Good Community College Pilot Programs?

[bobbysamd]

Arguing exception

5% will make it without the 4-yr degree

Those are extremely long odds. That means that most without will not. Once again, "exception." Your odds are clearly better if you are the "rule," as covered extensively in this thread above.

 

[mayday1]

Yip, why is it you try to convince and persuade people to NOT get their degree? For the sake of argument, I'll even concede that you don't NEED one for a professional flying career (although, we're all in agreement that it certainly helps, and adds nicely to a resume).

But, it's odd to be making an argument against further education. Just a couple of thoughts:
- never met anyone who regretted going to college and getting a degree;
- a degree has never closed doors (in any industry); only opens them;
- "knowledege is power" - education, advanced learning, etc. is important and can only help people develop;
- getting a degree later in life is tough - life becomes more complex, and your comments that "fly for a while, see if you like, then get a degree if you don't" are not good guidance.
- everyone I've talked with who is in school later in life greatly regret not getting their degree sooner (or after high school). I've never spoken to anyone who said, "this is great, working a full time job and/or supporting a family, and going to school at night was the best choice."
- and the 4 year degree (read 4 YEARS) is a good chunk of time, money, effort, to have already under your belt, and not something you need to tackle later in life, or if you decide a professional pilot career is not your thing.

Anyway, I just don't understand your advice to folks.. discouraging college education to those entering a very volatile industry is not wise.

 

[jimpilot]

I am a better, safer and more mature pilot because of my degree. So there is at least one pilot who feels that way.

 

[bobbysamd]

It's the "TJ PIC," stupid . . . . .

Yip, why is it you try to convince and persuade people to NOT get their degree?

Yip believes that if flying airplanes is all one wants to do, than one should get started sooner rather than later. Especially to get a leg up on building that all-important "TJ PIC." He believes that after one builds "TJ PIC" that one can get one of those $100K/year jobs where college is not required to be hired. That, to me, sounds strangely close to flight school propaganda that advertises from zero time to regional airline pilot in nine months.

Yip has never answered the question as to how one gets the right kind of job to build "TJ PIC" without credentials. Moreover, he has failed to address the point that $100K jobs are not given to just anyone, that only top people with a solid background gets these jobs. Not someone with only a high school education to offer. If that were true and one needed only high school to land a $100K job no one would need to go college. We all know that is untrue.

There is plenty of time to fly after college. However, if a young person is really in a hurry, why can't he/she go to summer school while in high school and graduate in January instead of June? A really bright kid could take AP courses, start college in January with college credits already under his/her belt, push straight through summer school and graduate in three years or less. Then, with college out of the way, flying can begin, without the college burden hanging over him/her.

Not only is encouraging someone to enter a volatile industry without college unwise advice, it is misleading. There are impressionable teenagers who read this board who are considering aviation careers and who have planned to go to college because they feel they must. Telling them they really may not have to go to college to get a great, $100K aviation job is, at the very least, irresponsible.

 

[pilotyip]

Not me

I would expect nothing different from the college degree crowd. All the college degreed people feel everyone should be like them to be successful as they define sucessful. As posted eariler in this thread, I have nothing against a college degree. If someone wants to go to college more power to them. But it is not the only direction to the cockpit and to encourage a person to go to college when they have no interest in college is as much misdirection as I am accused of. Complete directions for an alternate career path are posted in the cargo thread.

 

[pilotyip]

high School only

"If that were true and one needed only high school to land a $100K job no one would need to go college. We all know that is untrue."

It is true if no pilot went to college then all pilots being hired by the airlines would not have a 4-yr degree. The airlines would still fill their cockpits. Flying an airplane is a skilled position, you can learn it without English, Humanities, Natural Science, and other college core material. It has nothing to do with flying an airplane and we all know that. The post on the differences with European training addresses that. Does college make you mature maybe, but no guarantees?

 

[Sunnfun]

The post on the differences with European training addresses that.

Unfortunately most european countries don't recognize pilot training as any kind of job training. That's why Loss of License Insurance is almost mandatory for an airline pilot there (Actually most Airlines actually pay for their pilots LoL Insurance). If you loose your medical, you have nothing. :-/

 

[bobbysamd]

Waaa, waa, waaa, I don't wanna go to college, I wanna be a pilot

[T]o encourage a person to go to college when they have no interest in college is as much misdirection as I am accused of.

It is not misdirection in any way. Sometimes, in life, there are things you might not want to do but things you have to do to achieve a goal. Meaning, maybe someone wanting to be a professional pilot might not want to go to college and/or have no interest in going to college, but when he/she sees that his/her job competition are college people he/she realizes that practicality and pragmatism trumps "want" and "don't wanna" and he/she realizes that he/she has to go to college.

By the way, Yip, with your Bachelor's and Master's degrees, aren't you part of the "college degree crowd?"

 

[mayday1]

If flying doesn't work out for someone, getting a decent job with no experience in the field or formal education is pretty tough these days. For this reason alone, you should encourage people who are interested in professional flying to go to school. It's that necessary "evil" - you know, knowledge, education, more fully developed communication and presentation skills, broader exposure to different disciplines and topics, etc.