what are the degrees you can take to be an airline pilot
 

i ve been searching websites for different courses in universities to be able to get a better chance of becoming an airline pilot. i can't find any.can someone please give me a list of courses i could take. thank you

Degree courses that include ATPL:
http://www.bcuc.ac.uk/default.aspx?page=129
http://www.city.ac.uk/study/courses/...sport-bsc.html
http://www.cabair.com/kingston/index.htm
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/ug-prospe...operations.cfm

aeronautical engineering? Leeds university does a good course that is combined with LFS. Alternatively you could just do a subject you will enjoy, get good grades and worry about the flying (and how you are going to pay for it, using your graduate job) later. I did History :}, did an integrated course and fared as well as any from loughborough and the like who had spent 4 years crunching numbers and working thier arses off. It was never mentioned in any interview. I would tend to agree with the point of view that your ATPL grades and your ability to actually fly an aeroplane give you the best chance of getting a job.

tacho

As you're from Keighley, Leeds University, aviation technology with Pilot studies. Pilot training now undertaken at Cleveland Flying School.

regards,

Han.

You can't find any because none exist! Go to a decent university and do a degree you will enjoy and that is generally respected, and get at least a 2:1. That, more than anything, would increase your chances of getting on a 'mentored' training scheme such as CTC/OAT/FTE. TACHO did history and I did English, so as you can see it doesn't really matter what you do. Just don't do a mickey mouse degree like 'basket weaving with flower arranging' or similar;)

Good luck

You quite simply don't need a degree. At all. It may give you the edge on a mentored scheme but is that really worth 3/4 years of work and ten grand plus worth of debt?

You're much better off getting three good A levels (maths / science) and going from there.

That is, unless, you have loads of money and fancy 3 years of sleeping, and drinking..... :)

If you have to go to uni, go for a science / maths based degree.

EK

EK4457

I don't agree - why does anybody needs loads of money to go to university? The student loan system provides the money a student needs to live and it is the lowest interest on a loan you will ever get. You don't pay it back until you are earning a decent amount and the repayments are very small.

You don't have to do maths and science at A level and you certainly don't need to do a science or maths based degree, unless you are good at them and have an interest in what it is you are doing.


You're right in that you don't need a degree to get through the training and get a job, but I do think having one gives you a distinct advantage.

BMRR

AS someone who has a 2:1 degree in Chemistry/Physics from The University of Manchester, I can assure you that:

a) The Student Loan system does not provide the money for university. You get around £3000 per year. Out of that you need to pay over a grand in course fees. That leaves you with between £1000 and £2000 for the year. Even for a student living on the bread line, you need a LOT more cash from somewhere else. Ie more debt from a bank on a 'proper' interest rate.

b) I am still paying the SLC to this day, 10 years after starting uni. I pay back my loan when I earn anything over £11,000 per annum. That is not a decent salary.

That was exactly what I meant when I said However, the original post asked what peoples recommendations were as to dergree subject. As someone who is doing my ATPLs, I can vouch for the fact that the maths and technical side is quite straight forward after a related degree.

Apart from engineering (which is just the two mixed together with a more practical emphasis) I cant think of a degree subject which would have the same effect.

So, to summarise,

You do need a chunk of cash to go to uni (or to get a bigger loan)

A degree is not required by any airline (nor does any even sate that it is a preference)

If you have the resources to go to uni AND pay for your ATPL (good luck to you) then I would recommend a maths / science or engineering degree.

I honestly can't see any other degree being of any use.

Enjoy the beer

EK

EK4457

Bit of a late reply I know however......

Good for you. I got a 2:1 in English from The University of Nottingham, and I managed to live on the money provided by the student loan system just fine.


As someone who holds an ATPL I can vouch for the fact that the maths and technical side is pretty straightforward after a totally unrelated degree.


As long as you obtain a good result, it doesn't matter what you do at Uni. GCSE level maths/science will get you through the ATPL exams. I maintain the view that as a low hour pilot looking for a way into the industry, having a degree gives you an edge over someone who does not. Once you have a few thousand hours on a jet then sure, no one will give a crap if you even have A levels. But you have to really sell yourself for that first step on the ladder. A decent degree in any recognisable subject will help you do this.

Very kind of you but my Uni days are, sadly, behind me.

Good luck with your training.

I did Information Systems at Newcastle. Nothing to do with aviation, but a degree in Pilot Studies or the like will be no use to me should I loose my medical/fail to get a job. It also had little relevance to my ATPLs but I still managed to get through all of the maths/tech side fine.

I say do a degree in a relevant subject as some kind of a back up plan in case it takes u a while to get that first job, I would'nt really advise in getting any kind of aeronautical eng degree because you want to be an ATPL, rather do it if u enjoy it because it has very little relevance to being a pilot and it is one of the hardest programs out their! best choice is something in electronics engineering has more relavance.

In my opinion you should do a degree, I did Aeronautical Engineering and have been accepted onto a mentored course. I know the degree itself isnt essential (at least one other guy accepted for my mentored course is starting straight after his A levels) but the life experience, financial responsibility, social scenarios, team based activities at uni and general hard work will really benefit you and set you up nicely for a career as a pilot. Even though my degree wasnt essential I would do exactly the same thing again and am very glad I went to Uni for the above reasons

Sorry, but some people are not answering your question.

THERE IS NO DEGREE THAT WILL MAKE IT MORE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL BECOME AN AIRLINE PILOT.

That is what you asked about. The advice you have been given is relating to
degrees that might be related to aviation. They will not give you a better chance of being an airline pilot. A degree of some sort might, for some people, give a higher chance of becoming an airline pilot. The subject of the degree is irrelevant. For a pilot even the institution makes little difference.

If you want to go to university then do a degree that you want to do. Give serious consideration to not going to university at all.

Its a hard decision....
 

chapers1704

My 2 pence worth...

From what i know, i would personally advise you to consider not doing a degree however some people will disagree.

Doing a degree may put u ahead of many people without degrees when applying for airline schemes, however there are people who have got on to these schemes with A levels.

i would advise you to complete your A levels to a good standard and then soon after your A level exams find a good fulltime job and work for ~2 years. By doing this you will be able to save a large amount of money to put towards your course and in this time you will gain good life experiences and develop many skills. This will also reduce the amount of financial risk involved and you will around 20 years old which i believe is a good age to start flight training.
The best thing to do is write out all the advantages and disadvantages of doing a degree and take into consideration your own personal circumstances (for example will you be able to afford to pay for your flight training with your uni debt?)

At the end of the day it is a very personal decision as there are many advantages of doing a degree and also many disadvantages.
Can i just say if you are thinking of doing a degree as a backup you will need to consider which degree will get you a job at the end of it and it does not neccessarily need to be aviation related just because you want to be a pilot.
From what i know a (any) degree will not make it more likely to become a pilot, however it may help/boost your application. On the other hand there are people out there with only gcses.
your chances of becoming an airline pilot will depend on many factors and not only having a degree

Hope this helps.

There have beem rumours that by 2010 all or most airlines will make a necessity having a degree, but many people say that it's a load of non-sense. In my opinion, I think airlines are more interested in knowing how well you fly rather than how good your are at studies; it just, perhaps, makes recruiting a lot more easier.
After all, a degree will take up valuable time you could get to build up hours, but on the other hand it's useful to pay up for your training.

Reading these posts has made me consider my qualifications.
Having left school at 16 and only getting 5 gcse's D/E grades:ooh:, should I be worried about future employment prospects At 32 years of age.

I my passed ATPL'S with 86% average and am about a 2 weeks away from completing the IR.. I hope!

Anybody got any thoughts on my prospects?

Sorry if thats taking the thread of course a bit.

DPT

Get a degree.

Aviation is a changeable, fickel and unforgiving industry. Not everyone gets the job they imagine they would like so don't "put all your eggs in one basket". I would highly recommend you have something to fall back on. I've met a lot of people who have left aviation in their 30s or 40s - some by choice, others by loss of medical etc.
Find an alternative subject you like and get a good education before you proceed into flying, just in case!

From Life's a Beech:-

Except perhaps the 4 degrees that I listed at the start that have an ATPL within them! In that if you want a degree AND be a pilot these allow you to do both at once.

No they won't give any extra chance of becoming a professional pilot. You can perfectly well do the ATPLs without the degree. The degree doesn't help.

In fact looking at it objectively now a degree costs so much, it is better to spend that money on extra flying or an instructor rating. A degree is a back up for not getting into a flying job, or for losing the medical. However you could always study as a mature student.

Quote:

''I would highly recommend you have something to fall back on. I've met a lot of people who have left aviation in their 30s or 40s - some by choice, others by loss of medical etc.''

Ok, you lose your medical at 40, you have a degree to fall back on.
When new graduates apply for jobs they will often need experience in the form of a placement year or maybe have to do a prereg year.
At 40 you will have no of these, so why would someone give you a job at the age of 40 with a degree that you have no experience in?? why not offer the same job to a fresh graduate who possibly will have some experience. So is it really a good fall back?
Also you have to remember no degree guarantees you job eventough some from certain degrees u may walk into a job. There are alot of factors that need to be considered.
In my opinion a degree will only be useful as a backup, just incase you dont make it through your flight training for whatever reason, or if you lose your medical in early days, or even if you are not able to find a job upon completion of flight training.

Just my opinion.

hope this helps