Paco:

Well, PhD in the business card looks intimidating:)

Language point is definitely valid.

Still, gentlemen, the mere fact that so many young people go for a time and money consuming seemingly useless Embry Riddle and similar aviation colleges aeronautical science degree, tells something about it's CV value. Isn't it? So much money for what? Or is it only for those who don't pay by themself but rather their parents, who probably mistakenly think this is the best option for their kids to become professional pilots?

I think you will fiind a parental influence.

Sure parential influence. An 18 years old doesn't normally have clear picture of what is after secondary school. But what is the parent's incentive to spend some 300.000 USD? They suppose to get this idea from somewhere. And it should be a very solid foundation for such decision. Unless they are drug lords and have no clue what's the real value of money.

I suspect that most drug lords have an excellent grasp of the value of money, amongst other things. It's part of how they got to be drug lords.

PhD in the business card intimidating? Not sure that I've ever experienced that - although I have met a lot of people with a very innacurate view of what a PhD really is and means.

Yeah, but they don't know that :) - in the US, where the guy with the most qualifications wins the argument (plenty of expert witnesses who will say what you want for the right money) despite the fact that he is a) a complete idiot and b) wrong anyway, it works a treat, even if it is in underwater basket weaving :). Europe is different in that respect.

I think the parental influence involves a lot of compensation for not being there when they were needed as parents. Sadly, it is the modern world, as is taking the quick fix when it comes to exams rather than taking the trouble to learn, but then, human decision making capabilties (or at least the part of the brain concerning them) is not fully formed until 25. I can see why 18-year olds would fall for the glamour of the uniform :) and nip everyone's head until they got what they wanted.

I tend to think it's more than parents who entirely understandably want the best for their kids, also fairly understandably have a 30 year old mental picture of how the world works - because that's how it was then they were trying to first make their way in it.

Yes, of course. I have an overly cynical view.....

They do. The scale is different. 300.000 for them could be the same as 30 for me (I find it sometimes in old jacket pocket):)

I went to a good British university, but I went out of pressure from my family, and a mentality of "If you're clever, you need to go to uni", which seems to inhabit the mind of most teachers and parents. It was the right thing to do at the time, but half way through, I realised I didn't want to be there, and just grinned and beared it to the end. Since leaving school at 16, I worked part-time in the motor trade whilst at college and uni, and full-time during the holidays, so when I left uni, I had five years of work experience, whereas most graduates had zilch.

I came out with a degree in two languages from a top British university, which effectively makes me formally trilingual, with knowledge of a fourth. I'm embarking on an integrated ATPL course in the next few weeks, so I suppose we'll see if it amounts to anything, but I've always been of the opinion that a degree will be something that stands-out on a CV or application form, but not specifically relate to what you're applying for. I imagine interviewers would be more interested in personal qualities than a degree, although a degree could just make you that little bit more interesting.