university
Reference "cumulus pajaritus's" post:
I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to get at. You seem to be saying that there is no value in doing a degree if you want to be a pilot, unless I have misunderstood you. If that is the case, I couldn't disagree with you more. It is true that one does not require a degree to fly. However, it is irresponsible to suggest to people reading this thread that such a pursuit would be folly. As many others have stated, on this and other threads, a massive part of the university experience is just that; the life experience that you gain from living away from home, and the self discipline that you must acquire to be successful are at least as important to my mind as the qualification that you get at the end of the course. I completed a three year law degree before applying to CTC. Did this make me more likely to succeed at the selection? Who knows? However, I know that I had much more to talk about in terms of leadership and life skills at the interview than I would have done had I applied straight after school.
You suggest that people should go out and get a job related to aviation straight from school. This will work for some people. However, let us look at your scenario "B", the 18 year old who decides not to go to university and instead takes up various aviation related jobs to become the wannabe with "the perfect aviation background" or "an excellent pilot background". Certainly this guy or girl has some good life experience and may be a good candidate for an airline job. Let us suppose, however, that this person loses their class I medical category at the age of 25. Think about the position are they in compared to the person who has a good degree as a fall back option.
You belittle university students everywhere by suggesting that they somehow get a poorer quality of life experience than someone who works straight from school. I personally moved 300 miles from home to go to uni, living in halls of residence of flats with friends for three years. I certainly would not have even contemplated living with my parents! Nor did I study 365 days a year. I took long holidays and had plenty of opportunities to enjoy myself; some might say I even overdid that aspect! I had a great time (mainly) and would recommend the experience to anyone.
I am not saying that one way or the other is right or wrong; as people before me have said on this thread, there are plenty of people who become successful pilots who don't have degrees, and there are those who have degrees who will never make a good career as an airline however hard they try.
The approach that you took to answering the query about whether gaining a degree is a good idea is far too simplistic. I would suggest that any wannabe who is considering attending university should make the decision purely based on whether it is what they want to do; not what they think they should do.
akindofmagic