ASU East and Mesa Airlines?

scotteevil

scotteevil

New Member
Can anyone offer advice on the program offered at ASU, with it's "bridge program" with Mesa Airlines? How does it compare with the program(s) offered in Farmington? I need the degree, so it sounds like a great choice, but is it a well respected program in the aviation field? Is an advantage (being trained by them) with Mesa Airlines a good thing? Are they a good company to work for starting out? I assume you have to pledge a certain amount of time to them after you graduate, correct? Lastly, is $40K+ (in addition to tuition) a reasonable amount to spend?
 
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Can anyone offer advice on the program offered at ASU, with it's "bridge program" with Mesa Airlines

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MissedApproach could probably answer this one better than me, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

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How does it compare with the program(s) offered in Farmington?

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Major difference is that ASU is a 4-year degree, where Farmington is only a 2-year (or none if you're talking PACE). Other than that, I believe they are pretty much the same.

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I need the degree, so it sounds like a great choice, but is it a well respected program in the aviation field?

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It depends on who you talk to. Some pilots look down on students for taking this route b/c they see it as a "short cut." I've talked to several that say go for it. It's probably about a 50/50 mix.

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Are they a good company to work for starting out?

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Heh, define "good company." They don't have the best history of management/employee relations, and they have some of the lowest pay rates in the industry. That being said, I've talked to several current and former Mesa pilots, and they all pretty much say the same thing. The job is what you make of it. If you do nothing but complain about how bad it is, you'll be miserable. If you concentrate on the fact that you're flying for a living instead of loading theme park guests on the peoplemover, you'll be alright. Don't expect to get rich there, and don't expect management to be fair. It's a place to start, though.

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Lastly, is $40K+ (in addition to tuition) a reasonable amount to spend?

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$40K for your B.S. and all ratings but your CFI, CFII and MEI is a pretty good deal. ATP charges that for just the ratings and some time building. The degree is extra.
 
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Lastly, is $40K+ (in addition to tuition) a reasonable amount to spend?

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$40K for your B.S. and all ratings but your CFI, CFII and MEI is a pretty good deal. ATP charges that for just the ratings and some time building. The degree is extra.

[/ QUOTE ]Actually at ASU we do get the CFI, CFII, and the MEI, for a grand total of around 45k. Other than that Kellwolf nailed it!
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The $45K is just the flight training portion though...you gotta add 4 years tuition to the equation, at roughly what, $5K a year? So it's $65K all said and done (if you don't incur any additional costs in training). Hey, I guess it's still a ton cheaper than Riddle, huh?!
 
Hmmm, Riddle is approx $10k/semester w/o flight training (at least it was when I was ABOUT to go to DAB last year), so yeah. It's cheaper than Riddle. 'Course I found out how to get the Riddle degree for MUCH MUCH less. It's gonna cost me about $4K through DDL. I had three years of previous college, flight ratings and CLEP tests to cover the rest.
 
I think tuition is around $140/credit in state. $140 * 128 total semesters = $17,920 total tuition + 45K flight training = $62,920. Now just factor in living expenses, loans, and income.
 
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What is "DDL?" Something to do with distance learning? I understand they offer an online degree, is that right?

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That's it exactly. You can do your flight training at a local FBO, but you take your classes either over the net or at a learning center. I opted for the net choice since all the learning center classes are held when I'm at work. They have just about every Riddle degree available along with the minors of study. By the end of the year I should have a BS in Prof. Aeronautics, with maybe a minor in safety. Depends on if I need some "area of concentration" electives or not.
 
Nice. How do you like the online program? Do you find it will be a lot easier to fit into your lifestyle, being I take it you work full time and fly on the side? That's why I have been looking into UVSC and wondering about Riddle's online...I just don't think I can afford to stop working and go back to a Univ. full time, depending on loans. Is it too much I wonder to expect to be able to work full time, fly, and work on an online degree at the same time? Whew...makes my head spin just thinkin about it.
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While it is POSSIBLE to work full time, fly as much as you can, and work on an on-line degree, it's not easy. TRUST me on that one. That's exaclty what I've been doing since October of last year. The on-line class fit well, b/c I can do all my homework/classwork at like 2 AM if I want to. The only downside is that I have to drive all the way to Daytona to take finals and mid-terms. There were other options, but this was just the easiest one for me. If you're a person that takes some effort to motivate you or you're not a "self starter" I wouldn't recommend on-line classes. You have to MAKE yourself do the work. I've got a friend at work (he graduated from ATA, but they went under before he got his interview), and it takes an act of god to get him motivated enough to keep flying. He was looking into the on-line thing, but he realized he would flunk out after two classes. So, it works well for some people, but not so well for others.
 
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Whats the percentage of mesa hiring streight from ASU? how many total students are at MESA prgm, at ASU????

[/ QUOTE ]We've only had something like 6-8 students finish the entire program so far (as it is relatively new), of those everyone has been hired be it Mesa or another regional. My guess would be that we have around 80-100 students total but that number is constantly changing.
 
I was looking at ASU and SLU b/c I am a junior in HS this year, and I am a competitve swimmer, and I can get scholarships to schools for that, and since I am really interested in being a pilot, I wanted to go to a university that could give me a degree or whatever in aviation. How would you say the program ranks compared to SLU or any other programs? Thanks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
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I was looking at ASU and SLU b/c I am a junior in HS this year, and I am a competitve swimmer, and I can get scholarships to schools for that, and since I am really interested in being a pilot, I wanted to go to a university that could give me a degree or whatever in aviation. How would you say the program ranks compared to SLU or any other programs? Thanks!

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I don't know anything at all about the SLU program so I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to compare it to ASU.

I recommend that you visit those schools that you are interested in next summer and until then keep all of your options open. Also keep in mind that an aviation degree is by no means a requirement, in fact many would strongly advise against it!
 
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