college degree

[boeingdriver]

Here we are back to this subject.

After 15 glorious years I have finally finished all the coursework for my BS from an accredited institution. I will not graduate or get my diploma until May 2005. I know I wont get called for an interview until I can check the college degree box.

My question: How do I put this on an application and still get called for an interview? I have technically finished my degree, I just dont have the diploma. Can I check the College degree box and put May 2005 as my graduation date...4 months from now?

For the record, I do not advocate the 15 year plan for your degree. Go to school and get the darn thing done ASAP. After 20 years in this business I thought I was set. I now find myself flying for an airline running on one engine, airspeed approaching VMCG in mountainous terrain and collecting ice. I find myself having to get back into the application/interview arena once again.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

 

[Formula1]

I would say to check the box, list the day (or month) that you actually will be getting your diploma and then if you get called in for an interview somewhere- then just explain to them that you do not have your diploma yet. Just tell (xyz airline) that you will be receiving it in May or whenever but have actually finished all of the degree requirements so therefore you have earned the degree. If they need to verify it then it would be easy enough to call the school in question to verify that you have in fact finished the degree. No problem.

 

[pilotyip]

Check the box as having a degree, you have finished the rquirements and it is just a paper work process. Again congrats, you did it the pilotyip way, fly and work on your degree on the side. It can be done, and you have an impressive resume of flight expereince to go along with your degree. BTW, Boeing guy where are you thinking of applying that would make the degree a showstopper for a pilot with your experience?

 

[johnny taliban]

Check the box and look foward to telling the story during your interview. I would think that you will score alot of points with the HR folks.

Congrats and good luck,
Johnny

 

[klhoard]

Check the box and bring your transcript showing you're done.
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Contact the school and ask them to write you a letter saying that "the diploma is in the mail". . .
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[boeingdriver]

I would like to thank everybody for their input.

I have my app in with JetBlue, SWA and Fedx. They have been in for about nine months with not one call. The only thing I can figure is the lack of a degree. I was thinking along the same lines as the posts here. Check the box and tell the story.

Thanks for the encouraging words and good luck to everybody.

 

[pilotyip]

Degee is not a show stopper at JB.

 

[pilotyip]

Only person experiencing the fly and on-line degree path can define if it is hard. No debt, higher quality flight time earlier in your life, pay to start a family, buy a house earlier than the traditional four year degree program. So it is hard compared to what?

 

[FN FAL]

I wouldn't consider flying full time and taking 15 years to get a degree ideal..but what works for you, works for you..

So you're saying a 15 year old education is better than a recent education?

That's kind of funny, because 15 years ago, the internet and cyber space was was a "tron" kind of thing. So I supose that a guy who got an education during the "memograph" era is the best one to hire right now?

Or is what's bothering you is the fact that pilots who have been in the system for a while are pursuing a higher education and are going to get all the good jobs before you can log enough PIC? Wahhhhhh.

 

[FN FAL]

Yes, I'm whining. All current pilots should be banned from logging PIC time and pursuing higher education. However, I should be given a degree for nothing and can log 10 hours for each 1.

I think that would be fair.

Had to reread it a few times to understand what you meant regarding the 15 year stuff. There is no right or wrong way, it's all opinion and personal preference. You make a valid point tho. I would rather get the degree out of the way now, while learning to fly, and then focus on flying completely after I graduate, rather than the other way around. Of course, I may in fact use my degree to go into another career field and may never end up pursuing a career in aviation...

Theres nothing wrong with the approach of getting a degree later on in life, I just don't particularly agree with that route if you have an option to get it earlier. I interpted the original poster as saying it took him quite a while to get the degree, and the courses were strung out over a very long period of time, and he thinks not having it earlier may be holding him back now.

..And that be that..

There is a benefit to getting an associate degree now and a bachelor degree later. The additional education will be recent. If I would have graduated high school and went to college right away, college computer skills would have required that I look at a punch tape to see if the Enterprise was winning in a game of space war games. What good would that education be now?

Yea, working the internet, windows xp, Power Point and the windows word doesn't make you a better pilot, but it sure helps to have a current education, especially in today's pilot market. If I had to get laid off from flying, I'd rather get hired to be the shift manager of a departent that makes and packages toweling and other paper products...not the monkey that puts the stuff in the boxes. I did that already...I'm not going back. Recent education is good... taking the effort to get it later in life makes it look even better.

Here's a gripper for you regarding education v. not having education. A 141 school mate who later became my partner in a twin engine aircraft and a business revolving around that plane, got an interview, a follow up interview, aptitude testing and a sim ride for the Northwest Airlines hiring process about two years or less before 9/11.

His credentials were high school diploma, a couple thousand hours total time, some turboprop PIC in a King Air and no regional time and he never served a day in the military. His in was mopping out the interiors of DC-9's at the GRB airport and throwing luggage as a NWA rampie. He busted the 747 sim check and was refused the job...but the only thing that separated him from being there and not being there was that sim ride.

He sucked it up and went into 135, but he didn't last long. After getting caught trying to bang his co-worker's wife at a company Christmas party, he took the aviation exit ramp and is now filling bathroom dispensers with soap and deodorizing chemicals as a route salesman for some service company...but I bet he'd like to move up into management someday.