Ok going to multi-quote and do some nit picking. Apologies in advance but don't say I didn't warn you.
I have reading into becoming a pilot and the one thing really worries me is I see a lot of information saying that I would need a 4 year degree on top of flight school training. I contacted a flight school and talked with an instructor and he told me that was no longer a requirement but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask other experts for there input on the matter. My main concern is that flight school alone is very expensive and to required a 4 year degree on top of that is pretty crazy financially... Thanks in advance for any input!
There are multiple threads on this but here's what it boils down to. Right now, you can probably find an airline job without a degree. You probably won't make it to senior captain at any of the majors without a degree, but you can definitely find an airline gig without a degree. But when I say right now I mean right now, as in today. This industry is and always has been fluid in that sense. It ebbs and flows. So two years from now getting an airline gig without a degree might not be so doable. Or it still might. Impossible to predict for sure. The only thing we can know for sure is the need for a degree WILL CHANGE. We just can't say when with any accuracy.
That's the long and short of it. Now for the nit picking. I personally don't like when people harp on this and I therefore try to avoid doing it myself. Yet I'm going to do it anyway in this case none the less.
One thing that having a degree would (or at least should) do for you is teach you that you spelled mandatory wrong and more importantly, teach you that in a field like professional aviation, knowing you spelled it wrong and being able to use tools that will fix that sort of thing for you is important. Its one of those things that will keep your resume from getting deleted immediately. Because when your resume gets deleted immediately, you ain't gettin hired. Period. In short, it matters. So pay attention to it.
Also, getting gigs in aviation often relies being able to network well with others in the industry. Which means you never really know who you might be talking to that might be able to get you that job you've always wanted. Which means that even when you're just asking getting started questions on a random internet forum like this one, having good spelling and grammar can make a difference. And don't get me wrong, I'm a dyslexic idiot. Couldn't spell my way out of a wet paper bag if my life depended on it. But I know how to use spell check. And I can assure you that skill and that skill alone has been pivotal in me being able to live in a much better house and drive a much better car than I otherwise deserve.
Ahh, that's what I was worried about. I guess in that case its on to option two because there is no way I could afford flight school on top of a four year degree unless I hit the Powerball
Aviation is expensive no matter how you slice it. Its been almost 20 years since I did my professional aviation stint and even back then I came to the realization that the absolute best candidates for airline flying were those who could get their ratings along with a 4-year degree and then live at home rent-free with mom and dad for 5-10 years until they worked their way up the ladder enough to be able to afford to get their own place and buy their own food.
That being said, I did not have that situation at all. No degree and parents had already died and left the kids with almost as much debt as inheritance. But I also never had any aspirations of hauling passengers around in a flying bus. Airline flying suck in my opinion and I never wanted to do it. So I didn't. But I flew airplanes for a living none the less. Which is to say if you really and truly want to fly airplanes as your job, you can probably do that. No guarantees it'll be glamorous, or make you at all wealthy. But if the goal is to get paid to fly airplanes and keep a roof over your head and food in fridge, you can do probably do it no matter your background.
It's funny you say that because I looked into getting a CDL and getting into over the road trucking and heard the same thing about field... I am starting to wonder if my first option that involves getting into computers might not be the best way to go. It seems like they are taking over everything anyways. As the old saying goes "if you get beat them, join them".
Funny you say that. Because after I left aviation, I went into computers and then got a CDL and drove trucks and then finally ended up where I sort of was all along in all my careers, being a manager. In almost all my jobs I've ended up in management. I was a professional pilot for exactly one day, then I became the chief pilot which meant I managed the other pilots and staff while I was also doing flying myself yada yada yada... But anyway the point is I've come to realize what my true skillset is so I know that ultimately I'm a manager, and I happen to currently work in trucking.
Driverless trucks are coming. Autonomous trucks are coming too, but that's not the same as driverless. Driverless will get here first. They will still require people. Operators I call them because they will be responsible for the truck but they won't be driving. Autonomous, with no human on board, will come later. The same will likely happen in aviation. But I pretty sure the trucks will get here long before the planes do. The whole managing three axis' of movement instead of two and all that and then the whole weather factor. And as someone who manages truck drivers now I can tell you without the slightest bit of irony, I look forward to that day.
But yes you are absolutely correct. Computers are it. Whether you go into trucking or aviation or accounting or dog grooming, you would do well to get a solid education in computer technology as both a supplement and a fall back. Robotics even more so. Business management wouldn't hurt either.
Best advice I can give you is no matter what you decide career wise, if you think you want to fly, do it. Even before you can really afford it. Because you will likely never be able to truly afford it. But you will also likely never regret doing it. Its kind of unique that way.
! Thanks for your input it was helpful.
