Studying University online while flying GA

[pull-up-terrain]

For a long while now it has been my dream to become a pilot one day. After reading the current situation at Qantas, Jetstar, Cathay and seeing how Dad wished he had a backup career in a non-aviation related field I’m starting to realise how important it is to get a backup career. At this stage I’m currently thinking of doing a Bachelor of Science with Open Universities Australia because if becoming a pilot doesn’t work out I could use this degree to get into postgraduate dentistry or use it to be eligible to complete a Diploma of Education and become a maths and physics teacher.
My questions are:
Has anyone here studied university online?
How hard is it to fit in studying university online while working in GA?
On average, how many hours a week did you spend doing the doing the course?
Are there any other degrees/back up careers you would recommend doing instead of a bachelor of science?

[Oktas8]

I have studied university papers online, although they were papers from the arts & humanities, not technical papers.

I do not recommend the road you're suggesting. First of all, most distance students drop out with an incomplete qualification, due to human nature (this is taking too long & I've lost interest) and life changes (five years have gone by and now I need to spend more time at the office / in the baby's nursery / in marriage counselling / whatever).

Also, the kinds of places you'll need to go for the first few years do not tend to have academic libraries or other supportive environments. In theory it's possible to borrow books by distance as well, by post, but in practise this is very difficult at assignment time due to restrictive deadlines and everyone else wanting the same set of books.

Sorry to be negative! I've found that it's so difficult to study something after work regularly when it's not directly related to what I'll be doing tomorrow at work. Takes a great deal of motivation, and that's just from doing a one-year equivalent graduate diploma, not even a degree.

To answer your other questions - to achieve B or B+ grades I studied for about three quarters of the time recommended by the college - say five hours per week half the time, ten to fifteen the other half. What to study if not a B.Sc.? Anything that interests you! You can always find a job to match the qualification later, if you need to.

Best of luck whatever you decide though,
O8

[Worrals in the wilds]

I have successfully studied online, though Oktas8 raises some really valid points. Personally I would be dubious about doing a BSc remotely; having done some BSc maths and physics subjects internally I think the content is too techincal and/or prac based to complete online. I suspect that's why very few universities offer a BSc externally. Additionally, Maths and Physics are both competitive work areas (especially physics), particularly if you're not on campus making contacts and schmoozing up to the right people.

I would suggest looking at a B App Sci online, which a number of institutions offer externally with various different specializations. They're a bit more low-key than BScs but still fairly marketable.

At the end of the day, a degree is a degree, unless it's an obvious B. Basketweaving. If you get a good GPA you can use it to get into other stuff relatively easily.

[stevep64]

I'm in my last semester of a BSc, studying externally through UNE. The practical part of the course is not a problem since you have residential schools twice a year. I passed maths, physics and chem without any dramas.

The biggest problem I had was motivation. It's a lot easier to concentrate on your studies if you're going to classes two or three times a week. There's also the cost. I estimate that, taking into account HECS, textbooks, and travel to and accommodation in Armidale, my degree has cost me well over 30K, with no guarantee of a job at the end of it.

[glekichi]

I did some distance study also and exactly as suggested life changed for me with a young family and also as pointed out the time to complete a degree at 2 subjects a semester was just too prohibitive. Eneded up completing a diploma then calling it a day.

May have been different if I had remained single and on a stable instructor's roster.

[pull-up-terrain]

Thanks for all the replies.

By the sounds of things I'm probably better off going to Uni for 4 years before getting a CPL and trying to look for a job as it does sound hard trying to keep motivated to fit in uni after work.

This is a bit off topic. Let's say if Qantas did a cadetship (like the one they had before 2009) would they accept you in if you were older than 22? (I know a few people that got in who were older than 22 but they had been working as aircraft engineers and flight attendants at QF).

[4Greens]

Acceptance age like most quals is a function of supply and demand.

[LexAir]

pull-up-terrain

If you are motivated you can achieve whatever you want. Do not be put off by negatives. Life is full of negatives. It is how we view and cope with them that counts. I have completed 2 full uni degrees whilst holding down a full time career in aviation. If I can do it so can you!