviation degree, I wouldn't have the unique flying opportunities, nor would it be very useful if I had to leave aviation.
I would really appreciate any comments on the issue. I have convinced myself that I should work toward a 4-year degree, and I want to do the right thing.