Future Career Questions/Advice

seagull said:
Why not an aviation degree?[/QUO

Yeah why not? An Aviation degree can help with the cost of getting your ratings. Not to mention, the course work will be easier. An engineering degree is useless, if you plan to be flying for an airline and never use it. Even if you get laid off, you won't have any experience in the field.
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I recommend you listen to nobody in this thread and do what you want to do.

If you want to fly airplanes and have a family, find a way to do it. I'm gone from home a lot, but I'm also home a lot right now.

If you want to go to FIT and study aviation, then go to FIT and study aviation. Can do you study something else and be successful too? Of course you can. I have an undergraduate degree in philosophy, and I've had no problems moving upwards and onwards in my career so far.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you need to do what YOU want to do, not what other people think you should do. If I had done what others told me to do I wouldn't be a very happy guy at this point in my life.
 
Get a degree in whatever you would want to do if you couldn't fly (furlough, medical, life choices). When I was 17 I was busting my tail on ratings and had the goal of a 4-year degree and an airline job by the time I was 21. Did I do it? yea. Do I regret it? No, BUT I am now looking to get my MBA since I did a "pro-pilot" degree with the extra courses on my minor (Business admin) to be able to go into an MBA program without needing more undergrad classes. In hindsight I should have simply got a business degree for the 4-year and kept flying. It's worked out so far, but if I lose my job (for whatever reason) a short term solution would only be to get the dispatcher cert and hope for a job while I worked on an MBA. A little more "contingency planning" when I was 16-17 would have put a bit of a "profession" cushion under me compared to now.
 
jspeed87 said:
seagull said:
Why not an aviation degree?[/QUO

Yeah why not? An Aviation degree can help with the cost of getting your ratings. Not to mention, the course work will be easier. An engineering degree is useless, if you plan to be flying for an airline and never use it. Even if you get laid off, you won't have any experience in the field.
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Right, you're absolutely right dude, because if you plan on flying for an airline at age 17, then basically, it means you're going to be flying for an airline at age 35. There's no way that you might want to change your mind later down the road, or circumstances might change and you lose your medical. That can't happen right? And it can't happen because at age 17 you planned on doing it.

And what a great rationalization you there. You should not get an engineering degree and go for the easier and more useless degree, because even if you get laid off, YOU'LL HAVE NO EXPERIENCE ANYWAY SO IT WOULDN'T HAVE ANY DIFFERENCE! Matter of fact, screw the engineering degree. Screw the aviation degree. Just get a degree in the easiest field possible. I recommend the Friends World Program at a local community college, because according to Mr. Devil's Advocate aka jspeed, it doesn't matter what degree you get because life always works out the way you want it to.

QED.
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lol but why go in with the mentality that you may not make it as a professional pilot? Way to think so negative Mr hambone-head. Even if you develop medical issues, there are ways you can work with the FAA. I'm not saying it's bad to have options, just that I don't see the point in studying 4 years in something that you may use "just in case". A degree in something like engineering should be plan A not a plan B. Aviation degrees have a mix of business courses anyway so it's not a bad deal to "check the box". To each there own, but I think learning a trade or having technical skills are a better backup. Going to get A+ certified and learn web design. My degree will be in Aviation, thank you very much. Save money and get the box checked. If you don't agree with me, then I could care less.
hambone said:
Right, you're absolutely right dude, because if you plan on flying for an airline at age 17, then basically, it means you're going to be flying for an airline at age 35. There's no way that you might want to change your mind later down the road, or circumstances might change and you lose your medical. That can't happen right? And it can't happen because at age 17 you planned on doing it.

And what a great rationalization you there. You should not get an engineering degree and go for the easier and more useless degree, because even if you get laid off, YOU'LL HAVE NO EXPERIENCE ANYWAY SO IT WOULDN'T HAVE ANY DIFFERENCE! Matter of fact, screw the engineering degree. Screw the aviation degree. Just get a degree in the easiest field possible. I recommend the Friends World Program at a local community college, because according to Mr. Devil's Advocate aka jspeed, it doesn't matter what degree you get because life always works out the way you want it to.

QED.
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I just wanted to add in that I cannot think of any not often thought of aviation support/related professions that require or even prefer a degree in aviation (excluding very technical careers like aviation engineer, meteorologist etc.) I know in my experience at a major airport as an airfield supervisor, out of 16 or so of us one had a BS in aviation management, I had a BS in Political Science, one had a pilots license and an AS, a fourth had an AS and the other twelve had no education past high school. The Director of Aviation for the county who was immediately above us had a BS in English and his boss the the CEO of the airport authority had an MBA. My replacement was hired with no aviation degree and minor experience at the desk of an FBO.

Lack of aviation knowledge outside of what was taught in house was so rampant that when I suggested ditching the $20,000 specialized weather report they were paying for and switching to a TAF, 12 of those in my job title had never heard of a TAF.

I can't speak to the airline side of the house, but in my experience at AAAE events and other airport side fall back employment options/reasons to get an aviation degree its not needed. On the other side of the coin if you were to get furloughed or medically DQed I think say a standard business degree would be looked at more favorably at your generic office job than an aviation degree that included some business courses
 
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