College degree required at united?

[Dan Roman]

Exacty how do you fly circles around someone. I have never done that or had someone else do it to me. Really, we fly ILS's, LNAV/VNAV approaches or visuals. Most of the time the autopilot is on. Anyone who skips college to fly a twin beech or a non sked 707 is dumb. The skill you are learning is obsolete.

http://www.flightglobal.com/article...lots-are-missing-both-basic-and-advanced.html

Perhaps not so obsolete after all. It's not the day to flying we need to prepare for, it's that once in awhile when you need to be able to land with an engine out from a circling approach on a slippery runway that real flying skills stand out and being being able to just do the basics are not enough.

BTW, "flying circles around someone" is a figure of speech.

I'm also not advocating skipping college in today's market, it would be foolish. I just made an observation that certain individuals with the forementioned background are in fact superior airmen.

 

[ATRCA]

Instead of college, I raised a son, and worked as much as I could to pay for flying lessons through a local FBO. I've never failed a checkride nor a written test. I'm sure college would have been fun, and a lot less work than the path I chose, but it wasn't in the cards at the time, and honestly, now I just don't want to pay $1000 a class for something that I may or not need. I've got over 7000 hours, 1500 jet PIC, owned my own flight school and charter company, have never been violated, or failed a PC or loft, and I'm not qualified for a job flying the same pax I fly today in a larger airplane.

Not if the company you're applying for requires a degree. It's that simple. If they want it and you don't have it, you're not qualified. The merits of the education are pointless. It's up to said company to decide what their particular hiring desires are. At my company, on day 2 of Indoc, the HR woman came into class and explained the process of getting friends through the pipeline. After she was finished she said that she needed to see two things on the app...
1. A Bachelors degree or higher
2. 1000 TPIC

That's it. Why? I don't know, who cares, it's what they want and they have no problem getting it. I don't think it makes someone a better pilot but if they want it, they get it. There's no reason to debate, it's a pointless debate because the results are unquantifiable.......

 

[dougdrvr]

http://www.flightglobal.com/article...lots-are-missing-both-basic-and-advanced.html

Perhaps not so obsolete after all. It's not the day to flying we need to prepare for, it's that once in awhile when you need to be able to land with an engine out from a circling approach on a slippery runway that real flying skills stand out and being being able to just do the basics are not enough.

BTW, "flying circles around someone" is a figure of speech.

I'm also not advocating skipping college in today's market, it would be foolish. I just made an observation that certain individuals with the forementioned background are in fact superior airmen.

You're talking to someone who thinks 19,000 hours is a thousand hours, nineteen times.

 

[inline]

It's the same everywhere.... do you need 20/20 to fly in the military? Not really, but you do to get into the program initially. Do you really need a college degree to be an elementary school teacher? Try getting a job without one. The college degree just displays a minimal level of discipline in finishing something, lord knows with technology today, it's not quite the process it used to be to get a degree.
LUV

Isn't it funny that the HR depts. of other professions like engineering, law or medicine for example don't require their prospective employees to have a few thousand hours of turbine time and a couple of type ratings.................

 

[Full of LUV]

Isn't it funny that the HR depts. of other professions like engineering, law or medicine for example don't require their prospective employees to have a few thousand hours of turbine time and a couple of type ratings.................

You know, you can be a LN with only 2 years of college I believe, but to be a brain surgeon you need 8 years of school plus years of training approaching a decade to be completely employable as a "neurosurgeon" .

You can be a legal assistant with a few years of schooling, but try to even take the Bar exam without a law school degree.

Don't know much about the professional engineering fields except that I highly doubt the newhire college graduate is permitted to work on the Nuclear power plant.

Is a 747 pilot a professional, or just a laborer? That is the essence of the debate.

 

[C-150ETOPS]

While I agree with you that skipping out on college is not the best idea, I disagree with you on the obsolete skills comment.

Along with flying NDB approaches, needle to needle navigation, and other dinosaur stuff, the pilot is hopefully learning important command skills.

But again, don't skip out on college if you can avoid it.

Love the Domestic guys who think an NDB approach, let alone doing one in a non-radar enviroment is an obsolete skill.

Flying for my US Major, about three years ago we found ourselves in a twin heavy at max landing weight, cleared for a total old-school NDB approach (no efis or map overlay) to a circle to land with wx/r+ at minimums. On the visual downwind at 10,000' (1500' AGL), my non-sterile comment to the CA was "I have been informed the this type of flying isn't done anymore".

 

[waveflyer]

I will throw in that there is and should be an intrinsic value to education. And one can learn and grow a LOT - AND build long lasting friendships- by voluntarily placing themselves in challenging situations. If you never gained that love for learning- or didnt make any real friends coming up, that is your fault. If you resent coursework, that's a shame. Every job and every degree I've attained were the result of one all encompassing belief that I will be growing and developing myself in all ways, every day I'm on the planet.
I have a good 1/2 dozen friends in this career w/o degrees- it can be done- but 1 is better than me- the other 5 can be rough around the edges and would have a difficult time having a good conversation with or giving confidence to any business select or first class traveler.
Btw- one cannot sit for the LSAT w/o a BA or BS- and cannot sit for the bar w/o passing an accredited law school- An engineer cannot sit for the PE exam without a degree in engineering and having years of practical experience working as an engineer. One cannot be a licensed MFCC (marriage, family, child counselor) w/o a master's and then several thousand hours of LOGGED time working w/ kids, adults, couples, etc- all in their own column -
Our career is not that different- you want to be paid as a professional- you must work and be a professional-
And if I were hiring-having a degree wouldn't be a golden star-but not having a degree would raise questions- much of which revolves around "why not?"

How many out there honestly don't look back very fondly at their college experience?

 

[waveflyer]

Love the Domestic guys who think an NDB approach, let alone doing one in a non-radar enviroment is an obsolete skill.

Flying for my US Major, about three years ago we found ourselves in a twin heavy at max landing weight, cleared for a total old-school NDB approach (no efis or map overlay) to a circle to land with wx/r+ at minimums. On the visual downwind at 10,000' (1500' AGL), my non-sterile comment to the CA was "I have been informed the this type of flying isn't done anymore".

Or the guys who've never picked up a clearance on radio, or made traffic calls in non towered fields- I value the experience I got coming up in challenging flying situations-
None of which precluded me from getting a degree and developing myself while getting it-

One guaranteed way to have a real hard life: look for the EASY way

 

[fxbat]

"One of the best guys I ever flew with at SWA was Hoot Gibson."

I have heard the stories,(still like to know if he was involved in that albatross crash down in Costa Rica a few years back) what was he like in real life?

 

[Dan Roman]

"One of the best guys I ever flew with at SWA was Hoot Gibson."

I have heard the stories,(still like to know if he was involved in that albatross crash down in Costa Rica a few years back) what was he like in real life?

You are mixing up the Astronaut with the retired TWA pilot. Two different people.