ERAU and a major airline job....

[~~~^~~~]

Any job in the airline industry boils down to who you know. If the person doing the interviews at ASA is a Riddle grad, I am sure attending the school helps the applicant find common ground with the interviewer.

However, if the interviewer is not a Riddle graduate, then it is just as likely that the candidate receives a neutral, or negative bias. Some of my friends feel that Riddle is a repository for snot nosed rich kids. Certainly most Riddle grads did not work their way through the ranks of night cargo, or corporate, while trying to achieve a degree.

At Delta, and many majors, there is a very strong military bias, simply because the interviewers are mostly ex-military.

Once you are in the interview there is nothing you can do about the bias of the interviewer. Most of us who have interviewed pilots are simply thinking - Would this pilot be a good person to fly a month on the line with? Do they have a sense of humor? Are they calm when things go wrong? Are they professional and would they do something dumb to get me in trouble if we were flying together? Would they make a good Captain someday?

Some of my best friends and some darn good pilots are Riddle Grads. There are some other Riddle Grads that I would not put my wife in an airplane with. It is purely individualistic.

 

[g159av8tor]

Just another stupid generalization about ERAU grads. I cannot deny that walking around the campus are some better-then-thou pr*cks. Most of those guys were from the Norhteast anyway and are children of doctors and lawyers whom really never wanted to work for a living and want to make a lot of money.

Except for the price tag and the 1:12 guy/girl ratio, I really enjoyed my DAB ERAU experience and continue to do so via the Net. The beach was 3 miles from campus, slutty UCF were 30 minutes West and easy St. Augustine co-eds were 45 minutes North and 24/7 nudy bars were scattered all around the Space Coast and MCO. The airplanes were maintained well too.

Most Riddle guys and are down to Earth beer guzzling airplane fanatics. Don't let one butthole ruin for everyone else. Except for all those ERAU grads from our "sister" school in Prescott , most of us are good people.

Tailwinds...

 

[T-handle]

G159,

You got something against us Preskit folks? From my 4 years there, it seemed to me that many DAB students transferred over to PRC after 1 year because 1) they weren't gettin chit done at DAB besides puttin their parents dollars down a nasty stripper's panties 2) they constantly complained the flight line was understaffed and 3) had no airplanes to fly.

Even our female to male ratio was better and there is even a woman's volleyball team at PRC.

 

[jaybird]

There's a womans volleyball team in DAB. At least I think they are female.

 

[g159av8tor]

T-Handle,

For the most part you're right. Airplanes were difficult to schedule at times and the flightline was way understaffed.

Not only did Riddle have to schedule airplanes for its reguler AirSci students, they had to set aside airplanes for the special programs that they and government agencies (NASA, FAA), domestic private industry (new Piper, Cessna, Frasca, Flight Safety and various regional and major airlines) and foreign industry (Korean Airlines) were involved. This put strain on the fleet and flightline and sent regular students to other FBOs to finish ratings, other universities with aviatin programs or to Prescott. It wasn't fair to students that were spending ma and pa's hard earned cash on an overpriced aviation education (although many of my friends and aquaintences worked through college and are now paying 600-900 USD per month on student loans). It is all about $$$ at Riddle.

I worked as a student employee on the flight line for nearly 2 years. It was hectic from 0800-1900 M-F. Those basic trainers flew 16-18 hour a day. That was in 1996-98 when the fleet was being converted from TB-9s to Cessna 172s. I think there is more than 110-120 planes now.

BUT, because ERAU is a small university of 5,000 to 6,000 students, the professors knew you and were available for extra help (I used to have beers with my WX/Flight Phys professor after classes on Thursdays), you could get to know the Admin (I used have coffee and doughnuts on Fridays with the head of the AirSci dept and sometimes the president of the university). I was involved with many aspects of the university from philanthopy to my fraternity to other clubs and organizations.

And, since it was an aeronautical school, the networking possibilities were and are endless. I go back every year for alumni weekend. It's really not the name on the resume (though it has helped me get my last 2 flying jobs and my wife her curent job at Lockheed), it is the contacts that one can make in the industry due to life long friendships born from common interests (drinking beer, airplanes and strippers) and shared experiences during the "college days". Sorry for the sentimental tone...I was just remembering this one girl from spring break in 1998.

Tailwinds...