The importance of pre-education
 

Dear PPRuNers,

Most flying schools require GSCE A-levels, while airlines such as Lufthansa require a college/university degree.

How important is your pre-education when it comes to job hunting? Does having a college/university degree benefit you and if so, how much difference does it really make?

None. To answer your question in short.

To become a pilot, all that you need is the financial backing to get your licence.

Anyone who can afford it, can become a pilot in this day and age ( all you need is to be able read & write, know how to do basic sums and some common sense will get you a long way).

You dont need high school or a university degree to get a job with most of the airlines and AOC holders in the world today.
If you do have a degree, I guess you can bull sh!t a bit more during your interview and that might help....

Money = Flying
Flying = Money

Lift Generation = Bank account balance
Pilot Training = Bank account balance

The exception is the US pilot market, where regionals don't require a degree but the majors won't hire you anymore without one.

I don't quite agree with G-HALE. It is true that anyone with the money and enough ability can buy flying training, a type rating and even line training.

Getting a job is a very different matter to getting a licence. In a tight recruitement market you want EVERYTHING going in your favour to set you apart when job hunting. A strong CV, with good grades on the theory, first time passes on the flying test, good MCC report, good employment / education background will all help get you noticed. If any employer has two otherwise identical candidates, one has first class honours in aero engineering, the other has a D in GCSE woodwork followed by a few years on the dole, who do you think will get the job?

Respectable educational qualifications will strengthen your CV and improve your chances in the job market. To suggest that they have no relevance is in my opinion simply wrong.

As far as I'm aware Lufthansa, and almost all other national carriers in Europe do not require any college/university education.

Probably true, but reaching the minimum standard to apply doesn't necessarily get you the job.

Did in my case! B767 and NEVER paid for a rating.:)

Errrr ... no they don't Hayleigh. In fact if you were straight out of the jungles of Borneo having never seen a school classroom in your life, and you pitched up at a flying school with a bucket load of daddy's cash and a desire to be a pilot, I 100% guarantee you won't find a single school that isn't willing to help you spend your money :ok: