Are Aviation Degrees Worthless In Other Careers?

CK

Well-Known Member
Every one always says to get a major in something other then aviaiton because aviation doesn't require a specialized degree and so you have a fall back careers. My question is aren't there any other careers that don't require a degree in that field or just require a 4 year degree? Wouldn't that make an aviaiton degree as good as any other degree?
 
Name one?? With no relative experience, and no specialized degree. You could possibly get something in sales, but I can not think of much else.
 
Law enforcement (local, state, federal), firefighting, paramedic, military, Best Buy... just a few I could think of.
 
While you probably will need some specialized training for a fall back career, you certainly wont need another 2 or 4 year degree. A 4 year degree is a 4 year degree. Unless of course you are talking about being a lawyer, doctor etc. You will be ahead of many other people if you have any kind of bachelors degree. While it might be optimal to get a degree in something that you enjoy for backup, it isnt necessary and dont let anyone tell you it is.
 
I can't list many off the top of my head, but I do know that there are professions that require a degree. Like a drug rep... A lot of them have a psychology degree for example, but an aviation degree would serve the same purpose...
 
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Are Aviation Degrees Worthless In Other Careers?

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Essentially, yes.

What is this, flamebait?

"Hey Doug, should I major in "Professional Airplane Piloting" or some other, non-aviation field for skills diversification in case piloting doesn't work out?"
 
There are a lot of jobs out there that say we want a college degree. They don't care what one. I have a psychology degree, and I've done a whole bunch of different things with it. With that degree, I could have gone to med or law school. I've held jobs that involved writing and publishing an newsletter, doing financial analysis, analyzing and reporting on TV ratings, managing software development, planning ad campaigns, and selling advertising.

All of these jobs said they wanted someone with a college degree. That's all. They didn't say what it had to be in.

There are some jobs, such as engineering jobs or accounting jobs, where you have to major in that field in order to get a job in that field. But for the jobs I've held, if I had an aviation degree, it wouldn't have mattered, I'd have still gotten the job.
 
Yes, An aviation Degree isnt the best in the world. But how many people actually do what their degree says. if you have a something else that interests you then major in that and maybe minor in aviation. Otherwise just go with aviation if thats all you care about. Getting a degree in interior design when you have no desire to that wont help ya any.
 
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What is this, flamebait?

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I think it's a legitimate question.

CitationKid... Most will advice you to get a degree in an unrelated field. This is indeed good advice because in reality you will find yourself able to take advantage of more non-aviation positions with a more marketable degree. However, the flip side of the coin is that if you major in something that you don't find enjoyable, are you really going to be successful? Most likely not.

Moral of the story: Pick something that you would enjoy doing for the rest of your working life.
 
From an undergraduate standpoint, you don't require a specialty degree to get into graduate program so long as you satisfy the pre-requesites.

For example, I taught and advised undergrads that were going into medical, dental, or veterinary school and had several students that majored in history, psychology, business, etc. instead of the traditional biology, physics, or chemistry. I'm not familiar with the field but I assume the same thing applies to law school.
 
While I would always suggest that somebody get a non-aviation degree if they're going to pursue a career as a professional pilot (I didn't...), I wouldn't go so far as to say that an aviation degree is worth any less outside of aviation than an information systems degree is worth outside of the information systems field.

This is one of the things that makes a 4-year degree different from vocational training. No matter what your degree is in, you have general education courses that attempt to make you a more diverse person, with skills outside of piloting (or IT, or cosmetology, or law enforcement). Theoretically, someone that has a 4-year degree in aviation has the exact same training and surely the same technical certifications than someone that recieves their training at an FBO (I did all of my flight training at Part 61 FBOs, and I think my flight training was surperior to my peers at university...), but the university student has been exposed, and demonstrated at least a basic competency in the humanities, arts, sciences, management, etc.

I think I made a fairly decent choice by majoring in Aerospace, with an emphasis in flight dispatching. In addition to a 4-year degree, I will have a dispatcher's license, which will make me more marketable should I lose my ability to maintain flight status.

Do I think it's worthless? I'll say this. A 4year degree in aviation is worth the EXACT SAME THING in the medicine as it is in law enforcement. And they're all better than nothing!!!
 
Citationkid,
First of all, having a degree in anything is better than no degree at all. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. I decided to get an aviation degree through UVSC because aviation is what I know, so that degree would be the easiest and fastest for me. I'm also considering going to med school down the line. The aviation degree meets med school requirements for having a degree although I'd need to take Biology, Chemestry and Physics.
My advise is to get a degree in whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for you. If you like what you're doing, you'll probably get better grades. If avation doesn't work out for you (lost medical) you can always go back and get another degree, or go to graduate school.
 
I had a thread semi-on this awhile ago, if it would be 'safe' to get a 2 year degree in aviation (if you were going to a two year school and transferring to a 4), and a bach. in something completely unrelated.

Still not sure what most people's opinions were on that.

I can use grant money + subsidized loans for my PPL if it is a college course, but you must be matriculated in the two year aviation program to take the aviation course.
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So, if i matriculated into the aviation degree, instead of general studies, atleast I'd have a way to pay for my PPL
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In general though, I agree you should *major* in something other than aviation studies- preferably something you enjoy. When I figure out what I enjoy, and what to major in, I'll give you some advice
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Wow, a triple grinna'
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eer.. quadruple?
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I'm also considering going to med school down the line. The aviation degree meets med school requirements for having a degree although I'd need to take Biology, Chemestry and Physics.

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Sorry to be skeptical - but getting accepted into medical school is very difficult, and involves a bit more than obtaining any old degree, plus those three subjects you mentioned. For example, Organic Chemistry is virtually always required for med school applicants - and there is virtually no way you'll be able to take all the prerequisites for O-Chem, in addition to this difficutl class itself, in an aviation degree program... nor motivate yourself to do so
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Pretend you don't want to be a pilot. Then decide what you want to do. This will help you determine what to get a degree in. Some people would get a degree in aviation because that's what they'd want to do, not because they want to be a pilot. If that's you that's fine. But don't plan your degree around your piloting career, because you're not planning your piloting career around your degree.
 
"Pretend you don't want to be a pilot. Then decide what you want to do. This will help you determine what to get a degree in. "


Ya see, that's *my* problem, I have absolutely no idea what I'd want to do if i didn't want to be a pilot. I've always wanted to either be A) A hockey player or B) a pilot. I'm a little old and out of shape to start getting into professional hockey shape.

I wouldn't mind working in sports (hockey) in general... So.. sports management degree?
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Oh, one more thing...

No, an aviation degree is not necessarily worthless in other careers. If something in the world of avaition is all you can picture yourself doing, then I'd say go ahead and get the avaition degree. You may end up doing somthing you didin't plan on if the pilot thing dosn't work out, but the reality is that many people, if not most people, end up doing somthing that they didn't plan on and didn't major in. An avation degree incorporates a lot of business, so this may allow for experience that could ultimately lead to any number of buisness oriented careers.

But if when you think about what you'd want if you didn't want to be a pilot you do think of somehting else you might like to do, it would be worthwile to get a degree in that field because then you might have a chance to persue that career. Otherwise your career may end up picking you.
 
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I have absolutely no idea what I'd want to do if i didn't want to be a pilot

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I think people sometimes get caught up with "what I want to do" and end up with degrees that are worthless or near worthless in the job market, because they find out their true love of ballet or history or sociology have virtually no practical career correlations in the real world.

Thus, find something you can tolerate, in a field that is decently-paid without a zillion hours of overtime. Then, you put in your 40 or 50 a week, get a nice paycheck, and spend the time outside of work doing and pursuing and exploring other areas that you love.

When young, start with a solid career. Build a little nest egg. Then, after a few years, if you "find" your true career love (which is virtually impossible to find when you're still in college), then you can always go for it then - once you have a launching pad of experience and stability.

My $0.02
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Just get a phsyc degree; a lot of it's common sense anyway and it's pretty much your generic one size fits all degree
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I think people sometimes get caught up with "what I want to do" and end up with degrees that are worthless or near worthless in the job market, because they find out their true love of ballet or history or sociology have virtually no practical career correlations in the real world.

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I'd rather struggle in a job I aboslutely love (Ballet or History or Sociology), than to eat steak and shrimp doing something that I absolutely can't stand, simply because it pays well.....
 
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