I have a friend who has a degree in Music and is now working in the Civil Service advising on Child Policy.

I have a further friend who has a degree in Italian who makes shed loads in Investment banking.

I have another who's degree is in something related to performing arts who works within a University marketing team.

Besides perhaps academia/engineering it is really a myth that a specific degree is necessary for many roles. The degree just gets you the interview in the first place.

Do something you are good at and something you enjoy (and is not too obscure).

I guess I´m fairly good in many things and can do well in many degrees but one thing that I am god at and the only thing that I truly enjoy, is aviation.

One thing I can think off is that I am very interested in aviation safety, phsycology and the knowlege around safety, cathastrophies and how human factors in emergencies etc. Are their any degrees in this, more related to the transport industry, naval and aviation?

Hey adam02 i was in the same situation. I'm just about to finish my second year of an accountancy degree (hopefully). I looked into a career in aviation when i was 20 but was put off by this very fickle industry. I thought I would bide my time and try to achieve a good degree. In my first year i started training for my PPL and logged 18 hours. The student loans come in very handy! All i will say is juggling the two can be hard. I haven't done any flying during term time because the amount of work and effort required for uni is more important. Luckily my last exam is on the 19th of this month and fingers crossed if the weather is good i can complete my flying hours during the summer. My next problem is trying to study for uni and the PPL exams. Personally i cannot do the two things at once. Your academic ability maybe a lot better than mine!

All the best

Laurence

Did I just get thread hijacked by the god of aviation? :confused:

But seriously you shouldn't ask other people what degree you should do. You say the only thing you truly enjoy is aviation, that would lead anyone to believe that you would find any aviation related degree interesting and of value. Just do some personal research.

How do you know your fairly good at most things? You're 18, you've done nothing to prove you are good at anything. You say you are good at aviation, again how do you know? There is a huge difference between having an interest and being good at something.

I think I´m good in aviation since I have around 55 flight hours and I had no problems with the PPL knowledge. I know it´s going to get harder with ATPL/IR etc but I found it easy to understand these subjects. Allso maths, physics etc. I´m not saying that I am good at everything, I am saying that I think I can perform like an average person in normal degree-courses. Better in some, than others.

Anyway, I´ve been searching around a bit for degrees in the area of aviation safety and the area wich I explained above, but I couldn´t find anything. Any ideas?

55 hours of flying is nothing, barely above the minimum hours to pass, the PPL knowledge is basic you don't do multiple choice questions at decent Universities.

When you've got years of experience and loads of hours then I'll listen to your self evaluation.

In all fairness, Fabbe could well have the equivalent of high grade A Levels in some subjects and therefore it would not be unreasonable to say that he would be quite good in those subjects.

Fabbe, then do a degree in Maths or Physics - aviation degrees are no use to man nor beast in any other industry. You need to hedge your bets.

Cheers

Whirls

hmm, okey I think you have missunderstod me. I am not saying that I can fly the 747 or be an astronaout. I am saying that if I have good grades in the A-levels, have no difficulty with PPL, Physics etc, and I´ve passed apptitude tests for flight schools and the military, I think I can invest my mone in pilot training. Do you think that I should become an astronaut, Politician and Chief Doctor before I start thinking of aviation. The fact is that nobody can know for sure wether he will be sucessfull in a certain careerpath but with the A-levels and everything mentione above, I can see wich subjects I am better in and choose a career accordingly. Combined with my interest and motivation, I think I can be sucesfull in the ATPL etc, like many other. I am not saying that I can fly through it, I will have to work hard like everybody else. I am not going to sit at home for the rest of my life just because I have no experience and I can´t tell for sure how it will look in the end of university etc. No one can!

And thanks for the info Whirlygig, I will consider the options!

Some other ideas......
 

There are are a lot of options and choosing the best for you depends on your skills and long term motivation.

There are full time aviation degrees that will train you to fly professionally as well as developing your maths skills to the level where you can do complex statistical tasks (such as analyse safety or economic data, or identify new route viability etc) as well as providing a good background in what makes an airline run. The advantage of an aviation degree is that it will allow you a much better chance to remain in the industry if you lose your medical.

One option on the other side of the world (Sydney) is at UNSW: see University of New South Wales - UNSW - Home. This offers a fleet of new Diamond DA40s at a university which rates in the top 50 internationally (according to their website) and which includes a good swag of quantitative academic subjects.

I have to disagree. Sweeping statements like that help no one as you have not provided any supporting evidence for your obviously simplistic outlook on life (sorry to be so blunt).

As mentioned elsewhere above for a lot of good jobs it does not matter what degree you have, just having a degree (any degree) is required. Also if it has decent management content that can be applied anywhere.

Besides I know of a graduate from an aviation degree who is now earning a fortune as a paralegal advisor in aviation to a City law firm.

I have to agree with Groundloop, most jobs nowadays, it doesn't matter what degree you have. A degree just shows that you have some life experience and have the ability to learn and apply yourself. As most of us want to become pilots, I think that if you choose to do a degree, just do it because you enjoy the subject, not because you feel you have to for a potential "if everything doesn't work out" career.

Another point to consider is do you really want to have debts from uni when you are planning to start your flight training? Maybe if you have full financial support from your parents it doesn't matter so much but unfortunately most of us are not in that situation. I personally would love to skip a degree and go straight into work to save money for training; I know it is very risky though...

You guys get in debt because of getting a degree? wow, here in Belgium we pay around 600€ per year + another 300 for books a year. And you can sell those to those who come behind you.:eek:

Alright for some :{

Ok I have my first lesson for my PPL next saturday.

Ive decided to buy a logbook.

AFE Professional Pilot Logbook £15.50

Is that appropriate in case of further post PPL training?

Also, what do you write for a 1 hour lesson?

Do you just simply put "1 hour" or do you have to specify time taken for taxiing and actual "in the air" time?

Thanks.

Fabbe and adam
 

Wew, seems like you might need to start a new 'how to'' thread if you want to ask those sort of specific questions. I'm sure the logbook you get wouldnt matter an awful lot. It's the content that counts. Make sure it is nice and neat though. and use the same pen for all entries.

My 2c, in an area i feel myself quite experienced.

Finishing up a degree in Aviation in Brisbane. This gave me access to a government loan, and also an airline cadetship, which has been keeping me busy.

I believe getting a degree is worthwhile, and also enjoyable (uni life can be quite, hm, flexible), whilst providing the opportunity to meet new people in a good environment. I have learned a lot, and gained much from my experience.

In retrospect, I would have probably rather done a degree in another area to fall back on (it's only a few years, and you are still young). You have your entire life ahead of you.

Ofcourse, if you are a die-hard-wannabe-pilot, then start training now and harness that zeal.

It is a large investment, and should be well thought-out (something i can say i didnt do too much of during the beginning of my tertiary education).

As for fabbe - having good grades is a good beginning. I know, after getting a gilmpse at the many possibilities of study on offer out there, that i could have done a couple of other degrees that would have been very interesting and challenging. There is a lot of knowledge to be gained out there, and a lot of interesting areas in our world. Just have a browse, and see what you might like. Hell, if you try something and dont like it, you can just change degrees. I've had many friends change degrees many times, and have found something which they like. But, if aviation is really the only apple of your eye, then get into it!! Be careful though... as has been said previously, it is a very fickle industry.

Im in the thick of it now though, and owe a lot of money, so i will see this through to the end. not to mention i thoroughly enjoy it, despite the many pressures.

A degree in economics, politics or any other social area would be interesting to me because it increases my general knowledge and I believe it could help, develope me as a person. Because, if you skip uni and go directly into aviation, the only thing you know is how to drive a plane. It's fantastic but it's allso nice with some understanding of the things on the ground. However this is the only reason I can think of. If I loose my medical or get sick of being away from the family, a degree in aviation is something I could use. Because aviation is the thing I want to do.

Another thing is, that when I'm done with training at the age of 24, I will be jeallous at the guys whom allready have a couple of thousand hours, hehe.

This is true. The situation I am in now. But I hardly regret it.

To be honest, I don't know how far the degree in aviation will get you. Aviation isn't really a field that you can 'branch-out' an awful lot (unless into ATC, or engineering). The degree in my case, was purely out of interest, and to get funding from the government.

Another thing tjat has to be taken into consideration, is the economical climate. When speaking to pilots F/Is and experts, they say that now is a good time to slowly start with PPL etc. No rush they say, but try to be ready in 2012-2014 so you can jump on the boom-train. The fact is, that if I go to uni, wich will take me 2-4 years + 2 years pilot training, I risk stepping out into another meltdown, and end up sitting on my bottom for 10 years without a job.

What do you guys say about this risk?

fabbe

a degree in aviation will give you as much chance at a job as a pilot!!.. Broaden your horizons, do something generic like Mechanical Engineering. Booms in Pilot recruitment have no known length of time so the calculation you have made of 2 years being the next boom is wrong! Yes there is a risk of when you start.