University and Flight School Combination. How to?

[dingdongbubble]

Hello

I want to pursue a career in aviation but at the same time keep myself safe with atleast a Bachelor's degree. My chances of getting a nice job in aviation should also increase with a Bachelor's degree. So most probably I will go ahead an get a BAchelor's degree and also train myself to become a pilot.

Now what I want to ask you is about what is the best way to go about these two things. Is it better to get the Univ degree first and then after that an Integrated Flight training? Or is it better and practical to go to Univ and while at the Univ, go for occasional flights to build up hours and finish the ground school in summer?

Most probably I will go for a degree in IT. Another concern of mine is the internship programs which Univs normally offer their students. I can benefit from these and increase my chances of a job in that specific industry. It is very hard to get into the IT industry without experience and this internship will really benefit me IF I were to continue in the IT industry. Will this internship go waste if I dont get a full time job after the internship?

Which field do you think would be easy to get back into after say 10-15 years of aviation and hardly any experience in that field? what do pilots normally do about this? How much do pilot instructor jobs pay? Are those enough for a family?

Thank You

[abs_kols]

well i asked myself this question last year and couldn't work out the pros and cons of doing this. In the end it depends on what you want more a degree or to be a pilot. i understand you're trying to take a safe route to ensure a backup plan although it can be a lot more costly going about it like so. there are universities like BCUC that provide you with a degree as well as a fATPL.

take everything i say as only a suggestion from my point of view. it also depends on the jobs around at the time. to be honest if youre finding it hard to decide stick with a safe option. but it will take you longer.

[dingdongbubble]

Whats BCUC?

I was thinking about continuing with my normal Bachelors degree and in the summer, go for a PPL, finish al the ground school and intensive work. Then leave the hour building for the rest of the year. So then i can take breaks form Univ life like once a week or something. Or maybe I can even finish my hour building in the shorter holidays like during Christmas or something.

Thanks for the reply. :)

[Ringway004]

Hi, I'm currently studying on my second ye ATPL's with BCUC (Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College) in High Wycombe, wich is basically a BA(hons) degree in Air transport with commercial pilot training. You do the first degree modules in year one and train for your PPL of wich you complete in florida over the summer. Second year you do your ATPL's and go back to USA to to hour building and then do your CPL training. Finally third year you finish the degree and also do your IR & MCC, so hopefully if at the end of it you should have a academic degree to fall back on if (say you lose your medical) and a frozen ATPL:)

[atminimums]

Now what I want to ask you is about what is the best way to go about these two things. Is it better to get the Univ degree first and then after that an Integrated Flight training? Or is it better and practical to go to Univ and while at the Univ, go for occasional flights to build up hours and finish the ground school in summer?

What I did, was complete up to and including PPL whilst I was studying at uni. It wasn't hard to juggle.

Now I am going to aim for a cadetship or something similar (if not, full time training) as soon as I graduate. This way I can do the training as a single block with little/no downtime.

I agree that having a degree is a great thing, its always something to fall back on. Good luck.

Mins

[preduk]

As I've said in previous threads... I'm currently doing the same thing...

I felt that if I were to work full time and fund my PPL I would probably be on around £12-16k a year... I'm currently at University recieving a pretty good Student Bursary and working part time for a large mobile phone network which is giving me roughly the same salary per year meaning I'm getting my flying and a degree out of it.

Means I will leave with my Law Degree, My PPL and experience in a different industry as a backup and a learning curve.

[abs_kols]

yh thats a pretty good situation. a backup plan is very good idea! but it depends on funding. BCUC works through cabair for which you can get a loan through HSBC and pay it back after 6 months of gettting your degree and fATPL. I Think!! well there are more ways opening up do your license and funding is not as hard as long as you can pay it back when you get a job. :)

[Shamus Mc]

I am a student at BCUC (Bucks New Uni) am doing a BA (hons) in prof studies and a teaching course (mature student), although I am a PPL holder with 130hrs trying to break into CPL/ATPL, tell me what you think to the course you are on, what campus are you based at? Was it expensive? Any funding etc, etc.:cool: