What to do after the private?

[Occam's Razor]

After Private?

PFC
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff-Sergeant
Gunnery- Sergeant
First Sergeant
Sergeant-Major

Below Private comes:

Navy Ensign and black shoe J.G.'s
All Air Force officers

 

[gkrangers]

Where are you getting the 50K extra...its not extra if you say the tuition and flight training are seperate. I would love to see a cost to cost comparison of all the ratings and comparable hours from someone who did it at anFBO and someone who did it a flight school like ERAU or UND.

Cuz I go to ERAU. But I do not fly there for many reasons.

The flying works just like an FBO. You schedule a flight with your instructor, you fly, you pay by the hour.

Its just like going to any other college and then going to the local FBO. Cept the local FBO is on the campus, and more strict, and more expensive.

My PPL-CFI is going to cost me around 30K doing all the flying Part 61 at "mom & pop" flight schools. Doing the same flying at Riddle will cost more and net you less flight time.

I like the college part of it, but want no part of the flight department.

 

[G2T]

Since when does a campus of 13,000 students not qualify for a "Real" college?

Get your ratings outside of ERAU or UND and go to a real college. You'll save money and have more fun overall!

This is the best piece of advice on this thread. If you don't read anything else, please read what I quoted.

Don't rule out aviation schools just because of a few negative opinions on the board. Tuition at UND is VERY cheap especially if you are a resident or can get reciprocity (sp?). It is also a school of 13,000 students, so while you are working on your flight courses, you can also get a degree in anything from Biochemistry to Underwater Basketweaving. As far as fun goes, the 4 years I spent at UND were extremely fun (especially if you like beer, wintertime, or hockey). Most people that went there will say the same. Flight costs may be a little higher, but the equipment/training was top notch. It's about taking advantage of the opportunities available.

 

[Captain Josh]

Fly as much as you can. Going into any aviation college with a ppl is gonna help you keep it real. So many kids get to these schools with no prior aviation experience and end up being molded into part 141 posers. They know a lot about airlines and nothing about anything else. I would know. I went to one of these schools. (WMU) Learn as much as you can from the outside because once you get to one of these schools you're going to be in a safety and regulation bubble for the next four years.
Im not knocking any of these schools. Like the last guy said they have great equipment and facilities. You also have a complete department at your disposal. There is always someone to answer just about any question you can come up with.
As far as what school to pick that's your choice. I went to a university that happened to have an aviation program. Wherever you go just make sure there's a lot of chicks, good bars and good weather.

You can fly at one of these schools just make sure you don't end up being another cookie cutter pilot.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

Where are you getting the 50K extra...its not extra if you say the tuition and flight training are seperate. I would love to see a cost to cost comparison of all the ratings and comparable hours from someone who did it at anFBO and someone who did it a flight school like ERAU or UND.

I'll give you a comparison. I spent just under $25,000 to get from a 16 year old kid who wanted flying lessons to a CFI Comm/Multi/Inst through the local FBO flight school. No, I didn't memorize a 100 page book of SOP's and pretend to be an airline pilot with my silly little 1 stripe uniform on every time I went up for a training flight in the 172, but I made it out alright. Combine that with a 4 year degree from a local accredited school and you will easily spend half that of an ERAU grad. Not only that, you can get your degree in something like business that will actually work in your benefit if you ever lost your ability or desire to fly airplanes.

You people can sit around trying to justify spending $120,000+ for a silly aviation degree from a big named school all that you want, but the bottom line is that you don't need it and you aren't going to end up any better off for it. I have the same job as many ERAU or UND grads, and I've already paid off all of my debt. Flame away.

 

[gkrangers]

Nobody is flaming or trying to justify anything. Its just annoying when someone comes into a thread, spouts there anti ERAU thing, and then says "flame away" or something stupid like that.

Everyone in this thread agrees with you, so I don't know why you feel the need to be a dick about it.

If you attend ERAU, or UND, or WMU, or wherever...don't get the "professional pilot" degree. I'm in the Safety program here at ERAU. Gonna serve me a heck of a lot better than that Aeronatuical Science degree would.

 

[G2T]

You people can sit around trying to justify spending $120,000+ for a silly aviation degree from a big named school all that you want, but the bottom line is that you don't need it and you aren't going to end up any better off for it. I have the same job as many ERAU or UND grads, and I've already paid off all of my debt. Flame away.

$120,000??? Absolutely not. Some student loans? Sure, we're not all independently wealthy (since I didn't win the powerball jackpot the other night). If I was in debt up to $120,000 I would have my ratings, a four year degree AND BE A HOME OWNER in Grand Forks. Or possibly I would be able to put M.D. after my name.

$40,000 PVT-CommMeInst, CFII
http://flightops.aero.und.edu/facts/costs.asp
Approx. $6000/YR for tuition, that's a total of about $65,000.

 

[Fugawe]

Get yer ratings at the local FBO

Go to college and get a degree in something useful- make alot of money
buy a airplane and fly it for fun-as a job, flying, and anything associated with it SUCKS

become a lawyer

Ha, gotta agree that this is the best advice here. Except the part about being a lawyer, YGBSM, don't we have an overload of them now? Friggin' ambulance chasers are all over TV commercials, billboards, etc because there isn't enough work for them, so they make it up.

Learn to invest, work toward financial independence, don't spend your life working for someone else.

Flying can be fun, satisfying, challenging, etc -- but it does suck as a 'career'.

Fugawe

 

[pilotyip]

A college degree has nothing to do with flying an airplane. If you want to be a pilot buy your ratings and start flying, do your degree on the side. Going to college getting a degree in accounting and then spending 10 years trying to build your flying career, makes the college degree nearly useless to land a good job. You have to decide what you want to be. Just a thought but look into joining the Army's flight program no degree required.

 

[Alex429595]

Get your ratings outside of ERAU or UND and go to a real college. You'll save money and have more fun overall!

The University of North Dakota =is= a real college. Its just your average state university, plus a flight dept. Less than 10 % of the student body (13,000 total) are in aviation. I would also say that the vast majority of our aviation students (myself included) are double majoring in something non aviation.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

$40,000 PVT-CommMeInst, CFII
http://flightops.aero.und.edu/facts/costs.asp
Approx. $6000/YR for tuition, that's a total of about $65,000.

So are you telling me that you can got a Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science from ERAU for $65,000? I understand you went to UND, and perhaps their program is significantly less. If so then I was wrong for including UND in my original statement. Most of my negative opinions are toward ERAU.

Perhaps gkrangers can enlighten us on the current costs for the entire Aeronautical Science program. My understanding is that it runs in the 120k to 150k range.

And for gkrangers, in all honesty I'm not trying to be a d!ck. My best friend goes to Riddle and he reacts the same way whenever I go into my fits about his school. Like I've told him, I'm not attacking you personally, but I think the school that you attend is a rip off. I understand the whole school pride thing, but that is my opinion which I am entitled to. I simply don't want to see some of these kids put themselves into decades of debt over some school thinking that it is the only way or even the best way to become an airline pilot, because it isn't.

 

[J.C.Airborne]

After Private?

PFC
Lance Corporal
Corporal
Sergeant
Staff-Sergeant
Gunnery- Sergeant
First Sergeant
Sergeant-Major

Below Private comes:

Navy Ensign and black shoe J.G.'s
All Air Force officers

that was kind of lame have to say.

 

[Guitar rocker]

UND may be cheap as far as getting a degree.........but when it comes to aviation costs, it aint cheap. Yah, I was there for 4 years..........the flying part was good, as long as you had the right instructor. Not much in the way of standardization though. If you were doing a phase check, one guy would bust you for not having the beacon on while another would basically let you crash the plane and you would still pass.

Overall, you would be better off doing your ratings with a good instructor at an FBO somewhere and you will save some money. Get a degree in something that you can fall back on though.

 

[VNugget]

Go get a tailwheel checkout and some acro lessons.

 

[J.C.Airborne]

So are you telling me that you can got a Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science from ERAU for $65,000? I understand you went to UND, and perhaps their program is significantly less. If so then I was wrong for including UND in my original statement. Most of my negative opinions are toward ERAU.

Perhaps gkrangers can enlighten us on the current costs for the entire Aeronautical Science program. My understanding is that it runs in the 120k to 150k range.

And for gkrangers, in all honesty I'm not trying to be a d!ck. My best friend goes to Riddle and he reacts the same way whenever I go into my fits about his school. Like I've told him, I'm not attacking you personally, but I think the school that you attend is a rip off. I understand the whole school pride thing, but that is my opinion which I am entitled to. I simply don't want to see some of these kids put themselves into decades of debt over some school thinking that it is the only way or even the best way to become an airline pilot, because it isn't.

UND is significantly cheaper due to the fact that it is a public school...especially if you live in a state that reciprocity or Western Undergraduate Exchange programs applies to. I agree with you that ERAU is a considerable waste of money due to the fact that UND is just as good as ERAU and sooooo much less than ERAU.