Yep different Uni not to far away from India Mike.

I think the weird bloke ended up over his way to be arrested on some sex charge half way through 1st year.

WILCO.XMG, regarding your bold advice on degrees and commercial pilot employment, for the benefit of full disclosure, would it be correct to say that:

1. You do not yet have any pilot licence.
2. You do not yet have a degree.
3. You do not yet work in commercial aviation.

Anyone can dish out advice on pprune. Those seeking it should be very careful which advice they heed. And don't worry, I'm not just getting at you, we see it all the time.

Torque Tonight,

I apologize if you feel I have distributed advice carelessly. And you are correct in stating I have not yet accomplished any of the three things you have listed.

However I was in the same predicament as the Poster WillingPilot is in now. And only through being involved in the industry can you get answers, and I feel I have experienced enough to voice my opinion and provide advice.

I would just like to say to WilingPilot to send me a private mail with any specific questions and I will reply using my relevant, however limited knowledge.

Regards,

WILCO.XMG

WWW said:
This is good advice. If you want to be a pilot, why train as an engineer? Aero Eng is one of the toughest, most time-consuming degree courses going and, if you don't see yourself ever using the degree (ie. working as an engineer), the motivation to haul oneself into the multitude of lectures and study for the eye-watering number of degree exams can be extremely hard to muster when the students' union bar is beckoning.

I speak from experience - a large number of those on my course who were just interested in doing something 'aviation-y' as a road into flying (like me), or who thought it looked cool in the prospectus, didn't make it to the final year. Those who passed generally ended up becoming engineers, because that is what they had started out to do. I wish someone had imparted WWW's advice to me 16 years ago. Including the bit about girls.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't take a degree that you don't intend to use, there are plenty of fun, interesting and less demanding degrees that fill that bill. Aero Eng, however, is best left to the prospective aeronautical engineer.

Broadly, roadrunner, I agree with you - I'd just insert one word into your post:

There are other jobs where the technical degree is really quite useful. Service careers (Army, Navy, Air Force) often jump between flying and management jobs - and the latter can encompass engineering. Very few of the military test pilots coming out of the Test Pilot Schools now don't have aero degrees, nor the "home grown" TPs at places like Cessna and Piper. A few oddball researchers like myself, India-Mike and others at places like Cranfield and Embry-Riddle use, and need, both our engineering degrees and our commercial licences.

It is all about managing your own career. If your sole objective is to be in the left hand seat of a four engine civil jet - you are absolutely right. If your objective is to be a career flying instructor, then you may well want a degree - but something like business management would be far more useful. But there are career paths that want both.

So, I'd advice anybody aged about 16 and planning their next 5-10 years to think about the career paths they want and plan accordingly. That *might* include an aero-eng degree, it may well not. But, as I think we've all agreed, it's not an obvious route to simply become an airline pilot.

G

A good point Genghis, I hope that I wasn't putting anyone off who might have a genuine interest in applying the degree at some point and I should have acknowledged that it can be relevant in spheres beyond the obvious. I just believe that anyone considering taking a degree in Aero Eng should be aware of what they are getting themselves into - it's a very tough course. If your intention is simply to pass three years at uni on your way to the right hand seat then there are much more agreeable ways of doing that.

And these days, less financially draining.

G

I aim to become an airline pilot once/if I graduate with my Aero degree....You are right however, the course does lack female company! :* Psychology is the better option on that front!

On a more serious note to what is being said above. I completely agree 100% that Aero is tough and demanding compared to your average course, and that if you're intending to get into the LHS of an airliner it may not be the best option due to the fact you won't be using your degree compared to someone who'll become a full-time engineer, resulting in a lack of comitment. I can totally understand this however, I see myself falling into the above situation yet I feel my commitment is still very high. :ok: Yes, when exam time arrives it bogs you down but I just try and think of the end result and it's worked for me so far. I'm just hoping 2nd year is as rewarding as 1st year!

1st year is usually horrible - it should get much better in the 2nd year when you actually get to study hard core aero-eng subjects.

G

Sure is! Aerodynamics is interesting, sort of like another maths class but with interesting examples!:p I enjoyed Thermodynamics in 1st year and being taught aero propulsion with thermodyanmics it's again becoming rather interesting. Shame about the resurgence of Matlab after Christmas. Oh god.:{

I didn't like matlab either.

If anyone ever mentions finite volume, matlab and project in the same sentence run like :mad:

t'was all Fortran and Pascal in my day. I dallied briefly with mathcad, but nowadays have just learned how to make Excel do magic tricks!

G

It's still Fortran as far as I'm concerned for serious work. The only reason we don't give it to modern undergraduates is that Matlab is much easier:E

I guess I better dig out the Matlab books or just get my dad to give me a crash course. It was a year since we did Matlab, it's going to be a LONG semester! :\