'University Degrees are a waste of time' - thats a bull***t statement if i ever heard one. The only people who say that are the ones without one.
Someone who is tertiery qualified is further educated than someone who isnt. Its as simple as that. But is this important in the aviation indusrty? Yes it is, not as much when your involved in GA, but when you get to Qantas level it is. I know of a major regional airline in Western Australia that although their minimum requirements doesnt even mention the necessity of a degree, I personally know for a fact that HR dept. who sort through the pilot applications put the ones with degrees on top of the pile. Why? Coz past experience had shown them that the pilots with the degrees are generally better suited to operating their mulit million doller equipment Why was that so? Because they are further educated. Would hospitals employ doctors without degrees? No. Do investment banks employ people without degrees? No. 30 years ago they did, but times have changed. YOu dont have to be Einstein to see that airlines are following suit. It wasnt their idea to bring university degrees into aviation, but it means they have to adapt to it. They know that someone who has one is not necessarily a better pilot than someone who doesnt, but they know that it means they are further educated. Anyone can be a pilot. Its not that hard. But not anyone can complete a degree. Anyone who cant see this fact is ignoring it, coz they're trying to defend their indecision of not undertaking a degree.