Originally Posted by
checked_and_set
My question is though, what if things don’t work out further down the track and you can no longer work as pilot? What if you lose your medical? What if your airline collapses?
A degree will give you peace of mind knowing that you have tertiary education that is tangible to someone who works outside of aviation.
I’ve always heard that line of thinking in regards to degrees/aviation. But I’ve never really heard of it happening in practice.
You’re more likely to lose your medical when you’re older in life, so taking knowledge from a uni degree you did 20/30 years ago that you never put into practice after your study and having to compete against new young graduates prepared to work for much lower salaries with more up to date knowledge in that field will be difficult.
If the economy ranks and airline goes out of business again you’ll be competing for a limited number of jobs in that economy with those prepared to accept a much lower salary. Plus are you going to start an alternative career for only a few years then come back to flying when the economy picks up? Or take your flying skills elsewhere for a little while?
It seems a waste of time and motivation devoting 3 years of full time study to something you only consider as a back up if things go wrong with your primary career down the track.
I have known pilots to study and then leave the career for various reasons but they did that study part time whilst they were employed as pilots.
It probably has happened at some time but I doubt whether it’s that common that having a backup degree as a solution prior to beginning a flying career is something a prospective pilot needs to be too concerned about it.