CBreezy

How is that question relevant?

Sliceback

Gringo - "Finally, it's 2017, not 1994. This question about degrees pops up 4-6 times a year, and if the OP can't be bothered to run a simple Google search before hand then yes, some ridicule is in order. There's a "search" function at the top of the page for a reason.

Also deserving of ridicule; anyone who replies "you don't need a degree to fly airplanes". Or anyone who advises high schoolers to "just start flying, get your degree later"; quite possibly the worst advice that somehow keeps popping up on this board. Yes, don't go to college while you're single and have no responsibilities, go get that flight time! Seniority is everything! Because it's way easier to finish that degree once you have a wife and kids and are stuck at a regional desperate to get out. Brilliant."

Hey, we agree it's not 1994. But I still think the smartest move to get to a major seniority list is to fly first and get you degree second. Two guys on the fly first vs college first tracks could share a cockpit when they're 25. Both could have four yr degrees but one would be CA and one would be the FO. And the CA might have already flowed or will be in the next year or two.

Broncofan

You just said it was dumb to advise people to fly first and get the degree later. Then you said the smartest move was to fly first and get the degree later. Which one did you mean? Unless I read it wrong

billsaw

The college bubble will pop. Maybe Delta will be the last holdout but college cost and training cost have gone past the point of it being practical to both going forward.

When I was in school just 17 years ago it cost 3,500k a year. The school had 15,000 students so it was no community college. If you break that down that equaled $290 a month. Easily affordable to anyone even being a waiter at a local restaurant. Same school today is more than triple that. Kids can't afford to pay $1,000 a month working at Longhorns any more so they are forced to take on debt. For most (non pilots) taking on 50k worth of debt for a 40k job is just a bad move.

Having a college degree used to mean something. It meant something because a small percentage of people did it and it taught them how to excel in their field. Nowadays people go to college to go to college. They go to college to stay on daddies dime, in daddies house, and on daddies insurance. To illustrate how silly it is most people that do don't even have careers in fields that have anything to do with their major. Would you hire somebody do be your doctor if he was a lawyer? Why not, he was a college graduate and showed dedication. Right? Nothing I learned in college has really anything to do with flying airplanes.

I suspect one big hurdle is the HR departments. HR departments despise people (pilots) who are gonna make 5 times as much money as they are in their miserable little cubicle with their red Swingline stapler that didn't get their degree and aren't part of the club. For that matter so do some pilots.


In light of Memorial day weekend I would ask you guys this. How many of the brave souls that were pilots and fought for us in WW2 did not have a college degree? At the major airlines these days they would have their resumes thrown in the trash as they would be considered unworthy..... God bless those boys for keeping us free even though they didn't have a college degree

Sliceback

Bronco - the first portion of my post is quoting gringo. He thought flying first is a bad idea. For the focused guy I think it's a better plan. But you still need your degree. In general life is tougher without one.
It's not unreasonable to get a degree after starting your flying career.

But it's about choices.

Andy

Great question. Let's update it a bit. How many military pilots in Desert Storm didn't have a 4 year degree? A minuscule number of Army warrant officer helo pilots.

I'm amazed that this subject keeps resurfacing. How many times does one need to be told that they are at an almost insurmountable disadvantage without a 4 year degree? Dumb and dumber.

clemb8

Thousands of applicants with good degrees, good records, box checking, and "servant leadership" are still waiting for just the opportunity to interview. This thread is absurd.

jonnyjetprop

My personal experience is that a degree is required more than ever, if you want to get to a major. With computerized HR software, it's too easy to score a degree very high and push out those without one. In the old days, a person like me got hired because the recruiter/chief pilot saw something that hooked them into giving you an interview. Today, a human may never see your application.

If the supply of pilots drops too low, maybe the majors will look at more non bachelors degree pilots.

Something else to think about is what will you do if you if for some reason your airline shuts down. I was in this very situation. I was hired on at World with a two year degree. When they went out of business, those of us without degrees had a much harder time finding good jobs. I went back to school and graduated in 2016.

SonicFlyer

Since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created actually.

SonicFlyer