Here are a couple of posts I made on a previous question and some of it appears to be relevant! Cant give much input on the Maths/Engineering though, sorry!
Scroggs advice is spot on though...dont do anything for the wrong reasons, you probably wont stick at it or do yourself justice!
Cheers
Go_Solo
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One thing I would suggest before you decide what subject to study at uni is get your Class One Medical. If you spend 3 or 4 years getting a degree in Airline Management or similar subject and then fail the medical, you could end up watching others do your dream job every day and that’s only if you get a job in the industry.
I currently work in Human Resources and do a considerable amount of recruitment for management roles. One thing we consider is a person’s motivation for a job, and believe it or not, aviation management has very little to do with flying and aircraft so you may find they take a dim view of someone whose main motivation is “I want to be a pilot”. Many airlines will rightly think, why should I spend time and cash training this person when he or she is likely to jack it in once they have a bit of cash for their ATPL.
Don’t get me wrong, Airline Management graduates will have covered most aspects of a general management degree and are just as capable as a person with a degree in pure management, but in today’s tough graduate market, you want to be a marketable as possible.
Also, before I get any abuse, pilots can and do make excellent managers but this is generally once they’ve got the experience together with a good academic base. At this stage they are able to provide both experience and knowledge to situations which the poor desk bound staffers don’t have.
Cheers
Go_Solo
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It’s good to know you have a qualification behind you and it certainly wont hurt any application you make for a flying job. Don’t worry about being 24, if you look around pprune you’ll find loads of people who made the move much later in their lives, plus uni is great fun and if you’re lucky you can also get some flying in then. I managed to get my PPL and a few hours while at uni and I doubt I would have done it if I’d been working full time.
Management is a good subject to study because much of a modern pilots role is systems management and decision making. It will also give you a good grounding in industry, which most airlines like their pilots to have.
However, a technical subject such as physics, maths or engineering will be really helpful when you have to sit the ATPL ground school, plus they’re looked on most favourably by the military and airlines.
Ultimately, its got to be up to you but don’t choose a subject because you think it will help you to be a pilot, do something that interests you. Remember that you’ve got to study it for 3 or 4 years and it’s bad enough studying something you enjoy and have an interest in.
Go_Solo
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Cheers
Go_Solo