My god is this thread back again.
I've two degrees in aerospace engineering (BEng and PhD) and I've EU, US and UK CPL/IRs and a few thousand hours. I choose to earn my living mainly in boffinry and fly occasionally, rather than the other way around for reasons that suit me (and in 2021 that certainly makes for a more secure income!). I've also taught or examined aeronautical engineering at several university, and also occasionally teach flying. Anyhow, I think that makes me qualified to answer the question .
Firstly an aero eng degree tells you virtually nothing about your aptitudes to be a pilot - anybody who told you otherwise was doing you no favours whatsoever. Never trust that person's advice again.
Secondly however, it's a highly regarded and tough degree. Well done for getting this far, do your best - there is absolutely no point in quitting in your final year, after paying the fees and when nobody is hiring pilots. Do your damndest, and shoot at least for a 2:2 which will make you much more employable than a 3rd, but equally a 3rd is not something to be ashamed of. You can still become an Incorporated Engineer with that, and if you add a 1-year MSc you can become Chartered.
A degree is much more difficult in terms of analysis and understanding. A CPL or ATPL (not much difference in the theory really) is much more difficult in terms of memorisation and recall. So again whoever told you they are equivalent was also doing you no favours - it's nonsense. You may sail through ATPLs after this, or you may find you simply haven't the aptitude for them, your degree experience will help a bit, but not much, and tell you little about how well you'll do.
A great many jobs in aerospace engineering do not require the sort of heavy number crunching and analysis that you are having to pass exams in. The majority of people teaching you at university have never done any of those jobs, they are really employed as researchers who do a bit of teaching, so simply don't have a grasp of that. So...
- You may, or may not, be perfectly suited to a job in aerospace or aeronautical engineering
- You may, or may not, be perfectly suited to training as a professional pilot.
The way to find out whether you have any aptitude for flying as a profession is indeed to do a PPL. Make sure your school know that you're considering a professional flying career, and ensure they hold you to those standards in your training. By the time you have your PPL you'll know whether you have the aptitude and dedication to take that path - nothing you've done so far will tell you that, apart from the very impressive achievement of making it to the final year of a difficult degree course which you are finding very tough. That, actually, is something to be extremely proud of, and sensible future employers will absolutely get that too. There are many jobs that you can do with that degree, some in aeronautical engineering, some outside that nonetheless prize the skills you have developed in getting this far.
In summary
- Yes you can be a pilot. Probably.
- No don't give up on your degree. This far in, finish it, and do your best to get a 2:2.
- You've done pretty well so far, don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
- Aviation, and engineering, are big industries - there are a lot of jobs you can potentially do, many very exciting, from where you are now. Most of those aren't analysis jobs.
Jobs you could do. Pilot. Engineering management. Engineering and aviation sales. Business development. Quality. Planning. RAF/RN/Army Officer or NCO in any branch, not just GD or engineering. That's a tiny subset of the full list, and none of them are excluded to you. There are a lot more jobs in aviation than engineer and pilot.
Last edited by Genghis the Engineer; 11th Feb 2021 at 18:14.