Degree - "NOT REQUIRED"

[Brett Hull]

Maybe if we all had degrees (if it were required for application, for instance), then pilots wouldn't constantly back themselves into corners regarding things like compensation and contracts, in general. Educated pilots would be more likely just to quit when the salaries spiraled too low because they'd realize that they had other things to offer/do with their lives.

If you want the prestige and the money, we gotta require degrees. Ever meet a doctor who didn't go to college?

Huh? A majority of pilots do have degrees...in Aeronautical Science or Professional Aeronautics or whatever the school they went to calls it.

So where does that leave us now? Every pilot should have a degree in something, as long as it isn't in aviation? You could get a degree in elementary or secondary education, but then you couldn't leave flying and make better money teaching. So now you require pilots to have a degree in something that isn't aviation, education, or (insert low paying career requiring a college degree here).

Maybe you guys need to stop making a mess in your pants because you're going to get to wear a spiffy polyester suit and fly a jet, and collectively grow a pair and demand decent wages.

 

[SRJ]

"Bill Gates does not have a college degree.....I think he should go back and get one so he can make it in life."

Just a shot in the dark, but my guess is that you are no where near as smart as is Bill Gates. And by the way, Gates spent three years at HARVARD before dropping out. Could you get into Harvard?

A. I have a degree (not from Harvard) but never claimed to be as smart as Gates.
B. No I could not get into Harvard, why do you think I am an airline pilot?
C. What's eating your a$$?

 

[EV120]

Sooo...my anthropology/archaeology degree makes me a better pilot how?



Oh I get it, so I can excavate your crash site in a few years. Whatever.

 

[T-Gates]

"What, so since I fly professionally without a degree I deserve less than professional wages?? "

Yes.

What diffrenece does it make?! Granted I may have not gone to college, but how could you justify paying someone less if they don't have a degree? If I was to go get a degree in say, Religious Studies, would I then be considered a true professional? Considering it has no relation to the job at hand whatsoever.

"Can you actually tell a diffrence between a pilot with a degree and one without in the cockpit? "

Yes (not talking about the flying skills here).

Okay fine, so I may not know what it's like to get wasted at a Frat house and go streaking through the Quad... But really what diffrences do you see that are so compelling that you want a non-educated "B-Scale"??

Do you always have personality issues with those pilots without a degree? Is it really that much of an issue to you? When I step in the cockpit with someone, I don't care what thier background is, college or not. I just care if the person is someone I can spend a few days with and have a safe, fun time.

"Bill Gates does not have a college degree.....I think he should go back and get one so he can make it in life."

Just a shot in the dark, but my guess is that you are no where near as smart as is Bill Gates. And by the way, Gates spent three years at HARVARD before dropping out. Could you get into Harvard?

Now hold on, per your standard, he is still not a college graduate! Should he be subjected to a "B-Scale" of CEO Wages? Or do you have a double standard? Should we all now take IQ tests to determine our payscale?

Airlines should require a college degree. It would go far to improve the reputation of pilots in general...maybe restore some of the long lost prestige the position use to carry.

The general public's perception of pilots is that we are all highly educated individuals. Which is TRUE! Name another job where every 6 months you have to perform to high standards and pass a checkride or you don't get to keep your job...... Just because I don't have a degree doesn't make me "not" educated. I may not be highly educted in Calculus, or The Histrory of Mesopotamia, but I am dam n well educated in all the matters that relate to being an aviation professional.

 

[Herman Bloom]

"Okay fine, so I may not know what it's like to get wasted at a Frat house and go streaking through the Quad."

Come off it. If that's what you think college is all about, well then maybe its a very good thing you didn't waste anybody's time by attending one.

Fight it all you want, but the bottom line is that a college degree helps one get along in life. Not having one doesn't make you a bad person, and none of this has any bearing on flying skills in general. I just don't see how it could hurt the profession to require that airline pilots earn a degree first.

Doctors, Lawyers, TEACHERS...they all must complete a degree. Why shouldn't we?

 

[Brasgaucho]

Maybe you should mind your own business and stop blaming Mesa, pilots without college degree, Martha Stewart...
If you don't like it go do something else...

 

[Goldeneagle646]

Originally Posted by Herman Bloom
Airlines should require a college degree. It would go far to improve the reputation of pilots in general...maybe restore some of the long lost prestige the position use to carry.

I believe that if all pilots had a degree that yes we would be paid more. BUT... Who makes up the hiring requirements, not us pilots. I seriously doubt that the people running the joint would require a degree from their applicant's just so that they can start paying them more.

 

[Herman Bloom]

"If you don't like it go do something else..."

I did just that. Got out, because I practice what I preach. What else ya got?

 

[maddog805]

F#ck you guys. Wait I can't say that if I have a degree....

 

[shamrock]

You could get a degree in elementary or secondary education, but then you couldn't leave flying and make better money teaching.

My GF is a teacher and makes more than I do, but I am a lowly FO. 2 months off each summer isn't too bad either, although I still wouldn't trade jobs with her.

I was shocked at how much different it is compared to my school days. Teaching isn't what it was with all the behavior problems and "couldn't care less/not my child" parents these days.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread.

Continue the argument........

 

[boxjockey]

This has got to be the most ridiculous bunch of sh!t I've ever seen. Return the profession to the prestige it once had? Do you have any idea how many of those people who flew back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's had college degrees? During a large portion of that time, if you were living and breathing you could have a job. It's all about supply and demand, man!! The only reason airlines require a degree is to cut down the number of resumes they have to go through. Not enough resumes coming in, lower the time or CHUCK THE DEGREE!!! Numbnuts.

box

 

[sf3boy]

You know, I changed my mind after being enlightened by those that received a degree. I now know for fact that the CEO's of NWA and Mesaba told Mesaba's MEC during contract talks that since 1 out of 3 pilots in the top half of the list don't have a degree, we need to pay the current and future FO's crap.

Guess what though....the airlines decide what the hiring criteria is whether it be high or low, not the employees. Reference afore stated United, US Air.....

 

[Brett Hull]

My GF is a teacher and makes more than I do, but I am a lowly FO. 2 months off each summer isn't too bad either, although I still wouldn't trade jobs with her.

I was shocked at how much different it is compared to my school days. Teaching isn't what it was with all the behavior problems and "couldn't care less/not my child" parents these days.

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread.

Continue the argument........

That's o.k. My wife's a teacher...but she doesn't make more than I do, though. But everything else you said was right on the $$$$$$.

 

[Tooslow]

Is that before or after they payoff their some $100,000 in student loans at 500 a month for 30 years?

 

[whereamI]

Wtf?

Are you refering to teachers with your student loan quip? Cause I know plenty of teachers who only have a 4 year degree. In fact, I have a friend who was recently hired teaching at the college level with a masters degree and no previous experience. He is teaching 4 days a week, with 3 months off for the summer, and he makes more money than me. Student loans, negative gostrider! He is free and clear making more money than me, and he didn't have to pay for all of his "training". Yeah, I love flying airplanes, BUT I am really sick of being paid a sh!t wage after all of the education I have payed for. Should pilots be required to have a 4 yr degree? If it means my paycheck will cover my bills than yes. However, I have a 4 year degree so my opinion is biased. Supply and demand someone said? The market is completely saturated with qualified pilots at the moment, soooooo why don't the regional airlines require a degree. I am not certain the reason, but economics would dictate a 4 year degree being a requirement for a CFI position in this market.