Do GCSE's and A-Levels really matter?

[dicorpo]

Hi everyone, not sure if this is the right place for this post but I'm just wondering if airliners really dive into what grades you got at school when applying for a job?

I didn't do bad but I could of got better in my maths exam and was wondering if it would be worth taking the exam again?

I also left school at the ages of 16 and went straight into work so have no A levels. Could that also have an effect on a potential job?

Thanks a lot.

[parkfell]

Somewhat of an academic question given the present situation.
Some airlines such as BA historically required a degree (2:1 or higher) and reasonable A level grades (BBC or better) for cadet entry. Others did aptitude testing which required a degree of grey matter to succeed. At the other end of the scale simply a current licence.

SIN, COS, TAN is as difficult as it gets. You need to be comfortable with numbers, and competent at arithmetic. At your age, keep the day job, and go Modular. Obtain a Class One medical as your first action.

[Duchess_Driver]

The real answer is “yes, but no, but yes, but no”.

To be a bit more specific, it’s like everything else. You need to make yourself as “sellable” as possible so all other things being equal those with additional academic qualifications will win out over those that don’t. If you haven’t got them, you’ll need to give yourself every other possible advantage over the next guy/gal at the interview or in the pile of applications.

That said, it’s a long time since I’ve seen any non-aviation related qualifications on a CV - usually it’s just flying qualifications that are listed. Haven’t seen an application form for an airline in a while so can’t say whether there is space for them.

There is likely to be a little while before applications open up again so I’d suggest perhaps using that time to go to night school/day release to stack the odds in your favour.

As was said above, basic mental arithmetic - plus an understanding of cos/sin/tan is operationally sufficient. At one interview I was asked how old I was....xx years I said. “No, in days.” He said. “+/- 20 days will do, work it out- I’ll wait”.

[PilotLZ]

In short, if you can improve something on your CV, you should. Not that it matters too much in practice - but you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression. Someone with low A-Levels or with a Class III/II-2 University degree gives off the impression of not having been too committed to whatever he's studied. Which leads to some awkward conclusions. Did he just randomly pick a subject which he didn't enjoy and was therefore not motivated to do well? Is he one of those people who are happy as long as it's a pass, even if it's just a marginal pass? Sure, some recruiters won't care, but the more meticulous ones might get the wrong message out of it.

[parkfell]

Leaving school aged 16 and commencing work is not a barrier to a flying career.
I know a few successful, intelligent Captains who left school
without A levels.
Family / personal circumstances can often be the reason
for this course of action.

There are at least two ways to demonstrate that the grey matter
is ‘alive & well’.

1. Choose an Open University course which appeals to you and achieve.
Given the C-19 implosion there is no need to rush....?

2. The other way to demonstrate your potential is to achieve particularly high marks in the written exams.
All first time passes with no paper less than 90%.
A really high mark in the Navigation can be an indication that
your brain is wired up well for aviation.
Fewest facts, but one where understanding the logic is necessary.

[macdo]

Thank God they don't, otherwise I wouldn't have had a 30 year career! Unfortunately, even years ago cadet schemes (incredibly rare) required higher academic results, but as ever there are other ways in. So long as you are reasonably bright and can do a bit of math the rest is aptitude and hard work, which can't be measured by a bit of paper.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Your qualifications don't matter very much at-all.

Your knowledge and analytical ability, that *may* be indicated by those qualifications matter a great deal.

So your GCSE maths grade really doesn't matter so long as you've got the standard employability 5Cs including Maths and English. But if you haven't got the basic grasp of maths and physics that sit around A-level standard, which is still a pretty low standard, you may have a problem.

So don't worry too much about your qualifications, do worry about your level of knowledge. But, whilst topping that up, you might as well get a few certificates to prove it.

[Bealzebub]

It’s a question of context.

Your educational certificates are of less significance when you have 15,000 hours and 20 years experience of flying. However as an apprentice or somebody starting out in a career, you are going to have very little attainment to offer beyond your educational achievement. As always it’s a case of competition. When you are making those applications you are going to be up against hundreds of other applicants and only a small percentage of those applications are going to advance to the interview stage. It is better to be able to show grades that put you in serious contention with the competition. This is particularly so when that competition is fierce!

[SWBKCB]

I agree with Bealzebub's note of caution - in a market where supply exceeds demand you might face a problem if they are used as a selection criteria. If you have 5/10/50 candidates who are all much of a muchness on paper, and you need a way of cutting down the number of candidates to interview , qualifications is a sifting method which is difficult to challenge.

In my first experience of recruitment, I couldn't understand how my more experienced colleagues where ploughing through their piles of applications so quickly - "We're getting rid of all the applications in blue pen - the advert says complete in black, and if they can't follow that simple instruction...." (it was for an admin job and a long time ago... :O)