How much do airlines/private companies care about a bachelors degree?

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Logan Hardee

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So originally I was planning to go into ATC but decided not to. My passion is flying and I didn’t care for them to control where I get placed.
My local college offers a Profession Pilot course that qualifies you for a R-ATP at 1250 hours. However, it’s an associate degree.
So I can spend 70k for an associates in PPC (Professional Pilot Certificate) or my other option is spend 5k on a CTI which is an Air Traffic Control degree and then go to a flight school and get my CPL. Would having an associates in ATC plus a CPL mean anything to companies? Definitely going to try to go to Fractional owner/private side of things. I can also add on two years and make a bachelors out of it if I have to. I’ve seen a lot of companies where it’s “preferred but not required”. Thanks for any Input!
 
For my experience no one has ever asked me about any college at all.

Depends on where you want to go in aviation.
 
Zeldman said:
For my experience no one has ever asked me about any college at all.

Depends on where you want to go in aviation.
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If you don’t mind me asking are you with airlines or the private side?
 
The majority of my flying has been in bush Alaska and air ambulance, with a little freight thrown in.

I was accepted in 2 regionals years ago. One I did not accept their offer and the other I left during the class room portion. I decided that the airline life was not for me. Not that there is anything wrong with airline flying, it was just everything else.

(but flying a desk right now...)
 
Zeldman said:
The majority of my flying has been in bush Alaska and air ambulance, with a little freight thrown in.

I was accepted in 2 regionals years ago. One I did not accept their offer and the other I left during the class room portion. I decided that the airline life was not for me. Not that there is anything wrong with airline flying, it was just everything else.

(but flying a desk right now...)
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Must have been one long ground school at that regional. :rolleyes:

From an earlier post:

Zeldman said:
Interesting subject, thanks to all that have contributed.

I do make a good living flying pt 135/91, and I do have a good retirement. Not from any company I've worked for but from my own doing. I did one enlistment in the army when I was young so I have those benefits. I spent about 7 months in a regional airline and left because I had no life, no home, no bank account and no future. After 16 years flying pt 135 I now have a very good portfolio and good investments. I own rental properties and that income currently matches my flying income. A couple of partners and myself are starting an air ambulance company that should be in the air by the end of August. I dont plan on retiring with just 1 million cash. I plan on retiring with 10 times that amount. And I will have done it without depending on a military or an airline career, which both used to be good career paths at one time.

I do have a college degree. I went part time for 8 years, the biggest waste of my time. (I wont tell your kids that if you dont want me to)

Profesional pilot definition of cockpit: A place where pilots gather to talk about their investments and stock options. :lol:

Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.
Old sailors never die, they just sail away.
Old pilots never die, they just collect their pay. ;)
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Zeldman said:
The closing of the business was probably top secret and none of the hourly workers knew about it until the last second. I have worked for a couple small commuter airlines that we learned about the closing when we reported for work and found the doors locked and a sign in the window saying ''out of business''. (and no paychecks)
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Zeldman said:
After a couple of years as a flight instructor, I applied to regionals. I applied to many, was asked to interview by a few, and was invited to train at one. Woo Hoo..!!! I made it.!! Now I am making 1200 a month, plus I get to wear a tie and carry that large brief case with nothing in it except my lunch and a change of underwear. Did I mention I was making 1200 a month.?? And most captains were 15 years younger than me and had no real world work experience. The flying was boring to me and it felt like a dead end career for me.

After three months I left the glorious world of airlines
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BTW, how's your air ambulance business doing?
 
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Delta will care about your degree. Spirit... probably not so much. It varies from one company to the next. The degree will not make you any better as a pilot but it will definitely make you more employable. The big question right now is how much more... with the amount of retirements happening over the next 10 years companies are having to compete for new hires for the first time in 20 years. The degree/no degree gap is closing some but I don’t think it will ever go away.

I don’t have a degree so I’ve been watching from the uneducated side of the fence. I’ve never been unemployed and my career has been continually trending towards the better side of pay and quality of life along the way but I’m sure there are good odds it would have been better had I been able to check the degree box. Probably would have been more boring too...
 
Zeldman said:
The majority of my flying has been in bush Alaska and air ambulance, with a little freight thrown in.

I was accepted in 2 regionals years ago. One I did not accept their offer and the other I left during the class room portion. I decided that the airline life was not for me. Not that there is anything wrong with airline flying, it was just everything else.

(but flying a desk right now...)
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Nice. Air ambulance is becoming more and more appealing to me there’s just not a lot of info on pay online.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Delta will care about your degree. Spirit... probably not so much. It varies from one company to the next. The degree will not make you any better as a pilot but it will definitely make you more employable. The big question right now is how much more... with the amount of retirements happening over the next 10 years companies are having to compete for new hires for the first time in 20 years. The degree/no degree gap is closing some but I don’t think it will ever go away.

I don’t have a degree so I’ve been watching from the uneducated side of the fence. I’ve never been unemployed and my career has been continually trending towards the better side of pay and quality of life along the way but I’m sure there are good odds it would have been better had I been able to check the degree box. Probably would have been more boring too...
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Gotcha. Thanks
 
You can get hired at regional without a degree. If you are looking at a legacy, it’s pretty tough to get in without one. You could always go to an American Airlines wholly owned regional and flow to American without a degree. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Economics at a state school and flew on the side. It was a little more cost effective to do it that way. I start at Delta in 2 weeks after being at a regional for about 4 years.
 
jordane93 said:
You can get hired at a regional without a degree. If you are looking at a legacy, it’s pretty tough to get in without one. You could always go to an American Airlines wholly owned regional and flow to American without a degree.
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Does it have to be a bachelors? I plan on getting an associates but would rather not go 4 years if I don’t have to.
 
Logan Hardee said:
Does it have to be a bachelors? I plan on getting an associates but would rather not go 4 years if I don’t have to.
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Yes. Pretty much does. Nothing stopping you from flying and doing the degree on the side.

It also depends on your goals. If Delta/Fedex is your goal. Get the degree. If not ... then you might not have to have one.
 
It's the sole reason I got a bachelors... just to put it in perspective
 
Logan Hardee said:
Does it have to be a bachelors? I plan on getting an associates but would rather not go 4 years if I don’t have to.
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Yes. I’d get it now if you want to fly for a major airline. And I’d do it now. I’ve flown with captains and FOs who work on their degrees on overnights and weekends and they say it sucks and all wished they would have done it right away. But who knows, with all the retirements coming, a degree may not be necessary. As of now, it’s pretty much necessary. I have no idea what’s required for charter/corporate.
 
jordane93 said:
Yes. I’d get it now if you want to fly for a major airline. And I’d do it now. I’ve flown with captains and FOs who work on their degrees on overnights and weekends and they say it sucks and all wished they would have done it right away. But who knows, with all the retirements coming, a degree may not be necessary. As of now, it’s pretty much necessary. I have no idea what’s required for charter/corporate.
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Great thanks for the info. Glad I found this site!
 
Get your 4 year degree in something non-aviation. Will save you a lot of money, and you can do on line and night classes so you can work full time and fly. That is what I did and it saved me a ton of money. And you're young (I'm assuming) and have the ability to knuckle down and bust your ass now that you may not have once you get older. The more pain you get out of the way now, then less you'll have later on.

Also, don't pin yourself down to one type of flying at this stage of your career. You still have a LOT to learn, and eventually you'll get a feel for what you want to do. Don't handicap yourself by saying "I want to be a corporate pilot" when you may change your mind in a few years. If I had to do it all over again I would have gone the airline route. I'm pretty happy where I am now, but it is hard to beat the majors when it comes to pay and QOL.
 
Groundpounder said:
Get your 4 year degree in something non-aviation. Will save you a lot of money, and you can do on line and night classes so you can work full time and fly. That is what I did and it saved me a ton of money. And you're young (I'm assuming) and have the ability to knuckle down and bust your ass now that you may not have once you get older. The more pain you get out of the way now, then less you'll have later on.

Also, don't pin yourself down to one type of flying at this stage of your career. You still have a LOT to learn, and eventually you'll get a feel for what you want to do. Don't handicap yourself by saying "I want to be a corporate pilot" when you may change your mind in a few years. If I had to do it all over again I would have gone the airline route. I'm pretty happy where I am now, but it is hard to beat the majors when it comes to pay and QOL.
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That’s a great point. Corporate has always appealed to be for some reason but I do need to keep an open mind. So if I get a Bachelors in business or something then go into CPL wouldn’t I spend more? Correct me if I’m wrong but flight school is around 60k and a bachelors where I’m at is around 30-40. There are aeronautical programs that offer flight training and a degree for 70ish. Again correct me if I’m wrong I’m new to this haha. Thanks much
 
Logan Hardee said:
That’s a great point. Corporate has always appealed to be for some reason but I do need to keep an open mind. So if I get a Bachelors in business or something then go into CPL wouldn’t I spend more? Correct me if I’m wrong but flight school is around 60k and a bachelors where I’m at is around 30-40. There are aeronautical programs that offer flight training and a degree for 70ish. Again correct me if I’m wrong I’m new to this haha. Thanks much
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Does that $70-ish include all of your flying time? What ratings does it get you? What ratings does the $60k spent at the flight school get you?
 
Logan Hardee said:
So originally I was planning to go into ATC but decided not to. My passion is flying and I didn’t care for them to control where I get placed.
My local college offers a Profession Pilot course that qualifies you for a R-ATP at 1250 hours. However, it’s an associate degree.
So I can spend 70k for an associates in PPC (Professional Pilot Certificate) or my other option is spend 5k on a CTI which is an Air Traffic Control degree and then go to a flight school and get my CPL. Would having an associates in ATC plus a CPL mean anything to companies? Definitely going to try to go to Fractional owner/private side of things. I can also add on two years and make a bachelors out of it if I have to. I’ve seen a lot of companies where it’s “preferred but not required”. Thanks for any Input!
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If it's required, it's required. However, this requirement it completely dependent on how badly they need pilots.

If it's preferred, but not required, then this consider this senario. If two pilots of similar experience apply, but one has a degree and the other does not, who do you think will be hired.
 
I would think a mechanical engineering degree would be the best
1. You can get a good paying non aviation job
2. Airlines would value a pilot who can understand the mechanical systems on the plane.
 
There are many aviation jobs that don’t require a bachelors degree. There are NO aviation jobs that prohibit one.

Someday your ability to fly for a living may end. Medical issue, economic downturn, whatever. If you have a STEM or business degree to fall back on you won’t starve. When that day comes you may also have a family to feed. Give yourself some options.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
I would think a mechanical engineering degree would be the best
1. You can get a good paying non aviation job
2. Airlines would value a pilot who can understand the mechanical systems on the plane.
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Agree with 1. Disagree with 2. They don’t care. All they care is if you can check the bachelor’s degree box. Everyone learns the same systems in ground school.
 
Logan Hardee said:
18. Graduated high school last year. I’ve always wanted to fly but recently decided it was time to take it seriously and get the ball rolling.
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Thats fantastic you recognize that you want to pursue flying as a career if you enjoy it! As of now a bachelors is required by most of the majors and preferred at the rest, it's difficult to get hired without at the moment, of course like anything else with time that can change. The regionals do not require one, and some with guaranteed flows would be a way to the majors without a bachelors.

Something very big to consider, you wouldn't be wasting time in getting it at all. If you are 18 now, keep in mind to fly for a part 121 air carrier aka "airline" you need to be 21 years of age. It is easily possible to get a 4 year bachelors degree in that 3 year timespan if you did a few summer classes. So bachelors degree or not you still can't go fly for an airline until you're 21, the reference for that is in 61.159 and 61.160.
 
SToL said:
If it's preferred, but not required, then this consider this senario. If two pilots of similar experience apply, but one has a degree and the other does not, who do you think will be hired.
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The one who can distinguish between a Monet and a Manet, obviously. Because the sheepskin makes all the difference in the world.

:rolleyes:
 
SToL said:
...
If it's preferred, but not required, then this consider this senario. If two pilots of similar experience apply, but one has a degree and the other does not, who do you think will be hired.
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In most cases it’ll be the person with a degree unless there’s something special (like being already typed and current in type) that differentiates the non-degreed applicant.
 
JustinD said:
Thats fantastic you recognize that you want to pursue flying as a career if you enjoy it! As of now a bachelors is required by most of the majors and preferred at the rest, it's difficult to get hired without at the moment, of course like anything else with time that can change. The regionals do not require one, and some with guaranteed flows would be a way to the majors without a bachelors.

Something very big to consider, you wouldn't be wasting time in getting it at all. If you are 18 now, keep in mind to fly for a part 121 air carrier aka "airline" you need to be 21 years of age. It is easily possible to get a 4 year bachelors degree in that 3 year timespan if you did a few summer classes. So bachelors degree or not you still can't go fly for an airline until you're 21, the reference for that is in 61.159 and 61.160.
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Great point. Thanks.
 
Groundpounder said:
Does that $70-ish include all of your flying time? What ratings does it get you? What ratings does the $60k spent at the flight school get you?
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Local college gives me CPL Single, multi, CFI as an elective and a R-ATP 1250 hours.
Flight school is the same but includes CFI and 1500 ATP and no degree. The flight school the college contracts with just doesn’t have a great reputation or success rate.
 
jordane93 said:
You can get your bachelors at a state school for way less than 30-40K. My tuition was around $4500/year
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I’ll have to price out at more schools. That was the general business whatever bachelors for my local college.
 
Half Fast said:
There are many aviation jobs that don’t require a bachelors degree. There are NO aviation jobs that prohibit one.

Someday your ability to fly for a living may end. Medical issue, economic downturn, whatever. If you have a STEM or business degree to fall back on you won’t starve. When that day comes you may also have a family to feed. Give yourself some options.
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Another great point. Thanks
 
As someone else said, a bachelors is never a bad idea. I'm 25 and plan on starting mine here fairly soon.
 
get the paper....however ya can. Online is good too....use to get em from the back of a CrackerJack box....that would work too.
 
The Bachelor's degree remains a solid addition to any aviation resume.
 
As others have said, a Bachelors degree in a non-aviation major will give you options, should the need arise. And it will “check the box” with the airlines, as I’ve always heard that they care about the degree itself, but don’t give a hoot about the major.

Sounds like a win-win.
 
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