Associates degree

[Chewbacca]

Hey guys, I am working hard towards my BA, and will soon have my AS degree. Does anyone know if the AS gives you "points" towards an interview?

Cheers

 

[retired guy]

Hey guys, I am working hard towards my BA, and will soon have my AS degree. Does anyone know if the AS gives you "points" towards an interview?

Cheers

The short answer is "no"

 

[pilotyip]

Hey guys, I am working hard towards my BA, and will soon have my AS degree. Does anyone know if the AS gives you "points" towards an interview?

Cheers

More and more places are finding that a college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. More and more places are making it perferred. Apply everywhere on a regular basis

 

[xray678]

More and more places are finding that a college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. More and more places are making it perferred. Apply everywhere on a regular basis

While I agree that a college degree has little to do with flying airplanes, it has a lot to do with defining the kind of employees you want to hire. At some places a degree could well work against you.

 

[gringo]

Do you want to fly for a Major?

Then you need a four year degree. Period end of story. You'll be long retired before they have any reason to lift that requirement, regardless of what Yip says (I swear, 10 years I'm on this board and he sounds like a broken record, and nothing's changed IRT needing a degree to get the job.)

If you're looking to get on with a National or ULCC carrier, you're fine. Spirit will hire you sans degree, as will Blue, Frontier and I'm guessing Alligient.

 

[Hikoushi]

I know several recent hires at a couple of airlines, including mine, and including a certain big legacy, who got hired with only associates degrees. They brought a ton of other experience to the table and interview like they belong in Trump Tower. They also had stellar GPA's (3.5 plus), which is probably more heavily weighted for those without a 4-year degree.

If the company's hiring mins say 4-year degree "REQUIRED", forget it, the HR computer will delete your resume on sight. If it says "PREFERRED", then....good luck, you never know.

 

[pilotyip]

Do you want to fly for a Major?

You mean NWA, UAL, CAL, AAL, USAirways are not majors, those are the places I know that have hired non-degreed guys. DAL is the only one where I don't know anyone hired without a college degree since 1969. Unless of course you were a non-degreed NWA guy who became a DAL guy.

While I agree that a college degree has little to do with flying airplanes, it has a lot to do with defining the kind of employees you want to hire. At some places a degree could well work against you.

Do I read this that people with a four year piece of paper are superior to those who do not have hat degree?

 

[SpauldingSmails]

Do I read this that people with a four year piece of paper are superior to those who do not have hat degree?

I read that as "some places want people without 4-year degrees." Why?
It limits their employment options elsewhere, and they'll stick around longer.

 

[slaquer5]

More and more places are finding that a college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. More and more places are making it perferred. Apply everywhere on a regular basis

You are giving bad advice . You are also doing a large disservice to those looking to get hired at a Major Airline .

 

[Mr Wu]

United used to require an Associates Degree, don't know if they still do. While the broken record may say you don't need a degree, the fifty guys with comparable experience applying for one job need to be whittled down somehow. Education and commitment are just two ways to do this.

 

[PCL_128]

More and more places are finding that a college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. More and more places are making it perferred.

This is demonstrably untrue. Your personal opinion about the need for a degree is fine, but giving people bad advice could cost them a good career. Be more responsible with your rhetoric.

 

[gringo]

Do I read this that people with a four year piece of paper are superior to those who do not have hat degree?

Not more superior, simply more employable. Always has been the case, always will continue to be the case.

 

[hammer2]

Not more superior, simply more employable. Always has been the case, always will continue to be the case.

Damn! I should have spent that $120k at Embry-Riddle!

 

[get2flyin]

You mean NWA, UAL, CAL, AAL, USAirways are not majors, those are the places I know that have hired non-degreed guys. DAL is the only one where I don't know anyone hired without a college degree since 1969. Unless of course you were a non-degreed NWA guy who became a DAL guy.

No. Those are places that USE to hire non-degree guys. Not anymore

Do I read this that people with a four year piece of paper are superior to those who do not have hat degree?

For some people, a four year degree may be nothing more than a piece of paper. However, it's still a piece of paper you have to have according to HR.

 

[gringo]

Damn! I should have spent that $120k at Embry-Riddle!

I suppose you could if you wanted to flush mommy and daddy's money down the crapper, but a $40k degree from YourStateU would work just as fine.

But to each their own, I suppose.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

I suppose you could if you wanted to flush mommy and daddy's money down the crapper, but a $40k degree from YourStateU would work just as fine.

You just made a great argument about the ridiculous notion of a degree requirement. Doesn't matter what the degree is on, and it doesn't matter the quality of the school..., as long as you tick the box..! LOL

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for higher education and I've put my education to good use on my business but flying? Not so much!

 

[xray678]

Do I read this that people with a four year piece of paper are superior to those who do not have hat degree?

Not at all. But if a company decides they want people with a degree, then fine. If you want to work there you need a degree.

I think the problem with being a pilot is they airline hiring department doesnt know how good a pilot you are. You may have thousands of hours, but that doesnt mean you are a good pilot. All the hours in the world won't turn a bad pilot into a good pilot. It will simply make you a very experienced bad pilot.

All that said, put yourself in the position of HR. You are hiring for a position....any position. if you had two people who were otherwise equal, but one had a degree and one did not, who would you hire?

 

[Guam360]

Not at all. But if a company decides they want people with a degree, then fine. If you want yo work there you need a degree.

I think the problem with being a pilot is the airline hiring department really doesn't know how good a pilot you are. You may have thousands of hours, but that doesn't mean you are a good pilot. All the hours on the world won't turn a bad pilot into a good pilot. It will simply make you a very experienced bad pilot.

All that said, put yourself in the position of HR. You are hiring for a position......any position. If you had two people who were otherwise equal, but one had a degree and one did not, who would you hire?

I would certainly interview them first, then decide.

 

[ATRCA]

More and more places are finding that a college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. More and more places are making it perferred. Apply everywhere on a regular basis

No degree is needed to be a competent professional pilot. I agree. A degree is needed however if you want to work for any of the top tier airlines in this country. I agree with that too. I've had guys I've flown with in the past ask for reco's. I don't write them for guys without degrees because I know I'm wasting my time.

That's just the way it goes. If times change, fine but I'll not lobby for such a change. Until the pool is depleted, the airlines can seek whatever quals they deem appropriate. Getting a degree isn't hard. Guys who haven't taken the time to get one are not terribly serious about working for certain airlines. No big deal, there are plenty of other options and recruiters know this.

 

[xray678]

I would certainly interview them first, then decide.

I said all things being equal except the degree. That means the interview too.

But that's an isolated example. When comparing two individuals, a degree may not mean much. But when going through thousands of applications, I think the odds of interviewing the best candidates go up if you put a preference on a degree.

 

[gringo]

You just made a great argument about the ridiculous notion of a degree requirement. Doesn't matter what the degree is on, and it doesn't matter the quality of the school..., as long as you tick the box..! LOL

You just pointed out your continued insistence that this argument has anything to do with "piloting skills" in reference to "a degree", which constitutes a total complete failure on your behalf to understand what the argument is even about.

Hiring is done by HR. They decided that you need a degree to be eligible. It's the simplest concept in the world, yet you're insisting into making the argument into something it's not.

Nobody ever said a degree makes you a better pilot. You can go ahead and keep sticking your head up your but and insist that that is in fact the argument, but it never has been, and never will be.

HR does the hiring these days, and the HR gods have long ago decided that you need a degree. Period. End of story.

Get the degree and get the job. Or don't get the degree, refuse to play the game, don't get the job and remain bitter about it because you hate the player, not the game.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

You just pointed out your continued insistence that this argument has anything to do with "piloting skills" in reference to "a degree", which constitutes a total complete failure on your behalf to understand what the argument is even about.

Hiring is done by HR. They decided that you need a degree to be eligible. It's the simplest concept in the world, yet you're insisting into making the argument into something it's not.

Nobody ever said a degree makes you a better pilot. You can go ahead and keep sticking your head up your but and insist that that is in fact the argument, but it never has been, and never will be.

HR does the hiring these days, and the HR gods have long ago decided that you need a degree. Period. End of story.

Get the degree and get the job. Or don't get the degree, refuse to play the game, don't get the job and remain bitter about it because you hate the player, not the game.

Spoken like a true college educated professional....!:laugh:

 

[gringo]

Spoken like a true college educated professional....!:laugh:

*sigh*

Your moniker suits you well. Have fun fighting your uphill battle.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

*sigh*

Your moniker suits you well. Have fun fighting your uphill battle.

I'm not the college educated individual making an argument at a junior high level..., but then again I wasn't expecting anything else from your community college degree..!

 

[gringo]

Spoken like a true gentleman, sir. Hats off to you.

To the OP, as you can see, there are varying opinions to whether you need a degree or not to fly at the Majors. Those stuck at third tier supplemental or overseas jobs will scream up and down an empty corridor all day and night that you don't need a degree to fly an airplane.

And they're right, as nobody was making that argument in the first place.

And as they sulk in the corner watching the world pass them by leaving them at said third-tier jobs, they'll still refuse to acknowledge the fact that a four year degree is not only a "check in the box" it's a REQUIRED "check in the box" to play with the big boys back home.

You posted this question in the Majors section. It's safe to assume you want to fly for a Major.

You do not want to fly for a National.

You don't want to fly for a supplemental cargo carrier.

You don't want to go overseas and deal with that nonsense. It's not 2008 anymore.

You realized that it's 2015, the Majors are making a huge rebound, and you want in on the action. You need a four year degree. ANY degree. Get the degree and join in on the fun.

Or don't, and be miserable like some of the guys that refuse to get it here.

You're halfway there. Two more years and you're golden.

Don't let the window lickers distract you. There's a lot of them.

 

[pilotyip]

All that said, put yourself in the position of HR. You are hiring for a position....any position. if you had two people who were otherwise equal, but one had a degree and one did not, who would you hire?

The one who scored highest on my placement test of basic intelligence. It is very predictive of success and I can tell you it has nothing to do with a having a college degree, except if you graduated from a service academy. They all score real high.

Now I agree times have changed. Robert Lovett was WWII Asst Sec of War for Air. He may have saved the US in WWII. He showed we needed quantity, not quality. We will need 100K pilots per year, we will not get that many physically qualified college educated pilots. He said the college was not needed to fly an airplane, so he devised a test to identify those traits and knowledge levels needed to be successful in pilot training. He found that many college educated people could not pass this test, but many high school graduates could. These 19 year old pilots proved their worth all over the globe, flying equipment under conditions that would test almost all of us on this board.

 

[DCAA320]

The one who scored highest on my placement test of basic intelligence. It is very predictive of success and I can tell you it has nothing to do with a having a college degree, except if you graduated from a service academy. They all score real high.

Now I agree times have changed. Robert Lovett was WWII Asst Sec of War for Air. He may have saved the US in WWII. He showed we needed quantity, not quality. We will need 100K pilots per year, we will not get that many physically qualified college educated pilots. He said the college was not needed to fly an airplane, so he devised a test to identify those traits and knowledge levels needed to be successful in pilot training. He found that many college educated people could not pass this test, but many high school graduates could. These 19 year old pilots proved their worth all over the globe, flying equipment under conditions that would test almost all of us on this board.

STFU

You talk about exceptions and do a disservice to those looking to get to a major. Your rhetoric is old.

If you want to go to a major, get a 4 year degree, not that hard, that's what they want.

Once again, STFU

 

[gringo]

Robert Lovett was WWII Asst Sec of War for Air. He may have saved the US in WWII.

Cool story, bro. And I'm sure, should the Nips or the Jerrys ever rear their ugly heads around these parts the Army Air Corps will give em a good 'ol what for and we'll all be Johnny on the spot when we get the telegram from Western Union to join up to beat back the Axis.

Until then, however, United, Delta and American all require a degree to join the party. With very few exceptions.

Btw, you might not have heard, but in regards to a previous post of yours, CAL and NWA no longer exist. Pretty sure the original Eastern and Pan Am you won't find, neither.

Also, I hate to break this news to you, as you apparently just stepped out of a time warp, but Hitler is dead. Also dead? Tojo. Stalin too. (Spoiler alert! He turned out to be a bad guy too.)

 

[Andy]

United used to require an Associates Degree, don't know if they still do. While the broken record may say you don't need a degree, the fifty guys with comparable experience applying for one job need to be whittled down somehow. Education and commitment are just two ways to do this.

United requires a four year degree. You can apply, but the HR computer will mark the applicant as not qualified and the application will never be seen by a human.
It says 'preferred' on the United website, but no current application will ever get past the computer without a 4 year degree.

And I'd bet it's the same at the rest of the majors.

One can debate whether or not this is a valid screening requirement or reminisce about days past but in today's world you need a 4 year degree to even have a human look at your application. The days of flying for a major without a 4 year degree are gone.

Bottom line: no, an associates degree won't cut it at the majors.

 

[slaquer5]

The one who scored highest on my placement test of basic intelligence. It is very predictive of success and I can tell you it has nothing to do with a having a college degree, except if you graduated from a service academy. They all score real high.

Now I agree times have changed. Robert Lovett was WWII Asst Sec of War for Air. He may have saved the US in WWII. He showed we needed quantity, not quality. We will need 100K pilots per year, we will not get that many physically qualified college educated pilots. He said the college was not needed to fly an airplane, so he devised a test to identify those traits and knowledge levels needed to be successful in pilot training. He found that many college educated people could not pass this test, but many high school graduates could. These 19 year old pilots proved their worth all over the globe, flying equipment under conditions that would test almost all of us on this board.

That's great

One problem , you don't do the hiring for any of the majors . For that matter anywhere anyone to stay


Your analogy, is like me saying I like to hire the hot blondes at my flight school.
Your ego is really coming out when you are comparing yourself to a Major Airline hiring process . I think there is a word for what you are . Actually it could be 2 words .