As I've said nothing wrong with going to uni or getting an education. I see it as a positive. What I'm saying is that if you want to give yourself the best chance at getting your bum on the best seat in the airline industry you need to collect the Minimum Requirements ("Must Haves" at my company) first and the "Nice to Haves" later. The degree simply doesn't have the pulling power that the universities say it does when it comes to getting an interview.
Let me share this with you. I watched the CEO of my company tell us in a presentation and then also watched him in the Senate Inquiry clearly state that the company would not grow as much as it had in the previous decade. His words were; "I don't see the domestic fleet increasing by much" and then "No company ever went broke by having too few airplanes". You can take what you want from that and from what I'm trying to tell you here. Fact is I've been through it all (plus some added extras!) and I'm exposed half the month to the type of operation that a lot of you want to ultimately work for.
If I had my time over I'd have become a carpenter straight out of school (maybe flying on the weekend) and then gone straight to flying school completing a degree after I commenced employment. At the moment, with things slowing I may have even skipped the trade and gone straight for the licence straight out of school and then pointed the car in a westerly direction. If you are going to risk 3 odd years risk it on something that has a guaranteed return and an aviation degree does not have a return I'm sorry.
Ultimately we all do what we feel is right. All those years ago I thought the degree first was right. I thought it would put me ahead of the rest when it came to employment. In my journey I discovered that few had it and they all progressed at the same rate that I was. The reality deep down was that I was avoiding leaving the comforts of home for that bit longer! When it all came to an end my dad said something I'll never forget:
"music's playing..you'd better get up and dance". I went to my room and packed my stuff. The rest is history.
The guys at the flying schools that weren't doing degrees are now my Captains. Yes there are many factors to consider in why they got there first. Yes I had some very bad luck on multiple occasions but ultimately had I not sat at home for 3 years I'd have been in the left seat same company a long time ago. Its now possibly going to be 7-15 years. I'm not bitter, quite the opposite. I've achieved my goal, I love my job and I make good money and more importantly I didn't get killed in the bush. However, my standard of living would be a lot different today had I read a post like this one all those years ago. Good luck to you all and don't forget to enjoy the journey.