What Universitys Are Good for Future Pilots?? - Merged

[fastandlow]

Two years without continuous work or continuing education is the limit in most states. Technology is continually progressing, and it would be irresponsible to even TRY to practice as a nurse having not used the skills for 2 years.

What's the problem??? All you need is the current rev documents on the latest routing of blood vessels and bone configurations.

 

[fastandlow]

University of Illinois..............ILLINI #1 in the country NCAA basketball...#1

http://www.aviation.uiuc.edu/

Yea, but it's still in Illinois...

 

[qmaster3]

Two years without continuous work or continuing education is the limit in most states. Technology is continually progressing, and it would be irresponsible to even TRY to practice as a nurse having not used the skills for 2 years.

One would hope that you're more familiar with the field of aviation than the field of nursing.

Calm down Tony I am sure one getting back into the field of Nursing is not the "Nurse in Command".

 

[coolyokeluke]

I know the references to college sports teams is a way of being a supportive fan and all but... I just don't get the people who devote their allegience to a university based on its football/basketball/insert sport team. You see it all over but it seemed especially prevelant in the south. I can see the interview now: "I see you went to USC. Why yes, I was in a class with our quarterback once! When can you start?" The academic reputation of the college seems trivial to these people.

Find a school that's price competitive with a strong program in a major that interests you. You want a reasonable chance of success in the real world if you decide aviation's not for you or not worth putting up with.

 

[hindsight2020]

Veritas vos liberabit

And frankly, I believe that your institution of higher educationisverygood at what it does, and has a unique combination ofstrongprogramsthat you can't find anywhere else. Had I known then whatIknow now, Iwould have selected Purdue for my undergraduate studies(forall kindsof reasons... I could have done the engineering thing,flew,and got myCTI training). Heck, I would have selected it for myCTItraining aswell most recently (in conjunction with a Master'sdegree),but you knowwhat Prof. Nolan (the guy who runs your CTIprogram andwrote a $100text book I had to buy) told me? If you wantto go be acontroller, gobe a controller. Don't come here and do aMaster's degree.It's likePilotYIP says about being a Pilot -- if youwanna be a pilot,go buildflight time. Don't horse around with anaeronautical sciencedegreethinking it will make you a better pilot orget you hired fasterthanPIC time.

As a current graduate student at Purdue I gotta interject and putsome perspective into what smellthejeta alluded to above. Wewould all agree that the advice given by Prof Nolan is reasonable atface value,however in looking just a little deeper you will discoverthe reasons why somebody in the position that he holds REALLY said whathe said to you.

Prof Nolan, privately, is not concerned with the airline hopefuls, heis concerned with kids like me, because we discovered the niche hediscovered 25 years ago and won't let go of it. "If you want to be acontroller be a controller???" Are you f'ing kidding me?!?! Listen,Mr.Nolan knows as much as I know, that I won't use the graduate degreeI'm currently pursuing for what the brochure says I'm supposed to useit for. You know what I will use it for? To get the job HE HAS. Andthat's WHY he is so animate about telling you to not get "distracted"with the pursuit of otherwise un-related graduate degrees in yourpursuit of the flying soda can. He knows his advice will completelyresonate as sound advice to the airline hopeful, since the airlinehopeful does not recognize or aspire to what I discovered, Prof.Nolan's job.

In other words, I will graduate by the end of the year with anunmarketable, yet highly technical and socially valuable masters inAero engineering, big freggin' deal right? Well, coupled with a BSinthe same AND the completion of my tickets, puts me where? knockingonthese professors's boots. Put in a couple of years flight instructingfor a university, combined with the aforementioned formal education andnot jumping ship for the peanut regionals puts me right in line forafaculty job where I can 1)make decent money and establishreputationand 2)continue to fly and enjoy what I truly love. The wasteof time istaking these professors' advice seriously. As for Purdue, Iresonatethe sentiment of others, I wouldn't do [flight training] ithere, I continue to pursue my ratings on the side on the small FBOscene,saving cash while I also complete the degree. Hell if it wasn'tfor the**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** National Guardbeing such a bitch I wouldn't even be doing Purdue at all right now,but paying the rent is another post altogether.

Is this path I've described for everybody? not at all, of course ProfNolan wants this to be the case badly and I understand it. But forsomebody (me) who ended up getting all this extra education and hasflying as his passion, beats the regionals and the cookie FBO gig by alongshot, a bonus for me since I never wanted the airline path andactually would get to instruct for a living in the air and intheclassroom while not looking at it like a stepping stone... andthat's good enough for me (was good enough for the Prof. Nolans of theworld)...Lets just take these people's advice with a grain of salt andnot gospel, in the end anybody with experience in aviation will tellyou finding a niche market is the way to attaining a balance betweenthe love we share for flying and putting food on the table.

Happy flying folks

 

[hindsight2020]

sorry for the spacing problems above, nothing like writing a thesis online

 

[bobbysamd]

Typing/spacing aside

sorry for the spacing problems above, nothing like writing a thesis online

The spacing problems may not be your fault. I've had similar problems for about four days using a Mozilla-based browser. Never happened before last week using the same browser.

No problems with IE or Safari. I have a Mac.

???

 

[e12pilot]

The spacing problems may not be your fault. I've had similar problems for about four days using a Mozilla-based browser. Never happened before last week using the same browser.

No problems with IE or Safari. I have a Mac.

FireFox on a Windows XP machine does the same thing to me as well. Post looks fine in the editing window and then when it is posted spaces get deleted.

P

 

[bobbysamd]

FireFox on a Windows XP machine does the same thing to me as well. Post looks fine in the editing window and then when it is posted spaces get deleted.

Firefox is what I've been using - but, it was fine until about Wednesday.

 

[cougar6903]

ERAU is cool, but it is very expensive, and in the end, you won't end up any better off than anyone else.

-Goose

Goose, who are you kidding. If you've ever talked to a ERAU grad you'll know ERAU is far from "cool"

 

[mrvmo]

If you want to be head deep in debt when you finish and eat, sleep, walk, talk, sh$# flying you might want to head to Riddle. If you want an all around great college experience then go to one one the state schools. You will enjoy it a whole lot more. SIU!

 

[GAcfi]

Mtsu

Take a look at MTSU (Middle Tennessee St. University). www.mtsu.edu It is located in Murfreesboro about 30 miles from Nashville. They have several aviation degree options like pro-pilot, aviation administration, aviation technology, and also are one of the few schools in the country that have an ATC program and can send someone for the FAA ATC test. That is where the money is! Too bad ATC was closed to hiring with only certain exceptions when i was in college. They are looking for people now and will be hiring big time in the next five years. That is what I would recommend to young people wanting to go into aviation. My buddies in ATC at ATL make almost three times what I bring in on the airport operations side of things. The ones that want to fly own an airplane! But I got off the point didn't I?

I went the aviation adminstration route and earned my license on the side at a local flight school. The university Pro-pilot program is Part 141. They fly a new fleet of katana's and have a few PA-44's. It is reasonable and you get a real university experience because there are other groups to get involved with outside of aviation organizations. Several southern states also qualify for in state tuition. There are lots of women (big teaching and nursing college) that go there which is a big positive, unlike aviation specific colleges.

 

[Sphincter Boy]

Check out Louisiana Tech University

 

[Jmmccutc]

go here, i'm sure everyone on this board will back you in your decision to get a quality education in wasting money...

http://www.gulfstreamacademy.com/

 

[check6]

Don't hard charge to an airline job. Get a degree in something other than aviation.

That way when you lose your medical and have to quit flying, or, like thousands of pilots today who don't have work because of the economy, you'll have something to fall back on.

As bad as that sounds, it could happen and will happen. I went to Nodak and they encouraged it.

 

[convair007]

Anyway you look at degree or no degree. All I can say is that you'll never regret getting a degree. As far as schools go, I went to Western Michigan University and was very satisfied with their program. Good Luck.

 

[convair007]

On another note, by taking a few more classes at WMU you can double major in Aviation Flight Science and Aviation Science and Administration, that way if the flying thing doesn't work you have a management degree to fall back on. That's what I did, I love flying but it's comforting to know I have that other degree just in case.

 

[Vne]

FWIW...At 14 get your ratings as cheap as you can from a good quality flight school. Get your CFI before college, its a lot cheaper. Instruct part time during college. Maybe for the university you attend and get a discount on tuition.
Get an engineering degree or what ever interest's you outside of aviation. Upon graduation you will be able to find a flying position and when things go off course as they will you will have a background to support your self.
Or you can do the smart thing and get into a field that pays enough for you to enjoy flying as a hobby and buy your own AC. Good luck.

 

[pilotyip]

Don't bank on the fall back value of a degree. I have BS and a Master's, but at age 53, I was making $250/wk loading cargo. After Zantop pretended to go out of went out of business in 1997, I had been a temporary High School Chemistry Teacher up until two weeks before the cargo job came along. However, they do not teach school in the summer. The value of an unused degree is highly over rated. 53 year old unemployed airline pilots are not eagerly greeted in any industry that I know of, even of having a couple degrees. Of course, I did not apply for many of the "College degree preferred jobs" such as apt manager, telephone direct sales, plumping floor manager at Home Depot, etc. If you get a college degree you have to use, the knowledge gained in college to develop a career or the degree is useless. After getting a degree, flying an airplane is not a knowledge expanding experience; it is skill development experience. Anyone care to chime in and share their experiences on entering the non-aviation job market after being out of college 20-30 years? Do the degree on the side and fly full time you will come out ahead

 

[Vne]

Just starting out 1) become a plumber 2) buy an aircraft and fly when you "feel" like it.