Qualifications? Degrees? what to do?

[wildone]

Hi all,

I'm interested in becoming a commercial pilot, However I don't know which is the best enter the the aviation industry.

I have considered doing a 3 year BSc degree in aviation through a university

I have also considered going to an intensive flight school (eg. complete training from never flown a plane to a commercial pilot in 2 yrs or something similar) without doing a degree in avaition.

I understand that the number flight hours is obviously one of the most important aspects to pilots, but I know almost nothing about what the interviewers from major airlines are looking for in potential pilots in terms of qualifications. Pilots with degrees have an advantage i assume, but does it matter what type of degee. For example does it have to be an aviation degree? I have a degree in the medical/science area is that just as useful? Would it be worth going back to university to do a degree in avaition now? What would you do if you were me?

Any advice from you pro's would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance

[Re-Heat]

a) How interested are you - you should commit to this career if you are truly interested - take some lessons towards a PPL for example to ensure that you are capable, and talk to people at a flying club who will give you a better sense of what you should do.

b) Do you really want to spend extra time doing a degree that is not necessary, combined with the licence, which is all you need to get the job? If you want to go to university, study an academic subject in which you are interested - otherwise save your time and money and get on with getting a licence. An aviation degree is only useful to you if you have little other life experience to talk about to the interviewer - nevertheless it is certainly not to be sniffed at if you are actually interested in what is studied on those degrees in addition to the ATPL subjects...

c) Have a fallback plan.

[wildone]

"interested" was probably the wrong word to use..

What I mean is that I really really want to be a commercial pilot...

I currently work as optometrist/optician an easy 9-5 job with easy money to fund my pilot traianing. Eventually I plan to be a pilot but also do some part time work as an optician for extra money.

I guess what i'm asking is doing a second degree in aviation actually worth it or I should just skip it, and go straight to an intensive aviation school. Some people say its better to do a degree in avaition because it shows commitment to flying + better understanding of the industry. However, some believe it is better to go via an intensive avaiation school without the need for an avaition degree because you get better training?....

What is going to give me the greatest edge over other pilots when I get my pilot licence and start looking for jobs?

[Re-Heat]

Don't bother - you already have a degree presumably, and a career to fund the training.

How you get the licence depends on what you can afford and what environment you are best able to work in. Visit both the big schools, and the Staplefords of this world first before you spend you cash, then work your socks off to get first time passes in the ground and in the air.

[R T Jones]

Everyone on here will probably give you slightly different advice, so just remember to make your own decision based on all the information available to you. My 2 cents would be don't go to university to do another degree, you already have one that you can use as a fall back if need be. The thing that will make you more attractive to airlines is more multi hours, whether you have a degree or not is much less important (in my humble opinion)!

Intensive flight training can be advantageous for consistency, however if your circumstances do not permit that then doing your training as you can afford it is another option. Certainly, during your PPL I imagine you could keep a full time job, fly on weekends and the study without a problem. It will take you longer than doing it full time but you can pay for lessons as you go. The one thing I firmly believe about flight training is that what suits one person may not be right for another. Example some people learn better with one instructor all the time, others may benefit from having different ones.

The argument about whether intensive training produces a better pilot has been had over and over on these forums. The big training schools, OAA, FTE, CTC and Cabir to name a few, produce a product. It is like an assembly line. In theory, you can go in with 0 hours and 18 months later come out with all the licenses you need to fly. Hearing first hand from airlines they say if they need pilots, one of the first places they look are the big schools. From their point of view, they are buying a finished product that has already met a certain standard by going through that flight school.

I'm aware I've gone slightly off topic but I hope you find the information useful, if you have, any more particular questions feel free to drop me an email.

[preduk]

I agree with the above comments...

The only reason a student pilot should go to University is to have a back up plan. You can't put all your eggs in the one basket because if anything happens to you... for example 6months into training your involved in an accident and you can't fly anymore, you still have something to fall back on.

[Hufty]

You'll find pilots will always have an opinion! Here's mine:

Don't bother with an aviation degree...IMHO an employer won't care if you've got one and even if it is of slight interest to them, I can't imagine that it will be worth the three extra years and the loss of earnings you'll face. Also if you sped those three extra years in an airline, you'll have 2000 hours of multi-crew time which will be of far more value to you than an aviation degree. They want to know that you're not a training risk and also that you're a decent bloke who people will get along with. Your ability to get an interview and therefore a job offer when you're finished is down to the state of the market at the time. Also they might view you as being too academic - a bad thing really as there isn't a great deal of intellectual content in the job so they mght think you'll get bored.

You already have a great backup plan - a career you can presumably put down and pick up at will that you can take with you if you happen to move around the country. In addition, you have an immediate and good source of income. That is the most important thing in ensuring your success...no money = no flying career.

Good luck!

[wildone]

Thanks for the responses guys, your words of wisdom have been really helpful :)