AspiringPilot89

Hello,
I am new to the forums and would like to say hi to everyone out here. I am a 17 year old high school student in the suburbs of Chicago, and like many of you, my goal is to be an airline pilot. Now since I need to pick a college, I'm really stuck on what to do, so maybe you can help me. Ever since I was 5 I have dreamed about being a pilot, and even now thats what motivates me to take honors and ap classes. The only problem is my family, my mom is a pharmacist and my dad owns his own company, and they are trying really hard to keep me from being a pilot. My mom says that I can be a pilot if I first go to a 4 year university and get a degree in an unrelated field as a "fall back plan" and afterwards gain my certification up to ATP and maybe a boeing type rating. And I can handle 4 years of school, its not that big of a deal, but its the $ that I'm concerned about. The 4 years of school are going to be around 75 grand on top of atleast 50 grand of flight training alone. They're concerned that with the current hiring trends, I'll be stuck with my certification but have no jobs available.

This year when we flew to Florida, I asked the captain what I should do to be a pilot, and he suggested that I should get my private certification ASAP. After negotiations with my parents and finally hitting 17, this summer I will attend some local flight school to get my private certificate. After finishing high school my dilema will kick in. I want to complete my flight training ASAP, but I would also like to get a 4 year degree as my backup. I've only seen this at Embry-Riddle, and it's really expensive for both.

Is there any way that I can have my flight training and get a degree at the same time? How should I go about getting my degree and flight training while keeping my costs to a minimum(without the military)? Sorry about the ramble, but I really cant stop thinking about this and don't know what to do.

Thanks,
Bob

N6724G

Go to any college or university and take flying lessons at your local FBO.

wally24

Look into the University of Illinois-Champaign and SIU. They both have great flight programs and you can get a degree in something else. It is a huge workload, but a backup plan is a good idea. There are alot of other schools that have good flight programs, such as Purdue, but you don't have to pay out of state tuition. Good Luck with your private.

MikeB525

Hey there,

Same issue for me. I'm at a 4 year school going for a degree in meteorology, which is either going to be a fallback or my intended career (haven't decided on airline flying yet). I just finished IFR in october and have about 150 hours. My parents are paying for school, and I'm having to pay for flying all on my own. So it will still probably be another 2 years before I have a commercial ticket.

If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to a 2 year community college and gotten an associates degree, probably in math, and then on to finish at a 4 years school. My parents were willing and able to pay for me to go to a 4 year state school with room and board. I would have asked them to take some of the tons of $$$ they would have saved by my going to community college and use it to pay for flying through the local FBO. (Also, I would have gotten all my math and science courses done at the community college, which are much easier there than at Rutgers).

I didn't really pick back up into actively flying until a couple years ago. I came to the 4 year school and did ROTC, but it didn't work out. I was originally expecting the Air Force to pay for most of my tuition, but obviously that was shot to hell.

So that's what I would say to you. Figure out what degree you'd like to have as the "fallback", then do you first 2 years at a community college before transfering to a nearby state school to finish your 4 year degree. And ask your parents to take the money saved and put it toward flying. Also, the courses at community colleges are typically much easier and less intensive than at universities (especially for math and science). You should work toward having all of your major training done by the time you finish at the 2 hear school. You could then instruct on the side while doing the bachelors degree. This would not only get you building time, but would also give you spending money for school.

Good luck!!

vagabond

You must be the, what, 29th teenager on this forum with a similar question. Here's some free legal advice: Listen to your mother. Go to college. Good luck, kid.

vagabond

In the middle of making dinner when I forgot another piece of important advice! Kiss a girl (french kiss if you can) before you turn 18. Let us know how it all went, too.

Illini

I'm a senior at U of I and currently I'm an American Airlines Flight intern. P.M. me and I'll give you the lowdown on U of I's situation. Pro's and Con's. Best of luck

Illini

ryane946

That is the best... and the cheapest way to accomplish your goal. That is what I did. I went to a 4 year college and got a degree in engineering. My summer before freshman year I got my private. I did some cross country flying during the school year, and then summer after freshman year I got my instrument.


Do not go to ERAU. It is WAY too expensive. Do not go to UND. I had a good friend in highschool go to UND. It is in the middle of nowhere. You should enjoy college.
You seem like a smart kid. My recommendation for backup majors is engineering. Engineering is great because you learn a lot that will be useful later in your career. Once you have done 3-d center of mass in cartesian, polar, spherical, and cylindrical coordinates, you will never again sweat an airplane center of mass loading problem. Likewise, you will never have a hard time understanding how your airplane's engine works once you have done a lab analyzing the thermodynamic efficiency of a jet engine... I can go on and on. But the basic idea is you will learn so much in engineering that will help you with your aviation studies. I can't even begin to tell you how much an engineering degree has helped me in aviation.

Regardless, you should get a non-aviation degree for any typical college. Find an FBO at your local airport. Do flight training in your free time. I have gotten licenses and rating both during the school year, and when I have been working 40+ hours a week in the summer. Let me tell you it is SO MUCH EASIER to get your licenses and ratings during the summer working full time as opposed to doing them during the school year.

You should get your private as soon as you can. After that, do some flying for fun. Make sure you really enjoy this. Take all your friends/families up for rides. Make sure you go at least 50nm from your home airport so you can log it as cross country time. I would divide up the rest of your licenses/ratings over college summers (instrument, multi, commercial, CFI/I/MEI. That way as soon as you graduate, you can get a job as a flight instructor and be on your path to being an airline pilot.

Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. I like helping informed youth.
Good Luck.
Ryan

sigep_nm

Dont listen to these guys above. Go to UND. It is not in the middle of nowhere, and you will train the best equipment available. You want the low down, get your ten posts then pm, I'll give you the real 411.

Illini

The only benefit I can see from ERAU, which is a small one, is that you do your instrument and commerical mulit before your single commerical. This forces you to add lots of mulit time to your logbook. When it's almost 300 an hour though, just go to the FBO and work your way up like everyone else until your able to get those multi hours and qualify yourself to wherever you want to go. You'll save alot of money and you can get a degree in something else you love. How great is that?