Education in the field of Aviation

[C172gal05]

I was curious about education requirements in the industry. I hear yes and no all the time. Now, it is hard to get by without one. I am attending FSI in the spring and I will be a junior in college. But I am taking time off just to focus on flying because my university has no aviation program or degree. I am currently a chemistry major!! If I am hired before I go back to school, will it hurt me not to have finished.. will two years make a difference? I would appreciate any feedback!!

 

[TonyC]

If you aspire to be a professional pilot flying for a major airline, you should complete your 4-year degree, and it should be from an accredited college. It is possible to find employment with some companies without the 4-yr degree, but some doors will not open without it.

 

[JAFI]

One thing to remember about college credits is they are only good for about ten years with out finishing the degree (ask your college for specifics). If for some reason you stop then after a while decide to go back to school you have a ten year window to finish the degree or year by year the credits will be worthless.

Ask your self what you are going to do with the knowledge you obtained from the degree. Then decide if it is worth the time and money. Flying is a lot of fun but there are pilots who work for free. How many chemists work for free to "pay their dues"....??
My recomendation: Finish what you started, then move on. It can be real hard to go back and pick up where you left off later.

JAFI

 

[pilotyip]

only about 5 of the 177 airlines presently hiring make the possession of a degree a show-stopper. Becasue it has nothing to do with flying an airplane. Do a search under degree and you will get more info than you ever needed.

 

[minitour]

Get the degree. Not even going to get into a discussion with yip here...but just have it so that you have another option if flying doens't work out.

I think that's the main thing.

Sure there will always be that CFI job making $6/ flight hour, but that ain't gonna pay the bills.

I'm going to be starting on a degree soon here, not to make myself marketable to the airlines (if that happens, then it's a bonus), but to make myself marketable outside of aviation if the industry goes farther down the toilet.

JMHO

-mini

*edit*
I do agree though, that I don't understand what an airline sees when someone shows up with a basketweaving degree to fly a DC10 or anything like that. If I got a degree in business management, I could draft them up a business plan and all sorts of stuff (heh maybe that would help the airlines) but that degree doesn't make me a better, safer, more proficient pilot.

 

[pilotyip]

The fall back value of an unused knowledge field in a degree is vastly overrated. If you shoot for a flying career for 10 years, you will not find many doors open in your degree field shouls you elect to leave the flying field.

 

[minitour]

Down here in DAB and EVB, Epic Aviation is paying $30/hour to the CFIs...$80/hour new 172SP, and $64 new 172R.

I love price wars!

Is that what they're paying or is that what they're charging? Big difference.

-mini

 

[350DRIVER]

only about 5 of the 177 airlines presently hiring make the possession of a degree a show-stopper. Becasue it has nothing to do with flying an airplane. Do a search under degree and you will get more info than you ever needed.

good post.

Many have been hired without one and many more will be hired that have not completed the four year degree. My suggestion would be to complete the four year degree via an online course through U of PHX or another accredited college, all of your course work credits to date will likely transfer. Many have worked on this while currently flying and already in the career field if for nothing more than to say that they "have" one, "want" one, or just to show it as an accomplishment. The degree will not make you a sharper, more skilled, or a more competent pilot, it merely allows you to fill in a box on the application.

Try and get the degree in something outside of aviation should you decide to pursue the degree so you have something to fall back on if you are forced out of a flying position. In reality we all are one simple medical bust away from being on the outside looking in. Hard to predict what the future may or may not hold without a crystal ball.

 

[Clyde]

I was curious about education requirements in the industry. I hear yes and no all the time. Now, it is hard to get by without one. I am attending FSI in the spring and I will be a junior in college. But I am taking time off just to focus on flying because my university has no aviation program or degree. I am currently a chemistry major!! If I am hired before I go back to school, will it hurt me not to have finished.. will two years make a difference? I would appreciate any feedback!!

Finish your degree first. There is plenty of time to fly afterwards. With the state of the industry the way it is, there is a lot of qualified pilots out there, and probably even more hitting the streets if we lose a couple of more airlines. The vast majority have degrees, and since the airlines have the pick of the litter,they will be looking for all kinds of things on the resumes, and not having a degree could be a show-stopper. It's very competetive.

 

[milehigh6080]

Down here in DAB and EVB, Epic Aviation is paying $30/hour to the CFIs...$80/hour new 172SP, and $64 new 172R.

I love price wars!

Wow, I instructed at Epic from 2001-2003 and it was $109/hr for a 172SP and instructors were paid $18 an hour to start and it was by far the best in the area. Are you sure the instructors are being paid $30? There are almost as many instructors in the DAB area as there are students, it's a horrible area to be an instructor for that reason.

-Milehigh