good idea?

[andyb99]

hey
ive posted before , asking for help in my decision in being a pilot,
now im positive im going to be one,
me and my guidence counsular (im in grade 12) sat down and made up a plan, to help me reach me goals.

1: when i finish high school, i go straight to flight school.
2. when finished flight school, i apply to be a pilot (i know its tought getting in at this stage)
3. while i wait in line, i go to university and do engineering, until im called in for work in an airline.

i assume that people with a background in engineering education get priority over ones who dont.
i planned on doing the same sort of thing when i was going to be in the rcmp.

see anything wrong with this that i hsould know about?

to any commercial pilots here: what steps did you take?



Maybe some day i will be a private pilot for the olsen twins!
woo

[BigHairyBum]

Good on you!

Work hard and you will get there.;)

[winch launch]

In my opinion, I think that an airline would be more interested in someone that kept on flying after it s training (it could be as an instructor or wathever available to raise experience) rather than someone that completely changed of career path by starting uni.
Don t forget that the two most important things in aviation are motivation, and experience. Changing a career path after training shows that aviation is not a priority for you. On the other hand a degree would be a very good back up plan in case things don t go right for your pilot career. I advise you to do your degree before.

winch

[andyb99]

well, i wasnt planning on changing a career. just something to boost my chances

take the royal canadian mounted police for example.
they advise you to sign up fo rthe rcmp, and since there is a long line up (as in aviation) you can go to university while your waiting and do police related courses such as criminology. and since you have background in criminology (since you did the course) you will almost automatically get into the r.c.m.p as you have higher priority over people who dont have an police study background

i plan on doing the same thing for aviation
after i complete flight school and sign up, i do engineering (which will increase my chances to be a comercial pilot) in university WHILE IM WAITING TO BE ACCEPTED TO AN AIRLINE. now if i have a course in engineering done, i will get into aviation faster.

its not a matter of changing my career path, but more like enhancing it.

[AIRWAY]

which will increase my chances to be a comercial pilot

Incorrect,

I know for a fact 2 of my friends have done more or less what you have described in you post, and they are still unemployed and still paying to keep their licence current.

In my case i am doing uni and flying at the same time and it works quite well for me.

[JohnnyPharm]

Forgive my ignorance, but I have always wondered how engineering enhances anyones chances of becoming a pilot?

[andyb99]

i dunno
ill have to search more into
but for some good news!
on friday i will be having a introduction flight where i get to help fly a plane (piper cherokee, i think)

[scroggs]

Engineering degrees will not help you become a pilot, at least in UK. In fact, in the UK there is little or no advantage in having a degree at all when it comes to obtaining employment as a pilot, though you may wish to have one to increase your employment prospects in case you fail to become a commercial pilot.

In the USA, on the other hand, a degree is required by almost all employers - though whether an engineering bias is preferred, I have no idea. I don't know about the Canadian system - perhaps someone here can enlighten us? I do know, however, that the Canadian commercial flying market is particularly small (for the size of the country), and overly dominated by the national carrier. Consequently, it's a very difficult field to break into unless you have military flying experience. Perhaps some Canadian-based pilots could expand on this?

That said, there's nothing particularly wrong with your plan (though you haven't said how you will fund it), but you will need to maintain flying currency while you're at university. Can you afford to do that? If not, you may wish to think about doing your degree first, then the flying training.

Scroggs

[AndyDRHuddleston]

Andy,

I think that Scroggs' final comment is worth considering as this is the route I took and it doesn't seem to have caused me any problems so far.

I studied at Uni for an Eng degree after which I got employed by BAE SYSTEMS as....yes you've guessed it.....an Engineer!!! I personally think that when I move onto a flying job, my background in aviation engineering should stand me in good stead. But thankfully for me I found job openings in Flight Operations whilst working as an engineer, and this then allowed me to change to a shift pattern (good for flying) and submerge myself with operational pilots and alike for help, guidance, and most of all, contacts for when i get into the sky fulltime!!

So in summary, I would do your degree first and then go at it full speed. Again, as Scroggs says, your degree would also serve as a back up should anything go wrong.

Hope this helps

ADRH

[andyb99]

sounds good
but is ther any other type of degree/course i could use to help me be accepted faster, as scroggs said, it wont help get me in that much. so it is a 7 year course and i dont think i could do that :P


though you haven't said how you will fund it


thats a tough one,
i know someone who did the same plan i plan on, but when he got his instructors rateing, he was able to charge students for lessons, which payed (quite a bit) for his education.
sadly he has had his commercial for 2 years now(with no job), and he went back to univresity to do aviation enginerring.


i dont think the flight industry is cut out for me living in canada.
maybe i will move to, hmm, tokyo or somewhere,
where theres lots of people

[andyb99]

ok,
i though of a better plan,
tell me what you guys think

before i wanted ot be a pilot, i had my mind set on the r.c.m.p
(royal canadian mounted police).
so, what i do is apply for university (4 months away!) and do a certificate in criminology (there is no degree), which only takes one year.
after i get my certificate i will go/and finish flight shcool
if i cant get a pilots job, i will join the rcmp (a certificate in criminology will almost be sure to get me in. its a good back up plan also.



how does that sound?

[K2SkyRider]

andyb99

I suggest getting your Eng degree under your belt first. It is a great degree to have and you'll be fully equipped to kick the arse out of any CPL/ATPL exams that come your way.


ADRH

Your plan is great. I have done the same but am on the military side of the equation at the moment, but am looking to move to Boeing/Airbus soon.

JohnnyPharm & Scroggs

An Engineering degree [B]will[B/] increase your employability as a pilot, as you will have an all-rounded skills set and be capable of communicating at a high technical level as well as be a team player - engineering group projects help develop these qualities.

K2

[AIRWAY]

I wonder why 2 of my friends still unemployed, both with pilot licences and both with Eng. Degree :rolleyes:

[Snigs]

I haven't a clue what's available in Canada, however here in the UK there is now an ATPL degree course at the London Metropolitan University (see here (http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ugprospectus/courses/aviation-management-and-operations.cfm)) which will (IMHO) give you a degree and an advantage when it comes to flying for an airline.

Maybe there's something similar in Canada?

Oh and by the way. I have an engineering degree, and I've even been working in the Aerospace industry for the past 10 years, still an unemployed pilot though!