Steve,
There are a lot of us here who have been in your son's shoes. You're asking the proper questions.
Let's talk education first. In today's world, pilots have got to have a university degree in order to be competitive in the job market. Period. Can you get a job without one? Of course, but you have to understand that most employers - corporate, airline or other - if given the choice between two otherwise equally qualified individuals will almost always go for the person with the degree. I have seen this time after time after time. In today's job market, where there are literally hundreds of applications for every opening, the competition is especially tough.
When it comes to university courses, I'd recommend getting a degree in something that you can fall back on and support yourself and your family if the aviation thing doesn't work out. Like the old saying goes, you don't necessarily want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Pilots get laid off, furloughed or lose their medical. It happens to pilots everyday and it's a shame when it happens and you aren't prepared.
As far as what to get a degree in, I've never heard of a case where it made any difference at all. Your son could get a 4-year degree in the proverbial "Underwater Basket Weaving". However, it probably would be much wiser to get it in a field where you can earn a living if you ever have to leave aviation for whatever reason. (There's really not much demand for underwater basket weavers these days.) A 4-year degree in Airplane Flying (Oops, I mean Bachelor of Science - Aviation) will probably have limited value outside the world of aviation. Additionally, I've never know a case where one pilot with a degree in aviation was given priority over another pilot with a degree in any other field. In my particular case, I have a degree in Business Management. During my career I’ve only worked with a couple of pilots without a degree. My current chief pilot has a PhD in Business Management. I’ve worked with a couple of MBA's, several business majors, an electrical engineer, music majors, education majors, the whole gambit. The important thing is that each of us could make a viable living outside of aviation if we had to.
When it comes to flight schools, don't be mislead into thinking that you have attend an accredited aeronautical college or university or flight school. All any potential employer cares about is the ratings and experience that you "bring to the table", not where or how you got them. There is nothing special about a degree from a school like Embry Riddle, Purdue, UND or any other college or university. When you finish your training there you are not issued a special FAA certificate with a gold seal that says "Graduate of ERAU". Certainly, these type schools are good and highly respected. Their flight training programs certainly turn out good pilots. However, you pay a high premium for what you get. Is it necessary? Personally, I don't believe so. I have always felt that the CFI is the single most important factor in determining the quality of the training that you are receiving. Whether you select an aeronautical college or simply use an FBO's flight school or even decide to use a freelance flight instructor the quality of your training will be largely determined by individual flight instructor's skills, abilities, and experience. The best flight school facilities, training curriculum or the newest, best equipped training aircraft can not compensate for a mediocre flight instructor. Aeronautical colleges and universities certainly have not cornered the market on good instructors - they are where you find them.
It all boils down to what do you have to do to make yourself "marketable". In today's competitive job market everyone is basically a clone of everyone else. You need to try and find those things that will make you stand out from the herd if you know what I mean.
Finally, I would encourage your son to get his CFI certificate and to spend 500 to 1000 hours teaching. It will round him out as an aviatior. I'm sure that you will hear from many others with differing opinions and I wouldn't discount their input.
