Which decision?

Jepoy005

Jepoy005

Well-Known Member
Hey there guys im about to graduate high school this MAY 2011.
I wanted to be a professional pilot and hopefully work in the airline industry.

I just don't know which one to do...

Option 1:
After High School do Flight Training and get hired as a Full Time CFI or in the airlines. Then while working i'll go to school then get a bachelors degree in any kind.

Option 2:
After High School go to College, then after College do Flight training.

Which one guys? I really need help...

Thanks!
 
Go to college and work on ratings while in college at a local FBO. If you start flight training first, you probably will never go back for the degree. You can do both, though the flight training will be slower. :)
 
Do them at the same time? lol.... Looks like you want to murder yourself.....

I do not want to include that option for me because I already know that I can't put too much load in my shoulders....
 
Jepoy005 said:
Do them at the same time? lol.... Looks like you want to murder yourself.....

I do not want to include that option for me because I already know that I can't put too much load in my shoulders....
Click to expand...
It really shouldn't be all that bad. I'm not saying do both full time, but get one or two flights in a week. I know several students (college and HS) that are currently doing just that. In the summer, you could do more flight training.
 
Definitely go to college first. After I graduated High School I went right into flight school and I kick myself in the a$$ for it everyday. My mom begged me to go to college first and I didn't. Oh how I wish I had listened to her. Not going into college after high school was a huge, huge mistake!

Don't make the same mistake that I did. Not only will you miss out on the college education, but also the amazing social experience that comes from going to college. There is much more to life than just flying airplanes.
 
It depends. Tell me what your college options are. Are you accepted to Harvard or will you be applying to the local Junior College?
 
amjon said:
It really shouldn't be all that bad. I'm not saying do both full time, but get one or two flights in a week. I know several students (college and HS) that are currently doing just that. In the summer, you could do more flight training.
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Oh ok! I was like "WTH?!" wahaha that might also work...
 
SurfandSun said:
It depends. Tell me what your college options are. Are you accepted to Harvard or will you be applying to the local Junior College?
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Definitely NOT going to a Junior College... I'm planning to get a bachelors in Information Technology (Some of my friends in college say that it is hard) and i'm most likely going to a PRIVATE COLLEGE...
 
Jepoy005 said:
Definitely NOT going to a Junior College... I'm planning to get a bachelors in Information Technology (Some of my friends in college say that it is hard) and i'm most likely going to a PRIVATE COLLEGE...
Click to expand...

O.k. Now I can give you some good advice. I'll start by telling you what I did and then I'll tell you what I would do if I could do it over..... I went to college and earned a business degree and then worked in the real world as a cubicle monkey for a couple years before going to a full time flight training program.

If you have the luxury I would definitely go to college and live in the dorms your freshmen year. If your parents are paying your way and money is no object then go wherever you want to go but if you have to take a loandon't go to a private school unless it's a top 10 school like Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc. If you just spend a ton of money to go to some tiny private school nobody has ever heard of you are wasting your money. I know because my wife did this and it's her biggest regret. She went to Conneticut College (not to be confused with UCONN which is the good sports shcool and also public college) Anyway, point being is be careful about how you spend your money.

Sorry, back to the point here.... Go to college and live in the dorms and make some friends and have some good times. Try to hold a B average. (I didn't and it was an uphill battle trying to pull my GPA up by graduation) It would be great if you could start instructing during your summers in college and building some experience and that way you get the full college experience while also gradually working into the aviation career.

Probably the best piece of advice I can give you is don't drink and drive. I had couple friends get DUI's in college and it has come back to haunt them. If you want to be a pilot you don't want to explain a DUI.
 
SurfandSun said:
O.k. Now I can give you some good advice. I'll start by telling you what I did and then I'll tell you what I would do if I could do it over..... I went to college and earned a business degree and then worked in the real world as a cubicle monkey for a couple years before going to a full time flight training program.

If you have the luxury I would definitely go to college and live in the dorms your freshmen year. If your parents are paying your way and money is no object then go wherever you want to go but if you have to take a loandon't go to a private school unless it's a top 10 school like Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc. If you just spend a ton of money to go to some tiny private school nobody has ever heard of you are wasting your money. I know because my wife did this and it's her biggest regret. She went to Conneticut College (not to be confused with UCONN which is the good sports shcool and also public college) Anyway, point being is be careful about how you spend your money.

Sorry, back to the point here.... Go to college and live in the dorms and make some friends and have some good times. Try to hold a B average. (I didn't and it was an uphill battle trying to pull my GPA up by graduation) It would be great if you could start instructing during your summers in college and building some experience and that way you get the full college experience while also gradually working into the aviation career.

Probably the best piece of advice I can give you is don't drink and drive. I had couple friends get DUI's in college and it has come back to haunt them. If you want to be a pilot you don't want to explain a DUI.
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Thank You.... My parents won't be helping out with my college costs (SUCKS) and most likely will be getting student loans.....

PARK UNIVERSITY is the PRIVATE COLLEGE i wanted to go to... Hope you've heard of that college....

Again Thank You...
 
Jepoy005 said:
Definitely NOT going to a Junior College... I'm planning to get a bachelors in Information Technology (Some of my friends in college say that it is hard) and i'm most likely going to a PRIVATE COLLEGE...
Click to expand...

If your parents aren't helping you out, then look into your local community college. You'll save a TON of money. I've posted on this board before about how awesome my CC experience was. I went to Santa Barbara City College for 2 years, and now I'm at UCSD and will graduate in the Spring. Saved a ton of money, and there is no way I could have gotten into UCSD straight out of high school.

.02
 
Go to college first. You'll learn the difference between ellipsis and periods, along with ways to ACCENTUATE your talking points without YELLING on the internet.


I vote for college while learning to fly. If you dont go to college first it'll be tough to go. When you are a CFI with a mind for the airlines you aren't going to want to commit to school because you'll be ready for the airlines "any time now". When you are with the airlines you wont have the time or schedule to do traditional classes, and you probably wont be able to carry much of an online course load. That is if you even decide to make the effort to go back when you have neither the proper time nor the proper finances to do so.

I left the airlines to go back to school (to go a different direction, not to further any career in the airlines) and it wasn't an easy choice. More power to you if you follow through with it. I will say on the "pro" side of waiting for college, is that once you are 24 and have spent some years away from school, your parents no longer factor into your finances and your income alone is what qualifies you for grants and loans. I've had a much easier time funding school 9 years after I left than when I was originally there. (if you dont count the massive difference in tuition at UTexas in 1999 and PSU in 2009, no comparison).
 
Jepoy005 said:
Thank You.... My parents won't be helping out with my college costs (SUCKS) and most likely will be getting student loans.....

PARK UNIVERSITY is the PRIVATE COLLEGE i wanted to go to... Hope you've heard of that college....

Again Thank You...
Click to expand...



Haven't heard of Park but please don't go there. Nobody outside of Kansas has heard of that school. Save yourself a TON of money and go to Kansas State or Kansas. You don't want to start life as a pilot with 200k in student loans. Not to mention learning to fly is very expensive so you should be saving your nickels for flight lessons.
 
Plus, I don't see an advantage to going to a less-known private school vs. a well-known public school in your situation.
 
Jepoy005 said:
Do them at the same time? lol.... Looks like you want to murder yourself.....

I do not want to include that option for me because I already know that I can't put too much load in my shoulders....
Click to expand...

I'm doing both right now. And I have a two year old and a wife. It's all about strategy too. If you fly part time and take AT LEAST 9 hrs per semester you should finish your flying MUCH faster and still make reasonable progress towards your degree.
 
SurfandSun said:
Haven't heard of Park but please don't go there. Nobody outside of Kansas has heard of that school. Save yourself a TON of money and go to Kansas State or Kansas. You don't want to start life as a pilot with 200k in student loans. Not to mention learning to fly is very expensive so you should be saving your nickels for flight lessons.
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Look at some of the Missouri schools too. Not sure if your from KS or MO, but either way, some of the schools allow for in-state tuition even if you aren't in-state through various programs. For instance, I'm from Kansas, but spent a year at UCM on in-state tuition through a grant program, for lack of a better term.

Don't limit yourself to just KU/KSU/Fizzou, there are other state schools too.
 
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