Wow, a lot of opinions on this topic, I'll add my two cents.
I went to an aviation college on the east coast of Florida, FIT. Here is their web site for the university and the flight line.
http://www.fit.edu/
http://www.fitaviation.com/
I would highly recommend getting college, even if not an aviation one. My last job was with a commuter airline, and most of the pilots already had degrees. Our chief pilot did not have one, and he could not get interview with even low cost or startup carriers such as Frontier Airlines, while his line pilots with much less time and connections were getting them. A few of the pilots were doing the 4 year correspondence degrees; needless to say it was a huge strain on them, especially after being out of school several years prior. Also, most were taking several years doing the online degrees. Basically, having a college degree might not be stated on the minimums with an airline, but it is always part of the competitive minimums. (Remember, the military services also have colleges too, called academies, where you will get a degree, aloing with your comission.) Without a four year degree in something, even underwater BB stacking, you realistically will not advance past the commuter airline level.
I loved the aviation college experience for the most part. I chose a degree in Aviation Management Flight Technology, which is a combination of Business Management, Airway Science, and Pilot School. The reason I chose this degree is that not only did it have flight school, but also had a fallback business degree in case of loss of medical, etc.
A lot of people have mentioned how the cost is high, and I will confirm that to some extent. But be aware that not only student loans (which you have to pay back), but also tuition wavers are part of a financial aid package. I had over $20,000 given to me by FIT during the four years of college, which worked out to about 25% off of the cost of my college degree. Also, being a college course, government student loans are available, while I doubt that you can get with a mom and pop flight school. I think only private loans are available at mom and pop flight schools.
Another positive of the college flying experience is that you are a known quantity, similar to military pilot. Employers don't like to take risk, so if they have had several great pilots from a particular college they will tend to rank another applicant from that same college higher, as they know if they graduated that program the know their stuff. In addition many of the college flight programs have made deals to get interviews with commuter airlines after graduation. Of course the specifics very by program to program, but some of them will put the top percentage of the class into the right seat of an RJ after graduation. Of course, I would research any of those programs carefully for specifics.
The downside of the go to school and take flight on the side program is that life tends to get in the way of actually flying. Exams, part time work, the girlfriend who wants to go away for a weekend, etc. all contribute to people putting off flying lessons, or having them spaced out. Eventually, when college classes become harder, they may take a semester off from flying, which tends to lead to more long breaks from flying and never finishing getting their certificates.
Other good aviation colleges besides FIT that I can think of off of the top of my head are Embry-Riddle (apply to both campuses individually), University of North Dakota, St. Louis University (they are a religious school), and Daniel Webster University.
Feel Free to PM me about FIT, or other questions, if you care to.
I went to an aviation college on the east coast of Florida, FIT. Here is their web site for the university and the flight line.
http://www.fit.edu/
http://www.fitaviation.com/
I would highly recommend getting college, even if not an aviation one. My last job was with a commuter airline, and most of the pilots already had degrees. Our chief pilot did not have one, and he could not get interview with even low cost or startup carriers such as Frontier Airlines, while his line pilots with much less time and connections were getting them. A few of the pilots were doing the 4 year correspondence degrees; needless to say it was a huge strain on them, especially after being out of school several years prior. Also, most were taking several years doing the online degrees. Basically, having a college degree might not be stated on the minimums with an airline, but it is always part of the competitive minimums. (Remember, the military services also have colleges too, called academies, where you will get a degree, aloing with your comission.) Without a four year degree in something, even underwater BB stacking, you realistically will not advance past the commuter airline level.
I loved the aviation college experience for the most part. I chose a degree in Aviation Management Flight Technology, which is a combination of Business Management, Airway Science, and Pilot School. The reason I chose this degree is that not only did it have flight school, but also had a fallback business degree in case of loss of medical, etc.
A lot of people have mentioned how the cost is high, and I will confirm that to some extent. But be aware that not only student loans (which you have to pay back), but also tuition wavers are part of a financial aid package. I had over $20,000 given to me by FIT during the four years of college, which worked out to about 25% off of the cost of my college degree. Also, being a college course, government student loans are available, while I doubt that you can get with a mom and pop flight school. I think only private loans are available at mom and pop flight schools.
Another positive of the college flying experience is that you are a known quantity, similar to military pilot. Employers don't like to take risk, so if they have had several great pilots from a particular college they will tend to rank another applicant from that same college higher, as they know if they graduated that program the know their stuff. In addition many of the college flight programs have made deals to get interviews with commuter airlines after graduation. Of course the specifics very by program to program, but some of them will put the top percentage of the class into the right seat of an RJ after graduation. Of course, I would research any of those programs carefully for specifics.
The downside of the go to school and take flight on the side program is that life tends to get in the way of actually flying. Exams, part time work, the girlfriend who wants to go away for a weekend, etc. all contribute to people putting off flying lessons, or having them spaced out. Eventually, when college classes become harder, they may take a semester off from flying, which tends to lead to more long breaks from flying and never finishing getting their certificates.
Other good aviation colleges besides FIT that I can think of off of the top of my head are Embry-Riddle (apply to both campuses individually), University of North Dakota, St. Louis University (they are a religious school), and Daniel Webster University.
Feel Free to PM me about FIT, or other questions, if you care to.
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