Embry-Riddle vs FBO/local

Dave Arata said:
I'll buy!!
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I am 46 with an ATP. Can’t fly for anybody because my boy has two years of HS left then I will try my hand at it if all the ERAU graduates to kill the pilot shortage trying to pay back their student loan debts at $26/hour.
 
Bill Greenwood said:
I'm sure you guys are vehemently opposed to using anything that someone else other than you paid for. Or at least that's what you claim, but have any of you flown into Oshkosh? Did you pay for those runways or all the other ones along the way you stopped at? If you went to a football game or basketball or baseball game, how much did you pay for those stadiums?
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That's called moving the goalpost. Now, if you send everyone a big bill that flew into Oshkosh before 4 years ago, and don't charge anyone for the last 3 years and on.
 
Bill Greenwood said:
I'm sure you guys are vehemently opposed to using anything that someone else other than you paid for. Or at least that's what you claim, but have any of you flown into Oshkosh? Did you pay for those runways or all the other ones along the way you stopped at? If you went to a football game or basketball or baseball game, how much did you pay for those stadiums? Do you pay a set fee everytime you use the GPS system? Certainly you wouldn't freeload on some system the govt furnishes would you?
For the nut case that is ranting about Venezuela, well of course you know Biden was born there don't you.
Of course no one is going to force you to take out a college loan, but if you do you can certainly pay it all back yourself, with no aid if that is your preference. I have several friend who are not only orthopedic doctors, but also pilots and they seem to have a few $ left over after taxes.
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Maybe they should have gotten a worthwhile degree. Everybody knows orthopedic docs make the best coffee at Starbucks.
 
Bill Greenwood said:
I'm sure you guys are vehemently opposed to using anything that someone else other than you paid for. Or at least that's what you claim, but have any of you flown into Oshkosh? Did you pay for those runways or all the other ones along the way you stopped at? If you went to a football game or basketball or baseball game, how much did you pay for those stadiums? Do you pay a set fee everytime you use the GPS system? Certainly you wouldn't freeload on some system the govt furnishes would you?
For the nut case that is ranting about Venezuela, well of course you know Biden was born there don't you.
Of course no one is going to force you to take out a college loan, but if you do you can certainly pay it all back yourself, with no aid if that is your preference. I have several friend who are not only orthopedic doctors, but also pilots and they seem to have a few $ left over after taxes. In fact the founder of the previous FBO here is an ortho doctor.
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for 17 years I’d lived in a country where every service was free. Free daycare, free education, free medicine, free doctors, guaranteed jobs. No private ownership.

you get what you pay for. And 80% of population does not give a crap about what they do and how well they do it. Giving crap is detrimental to your career and health

no thanks
 
genna said:
for 17 years I’d lived in a country where every service was free. Free daycare, free education, free medicine, free doctors, guaranteed jobs. No private ownership.

you get what you pay for. And 80% of population does not give a crap about what they do and how well they do it. Giving crap is detrimental to your career and health
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This isn’t the pilots of non-America forum. How dare you warn us of the dangers of Socialism creep (creep towards socialism, not calling you a creep). Everything needs to be FREE
 
genna said:
for 17 years I’d lived in a country where every service was free. Free daycare, free education, free medicine, free doctors, guaranteed jobs. No private ownership.

you get what you pay for. And 80% of population does not give a crap about what they do and how well they do it. Giving crap is detrimental to your career and health
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Anecdotally, I find most people in the states that blabber about wanting free stuff from the government don’t really get how stuff works.
 
IBTL,

Not one person on TV is interested in examining why the costs of education is so high, ROI, risk etc. No, they are all about changing who pays for it.

When I was in high school the college recruiters were ushered in and preaching how much more money can make and that's its an investment and all that, well investments hold real risks, especially when your economy is struggling to adapt to globalism. Hell your personal health is a huge factor...

Big investments can take a long time to pay off, assuming you are lucky enough, just look at a life long farmer.

A survivor of chronic illness since age 3, lost limbs at age 26, paid off all my student loans by 30, been debt free since. I still work full time using a wheel chair every day.

I am not paying for your kid's tech/college.
 
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Bill Greenwood said:
The election is a year away, and not a forgone outcome, but the top Democratic candidates have all said they favor some forgiveness for student loans or perhaps some partial payment of it.
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Dishonest wording from the candidates (who woulda thunk it?).

No one can "forgive" a loan other than the lender. What these lying politicians are calling "forgiveness" is really paying the loans on the students' behalf using taxpayer dollars. What it comes down to is guys like me, who worked their tails off and paid their loans, will now have money taken away to pay someone else's debts.

And some of the candidates are making the amount of "forgiveness" have an income basis. So those who earned money-making degrees in STEM and business subjects will be paying the loans for those who majored in Mayan poetry and Himalayan basket weaving.

IBTL
 
Amazing to me that this board can’t seem to get out of its own way when it comes to politics and religion. People just can’t help themselves it seems, and thread after thread gets closed for this stupid nonsense.
 
Grant Powell said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but ERAU is one of the "top universities" right up there with Purdue, UND, etc. That is the main reason i was/am interested in Riddle
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There is a multitude of ways that schools are "ranked." I don't think ERAU is considered a "top university" by anyone outside of ERAU.

Honestly, having a normal college experience is an important part of life. Find a big state school, enroll there. Take the aviation classes, along with some electives. Be in an environment where the male/female split isn't 95%/5%.
 
I know one person that has gotten student loans forgiven, her health is worse than a recent POA member discovery. She is stable and able to find moments to enjoy her many grandkids and just keeps living the best way she can. She’s worked in a burn unit with babies burned head to toe from boiling water. She knows life isn’t fair.

Life isn’t fair, I got over it.
 
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kayoh190 said:
Amazing to me that this board can’t seem to get out of its own way when it comes to politics and religion. People just can’t help themselves it seems, and thread after thread gets closed for this stupid nonsense.
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They should ban everybody on this thread.
 
Did you know that here in the U S we not only have free education for grades 1 through high school, but even some free lunch programs. It would be awful if teenagers graduated from high school and could look forward to a free or affordable college education. What would that be like? Venezuela? Not quite, more like the Swiss and we all know what a terrible place that is to live.
 
kayoh190 said:
Amazing to me that this board can’t seem to get out of its own way when it comes to politics and religion. People just can’t help themselves it seems, and thread after thread gets closed for this stupid nonsense.
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:yeahthat:
 
I got my Avionics Line Certificate at EARU Daytona, FL. You had to have your A&P to get into that program. I got mine at the Hollister Campus of Gavilan College in Gilroy, CA. As I was between jobs my tuition was $1 per semester. I bought gas and books. Guys at ERAU paid $20K for their education and they had to pay an outlandish amount to take the pre A&P Qualification fest. Mine was included in my tuition. I learned the same thing for $4 that ERAU students paid $20K for.

Also, flight instruction was way more expensive there than a local FBO.

I have the certificate, but I’ve never used it. I got a job after ERAU as an engineer at Cessna in Wichita, and never looked back.
 
genna said:
for 17 years I’d lived in a country where every service was free. Free daycare, free education, free medicine, free doctors, guaranteed jobs. No private ownership.

you get what you pay for. And 80% of population does not give a crap about what they do and how well they do it. Giving crap is detrimental to your career and health

no thanks
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Where you at?
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Anecdotally, I find most people in the states that blabber about wanting free stuff from the government don’t really get how stuff works.
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Being a lifelong member of the same party as most of the people you're talking about, I've got news for you: you couldn't be more right.
 
mryan75 said:
Free stuff was not and is not Venezuela's problem, and anyone who thinks it is has no blessed clue what they're talking about. Venezuela is an example of what happens when the government steals everything that isn't nailed down, and then gets out the crowbars.
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Same thing, I’m taking about the sales pitch and you’re describing the actual product.
 
Half Fast said:
Dishonest wording from the candidates (who woulda thunk it?).

No one can "forgive" a loan other than the lender. What these lying politicians are calling "forgiveness" is really paying the loans on the students' behalf using taxpayer dollars. What it comes down to is guys like me, who worked their tails off and paid their loans, will now have money taken away to pay someone else's debts.

And some of the candidates are making the amount of "forgiveness" have an income basis. So those who earned money-making degrees in STEM and business subjects will be paying the loans for those who majored in Mayan poetry and Himalayan basket weaving.

IBTL
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To be fair, the largest student loan lender is uncle Sam. So the government certainly can forgive student loan debt.
 
James331 said:
Same thing, I’m taking about the sales pitch and you’re describing the actual product.
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Sorta. Half my family is Venezuelan. For every dollar the Chavistas have given away to the poor they've stolen $10,000. So socialism is part of it. But the real problem is that Venezuela is a kleptocracy. The corruption is absolutely eye-watering. Half the gubmint ministers are billionaires.
 
Bill Greenwood said:
I'm sure you guys are vehemently opposed to using anything that someone else other than you paid for. Or at least that's what you claim, but have any of you flown into Oshkosh? Did you pay for those runways or all the other ones along the way you stopped at? If you went to a football game or basketball or baseball game, how much did you pay for those stadiums? Do you pay a set fee everytime you use the GPS system? Certainly you wouldn't freeload on some system the govt furnishes would you?
For the nut case that is ranting about Venezuela, well of course you know Biden was born there don't you.
Of course no one is going to force you to take out a college loan, but if you do you can certainly pay it all back yourself, with no aid if that is your preference. I have several friend who are not only orthopedic doctors, but also pilots and they seem to have a few $ left over after taxes. In fact the founder of the previous FBO here is an ortho doctor.
Click to expand...
Bill, I have never attended any ball game in Denver yet I'm required to pay, thru sales tax, for the Bronco football stadium and the Rockies baseball stadium. I'm not Catholic, but when the Pope was here in the 90s (?), my taxes were used to pay for security and remediation of the state park where the major events were held (which I did not attend). As for paying for runways, in Colorado, aviation is self-funded for the most part, due to fuel tax. No Colorado funds, other than the fuel tax, are used. So yes, I'm paying for aviation in Colorado every time I put avfuel in the cherokee. And I'm paying for other assets eventho I receive no benefit.
 
murphey said:
Bill, I have never attended any ball game in Denver yet I'm required to pay, thru sales tax, for the Bronco football stadium and the Rockies baseball stadium. I'm not Catholic, but when the Pope was here in the 90s (?), my taxes were used to pay for security and remediation of the state park where the major events were held (which I did not attend). As for paying for runways, in Colorado, aviation is self-funded for the most part, due to fuel tax. No Colorado funds, other than the fuel tax, are used. So yes, I'm paying for aviation in Colorado every time I put avfuel in the cherokee. And I'm paying for other assets eventho I receive no benefit.
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Publicly-funded sports stadiums are the biggest racket going. An absolute abomination.
Alright, time to go vote.
 
mryan75 said:
Sorta. Half my family is Venezuelan. For every dollar the Chavistas have given away to the poor they've stolen $10,000. So socialism is part of it. But the real problem is that Venezuela is a kleptocracy. The corruption is absolutely eye-watering. Half the gubmint ministers are billionaires.
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Isn’t that always the case with big gov?
 
bnt83 said:
IBTL,

Not one person on TV is interested in examining why the costs of education is so high, ROI, risk etc. No, they are all about changing who pays for it.

When I was in high school the college recruiters were ushered in and preaching how much more money can make and that's its an investment and all that, well investments hold real risks, especially when your economy is struggling to adapt to globalism. Hell your personal health is a huge factor...

Big investments can take a long time to pay off, assuming you are lucky enough, just look at a life long farmer.

A survivor of chronic illness since age 3, lost limbs at age 26, paid off all my student loans by 30, been debt free since. I still work full time using a wheel chair every day.

I am not paying for your kid's tech/college.
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Awesome + Amen!

I laugh when I think about paying for college. I served 4yrs in the Navy before college. On all those underwater patrols I didn't get much sleep and during each pre-patrol refit I didn't get any. But I was in between the old and new GI bills...called VEAP. I put in my $ and got uncle sam's $$ back out. But it surely did not pay for a full education (EE+CSci). So I worked at least 20hrs a week and often 30hrs a week. Did grad school (EE) always worked at least 20hrs a week, often more. So even saying to join the military and get it all paid for doesn't exactly work out that way. I then paid off my small loans in 4yrs.

So why should a Pilot get $250K of student load debt forgiven. Or in my example, an Orthopedic Surgeon get $600K of student loan debt forgiven? If they are going to do that then before they start forgiving those loans lets use whatever money there is (none) and reimburse all of us who actually went to school and paid for it. I'd be happy to just get my money back sans interest. But wait, that wouldn't be fair because....I was smart enough to pick degree(s) that have good jobs and not pick a overpriced school.

Perhaps more irony...my wife and I both went to one of these schools (UND). She went for the pilot program and did in a week what the OP is wondering if he should do half a semester later...she dropped it in favor a math degree. The UND program seemed great. But for her it was overpriced and filled with too many damn rules and quirks...like holding and then loosing her log book the first week. Then again she had a taste of Part 61 and her PPL so she had more info that most of the freshmen. So she did what we preach here. She got the math degree instead and did not fly while at college. Got a decent corporate job (non-aviation). She saved each winter and flew each summer and made it to the airlines without being a CFI or getting to a school to get a aviation degree. It can be done. No debt either. But it takes patience.

If you just gotta have it now...take the loans.
 
I’d wager now days, with a your RN, buy a small plane to learn and fly in, sell after your CPL, betcha could get your CPL/CFI/RN for 40-60 depending on how smart you are
 
mryan75 said:
To be fair, the largest student loan lender is uncle Sam. So the government certainly can forgive student loan debt.
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and where did that money come from?
 
Dave Arata said:
I've considered ERAU for their online aeronautics degree, but I'm looking for alternatives, as well. I've already got my private, instrument rating, high performance and complex endorsements and I'm about two months or so from my commercial check ride. Any opinions on online alternatives?
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No info on alternatives, but I have a BS in Aeronautics from ERAU (part online part satellite campus, graduated in 2014, 28 y/o now). The degree hasn't been the powerhouse I thought/I was told it was going to be, but it has still helped land some good non-flying aviation jobs. I am currently a full time drone pilot in TX. My minors were in aviation safety and management.

The classes got crazy expensive even relative to when I started near the end and I wasn't sure why. My satellite campus was a once-weekly rented office space with a projector and a few students and an instructor. There were some amazing and inspirational instructors I met but also some truly awful ones who had no business in a classroom. Not sure where else I would have gone if given the chance but for the cost of the degree it was questionable. I initially really wanted to do Aerospace Engineering but it wasn't offered worldwide.
 
overdrive148 said:
No info on alternatives, but I have a BS in Aeronautics from ERAU (part online part satellite campus, graduated in 2014, 28 y/o now). The degree hasn't been the powerhouse I thought/I was told it was going to be, but it has still helped land some good non-flying aviation jobs. I am currently a full time drone pilot in TX. My minors were in aviation safety and management.

The classes got crazy expensive even relative to when I started near the end and I wasn't sure why. My satellite campus was a once-weekly rented office space with a projector and a few students and an instructor. There were some amazing and inspirational instructors I met but also some truly awful ones who had no business in a classroom. Not sure where else I would have gone if given the chance but for the cost of the degree it was questionable. I initially really wanted to do Aerospace Engineering but it wasn't offered worldwide.
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I’d be very interested to hear how the drone job goes? I got my sUAS some time ago and built a decent drone, but putting food on your table with it I find very intriguing
 
You don't need a degree to be a drone operator though. From my understanding it's a job in the 20s/hr. Small outfits with likely poor retirement and medical benefits. 50ish-K job, maybe more if you burn the candle on both ends. Not bad for no degree required.

No progression to six figure RPAs like Preds, Reapers or Global Hawks though. The big money in unmanned vehicle stuff is with the DOD/DHS contract work. Usually requires federal govt sponsored training or military equivalent (and willingness to live overseas for the really crazy money).
 
Bill Greenwood said:
Did you know that here in the U S we not only have free education for grades 1 through high school, but even some free lunch programs. It would be awful if teenagers graduated from high school and could look forward to a free or affordable college education. What would that be like? Venezuela? Not quite, more like the Swiss and we all know what a terrible place that is to live.
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yep. We do. Here in Baltimore city, we spend more money per pupil than almost anywhere in the country. You should look up the results.

Everyone I know who can afford it either pays for private school or pays a lot of money to live in a “more equal” school district. Party affiliations be damned.
The thing about free and equal is that there are always some that are more equal than others.
 
hindsight2020 said:
No progression to six figure RPAs like Preds, Reapers or Global Hawks though. The big money in unmanned vehicle stuff is with the DOD/DHS contract work. Usually requires federal govt sponsored training or military equivalent (and willingness to live overseas for the really crazy money).
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I hope to have some more info on this front in the next few weeks :fcross:
 
ERAU's program is not for everyone. If you have decided this is true for you then choose a different path. Or dedicate yourself to following their path. Unfortunately, there are no clearly discernible milestones or methodologies for predicting the future. 911 was a huge disruption to many. Who is to say you will always be in good health? That you will avoid things that happen in life such as unplanned parenthood, DUI, etc.?

Although seniority is vital at the airlines it can be elusive. Carriers fail or merge. Stuff happens like at one carrier where a bunch of pilots were hired during a pilot strike. Many of those new hires refused to cross the picket line and for many they were not hired by other carriers. Some of them were eventually hired but many years later. The folks who did cross were largely hated and reviled. I had one as a student and he said that it was the biggest mistake of his life.

Some companies will help you tuition. Amazon is running frequent commercials about their program. Interesting that military service as a path to a degree (and Army's Warrant Officer program to flight training) is hardly mentioned or discussed. Have you considered enlisting? While on active duty there are programs such as tuition assistance that will help pay for college and, of course, GI Bill post service. There are also the service academies and ROTC.

Life is all about making choices and how much you are willing to invest in yourself. Make the best decision you can, start toward your goal, and be prepared to change course as needed.
 
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