Airline Recruitment

[CM75]

As a military pilot with the appropiate licences would an MBA make an individual more appealing for selction to an airline or am I better off not expending the extra effort?

Any advice would be grateful!

[Lucifer]

Depends if you want to be management or not. If you are interested (and especially if someone else pays), then do it, but don't expect it to help your recruitment chances other than - say - where you might have some more interesting chat that gives you the edge, ceteris paribus with respect to the other candidates.

[no sponsor]

I have an MBA and I use it, but I don't get the impression airlines are interested. Certainly none are presently rushing to my door. In a recent interview coaching session, the advice was to leave all that stuff off the CV.

I certainly would not do it on the basis that it would get you into a flight deck job. I did mine 8 years ago to get me ahead in my present career, and it worked. Most I know who have done MBAs are to give their careers an extra push, or get out of middle-management jobs. For some, the three letters will mean a doubling of income. I reckon that if you haven't got a new job within 6 months of the MBA, it's a waste of time & money.

Most MBAs teach you to to a high level in a range of subjects, and are not so good at specialisms; I've no idea if any are geared towards the airline world. I think BA used to send their management to one school, but I can't recall which one.

[Lucifer]

BA used to send people on the short management training course at Harvard, but not the full MBA.

[beamer]

No use whatsoever I'm afraid. Airlines simply want numbers to fill the seats - as simple as that to be rather blunt ! A vast number of pilots have university degrees in myriad subjects - does it do them any favours - no.

Once established in a Company having fought your way from right to left hand seat, it may just repeat may do you some good after a few years by which time you will probably have forgotten most you learnt in the first place.

Bottom line, have you got the licence you need, have you got the necessary hours, have you got a type-rating ? If you have a decent background of experience either military or civil then the type-rating requirement may be academic.

[EI-Shamrock]

In a recent interview coaching session, the advice was to leave all that stuff off the CV

Just curious as to why you should leave off academic qualifications like an MBA?

[no sponsor]

The explanation was simply that they are only interested in flying experience, and not other commercial experience; they just don't get it.