Firstly I'm not a pilot yet and am still a wannabe, so I probably don't know as much as some of you about the airline industry. I do have family members who are in positions in other fields which involve interviewing prospective employees. From what I've been told one of the first things they do to cut down the numbers of applications is to sift through on the basis of qualifications. They said that this is not a hard and fast rule (ie. best qualifications does not guarantee that candidate gets the job), but a minumum is applied. So in my view in terms of a fallback position in case of losing a flying job, having as many qualifications as possible is a bonus. I do have a degree, but I do not expect that it will be a deciding factor in me getting an airline career. I recently went to a pilot aptitude test and they only asked me about my A-levels! I think that the training itself is the equivalent of getting a degree. My degree was in computer science, so that qualifies me for a job in computer science not as a pilot obviously. To be accepted on this course I did not need a degree but a certain amount/level of A-levels and GCSEs, so why should it be any different for acceptance as a pilot?