Advice for Uni

[DK08]

Hi Guys,
Please forgive me if this has been discussed before.
Very shortly i will have to be making decisions about my VCE subjects, and really considering what i want to do at uni. Please correct me if i am wrong, but as far as i am concerned most of the uni cources are designed for begginers with no experience.

So far i have only found one cource for people that have experience in aviation, a Bachelor of science(Aviation) at RMIT.
Another thing i have considered is the Bachelor of science(meteorology) at melbourne uni, mostly for me to get a better understanding of meteorology.
There really isnt anything else that would interest me of that has cought my eye.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated,
thanks, Daniel :)

[Oldmate]

Hi Daniel,

Good luck with choosing your subjects. I think if you include physics and maths methods it will help you for getting into uni and also into airlines.

There are some good uni courses in Aviation, and it is not a bad way into the industry. They are all designed for someone straight out of school, with no aviation background.

If you want to be a pilot, the uni courses are one option. Other people just select a flying school and get their licences, others join the military, and others gain a cadetship through an airline. A word of caution, if you consider a cadetship, there are some really terrible ones out there at the moment, and you should have a good read of these threads to find out why.

[Worrals in the wilds]

You need Maths B or your local equivalent for most BSc courses. It would also be smart to take Maths C because it will save you having to take makeup courses in first year. Other than that, IMHO pick your best two sciences (ones you're good at and enjoy) and good luck!

Once you're on the university treadmill it's not usually all that difficult to change degrees anyway (a lot of the specialist degrees are really just fancy sounding science degrees with a proscribed course list anyway), so don't stress too much about whether you're picking the right course. If you're unsure about your long term goals, enrol in a general BSc, take a broad range of first year courses and see what you fancy.

[DK08]

thanks so far guys,
i am already in a CPL cource with a flight school. I plan to go to uni for more education basically. im just always getting stuck at which cource i want to.
with the cources that i mentioned earlier, which one would you think will help me more?
thanks

[Worrals in the wilds]

I don't have first hand experience with the Met course, but I believe (or heard, or read somewhere :}) that it's geared towards teaching people to be meteorologists, ie a course you do if that's the profession you want to get into. Sometimes those sort of degrees require extensive job placements in third year which could be difficult to juggle if you're flying as well. If you don't want to be a meteorologist, you may well be better off with the aviation course, or a generalist Science degree. If you're interested in aviation you'll probably enjoy the aviation course and people tend to get better marks in stuff they're interested in.

Without turning this into a rerun of the never-ending "degree vs bush flying" saga, you don't need a degree to be a commercial or airline pilot. IMO, if you want a degree as a backup or for further education without a specific employment goal in mind, keep it general.

To a reasonable extent, in the job market a degree is a degree and a lot of prospective employers don't even ask what you majored in.

[Jake.f]

Consider doing Physics as well as Chemistry. I'm not sure about the VCE but the nsw HSC Physics and Chem courses are pretty good, I know that Chemistry has given me a much better understanding of a lot of stuff relating to fuels which has helped in my lessons. There isn't much in the way of aerodynamics in Physics but I suppose it helps you understand things like lift with all the quantum physics we do. As for uni if you want to get a CPL out of it you will find it is rather pricey, UNSW charges close to 100000 for their Aviation (Flying) stream and you get no assistance for it too!

EDIT: Just read you aren't looking for a CPL. Not sure how it works at RMIT and such but I know at UNSW you can choose a broad selection of subjects in 1st year science without locking yourself into a major. They also have a thing called gen ed in which you have t do electives not explicitly related to your major, I like the sound of that course because I can major in Anatomy and Pathology which sets me up for postgrad med, and I can also do some aviation or aeronautical engineering units just for interests sake.

[DK08]

Thanks guys. At this stage I think I'm leaning towards the rmit course. Will probably go to their open day soon, and then see what I'll do!
Thanks again for the advice :)

[forever flying]

From what I gathered when I was in your position (I'm in Year 11 going through VCE now) it's best to lean more towards a tertiary degree/qualification outside of aviation so you at least a) have something to fall back on should you not pass a medical down the track and b) you can use it in a job to finance a CPL/ATPL before you start. :ok:

Maths and Physics definitely, otherwise you'll be asking yourself "what if?" when you didn't get into the course you wanted later on.

[Worrals in the wilds]

Maths and Physics definitely, otherwise you'll be asking yourself "what if?" when you didn't get into the course you wanted later on.

Or slogging away doing both as an adult to qualify for said course, which is about as much fun as you can have with your pants on. Trust me :{:}.
If you've got room in your subject list it's useful to get Chem squared away so you don't have to do it in first year should you decide to do a pure science course. IME you can bluff your way through university biology without doing it in senior.

FWIW I reckon ff's got a point about doing a non-aviation course.

If you're going to the open day, hit them with some questions about what their previous graduates are Doing Now, particularly those who aren't flying for a living. If they can name a few people working in the aviation industry as managers, planners etc and that's something you'd be happy doing if you don't end up flying, it's probably as good a choice as any. If they start looking shifty or evading the question, be suspicious. :suspect: Uni Open Days are very useful but always remember they are a sales pitch. Unis sell courses to students and students are customers, so there can be a certain amount of positive spin about their courses, academic standard, career prospects after graduation and so on. Just bear it in mind! :)

One other thing; looking at the RMIT site, the aviation course is actually a B App Sci (applied science) not a B Sc (science) so they don't require real maths. I'd strongly recommend you do real maths anyway in case you decide to go with the Met course or a B Sc.

Anyway, good luck with it all!

[compressor stall]

Do the two maths, physics and chemistry. There are virtually no tertiary courses that they won't qualify you for.

After year 12, go and do your met or science course at Melbourne Uni. Do your PPL and CPL training during your holidays and spare time at uni (you get a 2-3 month summer remember:) ) Finish your Met course and get your CPL at the same time and look for work.

Then you have another qualification and career if you can't fly for whatever reason. A Bachelor of Aviation will be worthless in the real world.

a lot of prospective employers don't even ask what you majored in.
Very true. It's the fact you have the degree and have acquired the skills that go with getting one that count, more so than remembering the content...

[Old Akro]

If you are already doing a CPL course, then a linked degree is probably of limited benefit. I'd be suggesting a degree that gives you a second career option. And in selecting that degree, I'd be suggesting that you move toward the subjects that you like best.

The uni open days can be quite good, but you need to get to either some of the lecturers or current students. My experience has been that taking my daughters to open days has changed their minds about both their preferred courses and preferred universities. As a minimum I'd be doing the open days for Melbourne, Monash, RMIT and Swinburne. And if your interested in Science, you should have some sort of a look at Mechanical Engineering.

As I understand it (and my understanding is limited) the airlines will view any technical degree as a good thing whether or not its aviation linked. The degree only proves your intellect, perseverance and the aptitude to understand complex aircraft systems.

With the current pay trends, don't discount a science / engineering career with flying as a part time career / hobby.

Being a pilot is one of the few professions that doesn't involve or develop skills that are transferable to other careers. While the rest of us can expect multiple careers, unless illness or strikes intervene, pilots can expect only one. Its not bad to have a plan B in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

I'd also encourage you to speak with many people. More people will be prepared to give you genuine advice than you might imagine. And the careers people at your school might be better than you give them credit.

[DK08]

Looking at the course info on the RMIT website, it outlines possible careers such as airline or airport operations. So if everything goes down the drain for whatever reason, I guess I could have a "backup" and still be in the aviation business.
But I still remember what my CFI told me when I first met him: whoever has always wanted to become an airline pilot, always has. ( I think besides medical reasons of course! :p)