So what about college?

[jumppilot]

and then you have the rest of your life to fly multi-engine turbines and here's the kicker: You'll fly so much you'll be bored to death and sick of it.

Excellent point.

 

[Goose Egg]

Speaking for myself, I decided to take things a step further and get a masters degree. I'm enjoying it, but I don't think it will really help much in getting a flying job (but that's not why I did it). It is nice to be able to instruct full time while being a full-time grad student, and that time is going to go by in any case.

I think it'd be fun to be an airline pilot, but I'm not going to get upset if it never happens. I wouldn't mind doing the corporate thing either, but who knows what will work out. If the truth will be told I think that fixed-wing air ambulance would be a really rewarding job. Maybe I'd do that and then use my MBA somehow. Maybe I'll just devote all my spare time to skiing. Maybe I'll just forget about this so-called "career" thing and just ski. Who knows.

-Goose

 

[pilotyip]

no degree required

Best of luck, Goose you will probably need it. Your career path has as many possible directions as a compass has points. Sounds like you are going try alot of different things to see what might work out. Also sounds like you are not really going to use your MBA skills right away, but maybe later on. Like I said you may luck into something, opportunities are stranges things, you never know when they will pop up. Then again you find yourself at age 40 going how come I don't have a great job? Again back to my central theme. If you are going to be a pilot, you fly airplanes, and you keep moving to jobs that enhance your resume. You eventually get a career job. My opinion is the best way to do this is start flying early, build time, get the TJ PIC time by your early 20's and move on to a career position. You can not do this going to college full time. Do the degree on the side to keep all the options open, the degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane.

 

[Goose Egg]

Thanks yip. I have intentionally allowed myself some flexibility in the type of employment that I would be satisfied with. I always thought it would be hazardous to focus only on one type of flying job because it prevents one from being aware of all the other opportunity out there--opportunity that could be just as rewarding, if not more. Chances are that I will have several different types of jobs, i.e. airline, corporate, 135, etc.

One thing is for sure, however: I will continue to ski.

It should be noted that I would not have undertaken the MBA had I not been able to continue my full-time flying career. It should also be stated that flying was a large part of my undergraduate college education, so time spent in school was not "wasted." (Education is never a waste, in my opinion.) Additionally, since I was poor, independent for tax purposes, and flying in collegiate program, I recieved a good amount of funding in the form of pell grants; the government ended up paying for much of my flight training.

Just something to consider.

-Goose

 

[dabandermac]

Goose, I'm sort of in the same boat your in. I have my private, half way through my instrument, plan on getting my multi/comm over the summer & I'm off to graduate school next year (biochemistry, boston college). I can imagine nothing I would like to do more than fly airplanes for the rest of my life, but there are certain things about professional aviation that steer me away...

1) Being away from my family on holidays, birthdays, etc (note: I do not have a family yet, nor intend to have one anytime soon.. I'm 21)
2) Losing interest in things that make me happy/hobbies (i.e. snowboarding)
3) Industry uncertainty/security

Now, when I compare myself to Goose, I'm comparing myself to his options. I have many different career paths I can take... research, sales, business, flying, and the list goes on. It's a balancing game. As Pilotyip said, to be successful one really needs to concentrate on one area and do whatever it takes to get there.

Since I only plan on going up to my Comm and not getting my CFI, it seems like I will only fly professionally if something pops up (i.e. charter) or I go to the ANG (which I'm considering).

Has anyone else been in my situation? What did you do? What would you do? I'm looking for advice also. Didn't intend to hijack this thread, but just wanted to shift the direction to those educated folk on the fence. Any advice appreciated...

Still watching planes disappear into the horizon,
dabandermac

 

[Spaceball1]

I suggest applying with the regionals now and working on your degree from Embry Riddle online or one of the many other online colleges. If you are planning on being a pilot, it doesn't matter what you get your degree in. Later when you apply at the majors, it just gets one more box checked.

 

[pilotyip]

Spaceball understands

 

[Goose Egg]

Being away from my family on holidays, birthdays, etc.

[Disclaimer] I am not speaking from experience. [end disclaimer]

I have a theory about this. Obviously, it is good to be around when you can for those sorts of things, but if you fly for a living it can't be completely avoided. I think that if you celebrate those occasions early (not late), it will be just as good. For example, I don't know if there is any kid in the world that would complain about having Christmas early, or their birthday presents early. I think it's ok just as long as an effort has been made to recognize them beforehand.

Losing interest in things that make me happy/hobbies (i.e. snowboarding)

How is losing interest in snowboarding a bad thing? Just kidding. Actually, I'm a pretty firm believer that you should have outside interests and hobbies that let you "reset" your attention span and love for flying. Flying is work, and you can't work all the time and expect to be a happy person. You need some down time.

Sort of funny you should mention it, because I have been giving that subject some thought lately. For one thing, I am quite happy flying for a living, and honestly that does nothing but intensify my overall love of life and interest in other things. Life is good in this aspect, so I want to see what I can do to make it as good in other aspects. It's part of living a rich, full life. If you notice that your work is killing your desire to participate in other activities, it's unhealthy and should be investigated.

Industry uncertainty/security

People on this website love to moan and groan about how unstable the aviation industry is. That may be true, but what they don't mention is that every industry has a degree of instability--there really is no escaping it. It's just the business climate that we live in.

As Pilotyip said, to be successful one really needs to concentrate on one area and do whatever it takes to get there.

I do not necessarily agree. I think that one should do whatever it is that will make them the most happy in all aspects, and one couldn't possibly know what that is without experimentation. I further submit that the most successful and effective employees (read the happiest and most satisfied with their work) are able to draw from a broad, multidisciplinary base of knowledge and experience. How could one do that without having experience in multiple disciplines? (See my comment about hobbies.)

Since I only plan on going up to my Comm and not getting my CFI...

Why not? Getting the CFI is one of the best things I've done, and I find it to be very rewarding work. If it paid me enough to have a family and I house, I'd be pretty hard pressed to give it up.

-Goose

 

[Flyingdutchman]

http:// www . clear -a nd -a- mill io n.com/

 

[vetteracer]

I was lucky enough to find a 135 cargo outfit to fly for at night during college.

Graduated college at 23 with 3000 TT and 1800 ME.

Here is the deal, go to college, you have nothing to loose but time and money, and they can be made up.

Get a degree in something OTHER then aviation. After flying for 3-4 years,
6 days a week, and 5-6 hours a day, like MAR said, it is just a job.

Secondly, with no degree, you can forget the military, as a 4 year degree is required to be an Officer.

In a nutshell, for me, I was affraid of finding my dream job at 45 years old, and getting passed over because I had no degree. That was my motivation for going to college. Once there I really enjoyed it, and it has given me a perspective on life and education that I am glad I have.