Swinburne Air Transportation Degree

[Trav737-400]

Hi, im looking at doing a postgraduate degree at swinburne uni by distance some time in the future. I was wondering what anyone thinks of the degree and what sort of careers can it lead to? Thanks

[Bird Strike]

What do you do at the moment, and what do you want to do with the degree?

They have three or so "streams" as far as I know, and I think it all depends on what you are doing and what you want to do.

[Hydrolix]

What sort of undergraduate degree do you have at the moment?

[Trav737-400]

Im currently have a PPL and training for a CPL, just wondering about the degree coz im interested in having a degree as well as a professional qualification so that I can fall back on something if I cant get into an airline. If u dont have a degree u need 2 years industry experience( I would fit into this catergory). There are two different aviation degrees, Air Transportation Management and Human Factors, Im thinking of doing the management one. So my question is are these postgraduate degree worth it and what sort of careers can they lead you to? Thanks.;)

[Bird Strike]

This is just my personal opinion, but I'd rather do an MBA or a totally different degree than an air transport management degree, unless I had an existing opportunity for job progression. This is so that the wider option remains open for employment outside the aviation industry.

To put it bluntly, postgraduate degrees aren't cheap, and unless you know for sure what you want to do (and what you want to do with it), I wouldn't recommend you do them.

Also, remember that even though the entry criteria allows you to commence the course with no tertiary qualification as long as you have the required industry experience, it is at the end of the day a postgraduate course. You may like to try some tertiary education at the undergraduate level before you commit thousands of $ to a postgraduate degree if you haven't tried uni already, so that you can find out if you like doing that sort of studies.

Whether a degree is worth it or not is dependent on what you make of it IMHO.

[Trav737-400]

Thanks for your advice Bird Strike, I pretty sure id be interested in the Air Transportation degree but Im open to other options of course(any suggestions?). Anyway I still have plenty of time to think about it. BTW what is a MBA? Thanks.:confused:

[Bird Strike]

MBA = Master of Business Administration.

I hope I made sense in the above post. I was trying to make a distinction between doing a "management" (as in "how to run an aviation business" type) degree and an "aviation" type of degree, within an Air Transport degree. Management degree might help you advance in management career within a company. But then, a degree would not be a lot of use unless you have an opportunity to apply the knowledge you acquire. Most people who do these courses seem to be already working within the industry.

[NAMPS]

I agree with Bird Strike in respect of going straight into a postgrad degree without having done an undergrad degree.

The standard of work to be assessed is higher than that at undergrad level. Accordingly, a postgraduate degree requires some previous tertiary training or extensive practical knowledge of the area of study.

These postgrad degrees are aimed at those already in management and wishing to improve their knowledge base.

As for the MBA - a total waste of time. Ten years ago they were a must. Now they are a dime-a-dozen.

Good luck :ok:

[Bird Strike]

As for the MBA - a total waste of time. Ten years ago they were a must. Now they are a dime-a-dozen.


Yeah NAMPS I've got to say it's not great anymore. I just mentioned it as a comparison to "air transport management" degree. Did you sense my feelings about "management" degrees in general above? ;) :E I'm not into them!