Well, he has to knock out a four year degree first if you're suggesting military flying.
Becoming a Pilot
- Thread starter OliverWinn
- Start date
Well, he has to knock out a four year degree first if you're suggesting military flying.
Shiftace
s***posting with decency. trolling with integrity.
I think the general consensus is on getting a non-aviation degree. If you are fairly decent or enjoy math - get a degree in anything IT/computer related. Decent money, and going forward you could do some consulting on the side in addition to aviation.
Hang in there. As with most things on the internet - there's good advise and people who throw stuff out... just cause they can.
Hang in there. As with most things on the internet - there's good advise and people who throw stuff out... just cause they can.
Stryker172
Well-Known Member
Of course. ROTC would be the way to go. Just an idea.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
He could do WOFT.
Isn't street to seat highly competitive with few slots?
Not sure in the current budget era that no flight or degree would get you to the top of the application stack?
ppragman
No pasa nada.
He could try, it's worth a shot, and if he can't woft, then go get a bunch of debt. Improbable but still possible - especially if he applies himself.
tcco94
Future GTA VI Pilot
I think we should avoid suggesting any degree...
Who's to say anything to someone who want's to get a degree in Aeronautical Science compared to Computer Science to English to History......
Why tell the kid anything? Do what INTERESTS you. So much hatred to Aeronautical Science but frankly speaking I wouldn't have made it through college as happy as I did with my GPA if I wasn't in Aeronautical Science. I understand...have a back up plan. Most places though....just want to see you're educated. Also I'm happy because I qualify for rATP which could be something he wants. If you want a back up plan there's always grad school in god knows what you want. I'm considering going to grad school in Space Studies, away from Commercial Aviation because that's what interests me. You could be interested in computer science and want to go to grad school for that. I just have never understood the online forums suggesting a degree to someone or for this matter...driving someone away. You're going to pay over $100,000 for 4 years of studying. Pick something you want. If it's history then do history and do flying elsewhere. I enjoyed every single day of my Aeronautical Science degree and I'll be happy to explain that to anyone in my interviews on why I didn't get a degree in Computer Science/Psychology/English or whatever....and I have plenty of back up options in my head if my medical falls through the roof.
Hell the kid could even like biology of chemistry. Just having a degree in anything says you're college educated will be satisfactory to most people.
tcco94
Future GTA VI Pilot
Also ROTC has min requirements from HS. My GPA was a 2.99 and my ROTC recruiter, that helps put the package together for your application, told me to not even bother because my application would be tossed. Stupid because my college GPA higher than their minimum 3.0. Unless they've become less lenient.
I wanted to do military for a long time so they'd pay for my flying until another ROTC recruiter told me...
You're an officer first and a pilot second. So told him thanks, but no thanks. All props to military guys.
DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
"Once again, I think I will aim for a degree in a more practical field. I'm hoping I can use some of the federal aid money to pay for my flight training while in school, but I am not sure how it will all work out. It's my understanding that typically flight instructors come and go, as most are working on their other ratings while training entry-level pilots, is this true? Can you give me an example of some schools that would subsidize training?"
You won't find federal money or grants to pay for flight training. You might find some of that for trade schools, CC's, or state colleges, depending on your financial situation, but it would be for trade school or education, not flight training. Flight training paid for isn't going to happen. I did a quick search and couldn't find any schools that subsidize advanced ratings but I swear I've seen places at this site that will pay for CFI ratings if you commit to working for them. Will leave it up to the experts for links as I don't watch it that close.
You won't find federal money or grants to pay for flight training. You might find some of that for trade schools, CC's, or state colleges, depending on your financial situation, but it would be for trade school or education, not flight training. Flight training paid for isn't going to happen. I did a quick search and couldn't find any schools that subsidize advanced ratings but I swear I've seen places at this site that will pay for CFI ratings if you commit to working for them. Will leave it up to the experts for links as I don't watch it that close.
I guess if you're going to take a loan to cover your training, would it not be better to do that with a Federal Subsidized, or even Federal Unsubsidized, loan in conjunction with a degree program so you get a decent income based repayment program and lower interest rates than try and get a Sallie Mae type loan for ATP? The later one would leave you with a rather huge payment.
z987k
Well-Known Member
Going all UAVs would be about the same as what happened to the humans when the Cylons nuked all the human planets. They guys with the human air force will be the only ones with a ship to fight with.Not only is the military extremely competitive but also we are a poor country. Wondering if any guys in the military now know about the situation of new applicants? Had someone going to Navy my freshman year and he was even worried about not getting a slot.
Plus CNN keeps telling me that military pilots will be non existent in 5 years due to UAVs sooo.......
Spyke
Well-Known Member
I think HAA offers something like that. They list "Opportunity for company paid CFII and MEI upgrades" on the benefits of their CFI jobs. Link below.
http://www.flyhaa.com/en/page/airplanecfi-jobs
tcco94
Future GTA VI Pilot
There's a max on those loans so you may as well do both. Like unsubsidized is $2500 or something and subsidized is $5000 but federal loans are always better than private loans usually. But with a small cap on those loans I always automatically took out both.
OliverWinn
New Member
I looked briefly into ATP, but almost immediately after looking into Sallie Mae, I disregarded that. The Sallie Mae loan nearly doubles during the payback period, and would most likely screw me over completely.
Sadly when I was in school that was more than enough
OliverWinn
New Member
I'll look more into that. I think that might also be a private loan though.
tcco94
Future GTA VI Pilot
You can get money for flight training if you're going to a university. Government loans all paid for my flight training because it was viewed as a tuition bill....not flight school. Another benefit to getting a aero science degree rather than training elsewhere. I wouldn't have been able to pay for flight training out of pocket and private loans over student loans would have significantly higher interest rates.
Yeah unfortunately not today. Depending on tuition, flight school will probably cost you another $60k at least.Sadly when I was in school that was more than enough
Roger Roger
I am le tired
I'm going to go against the grain and say that if you want to fly airplanes, get a degree in flying airplanes. The backup plan thing sounds good in theory, but the reality is that fresh grads with recent internships are having a hard time finding good jobs in the oft-suggested fallback fields of law and engineering. If you have to use your "backup degree" a few years down the road it won't get you very far especially with no experience in the field. Might as well get your degree in something you find interesting, and use it as a chance to gain some real education in the field rather than just to check a box. I don't know what other guys experiences are but I've found the extensive theory background afforded by a good college education (and the ability to write in mostly readable English) to be a great asset in the real world.
z987k
Well-Known Member
You could get a degree that is on the fringe of aviation, so that say you lose you're medical, that field could hire someone with at least the theory plus actual flying experience. Human factors comes to mind. Aero engineering might or might not, idk.
killbilly
Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
@OliverWinn
You're confronting an age-old problem here which, ultimately, boils down to a time-vs.-money problem. Most problems, really, are some variant of this.
What you have going for you is TIME. You're very young, and you can use this to your advantage. Whatever course you take, I would advise the longer-term/lower-debt/slower-paced version to get your ratings and pursue this. Given that kids are expensive, I'd also suggest this.
Get a medical done. Make sure you don't have any conditions that are disqualifying. Then get your Private Pilot Certificate. See if it's something you really want to do for a living. Every day. For a number of years.
Then - if the answer is yes and you can hold a medical, proceed.
You're confronting an age-old problem here which, ultimately, boils down to a time-vs.-money problem. Most problems, really, are some variant of this.
What you have going for you is TIME. You're very young, and you can use this to your advantage. Whatever course you take, I would advise the longer-term/lower-debt/slower-paced version to get your ratings and pursue this. Given that kids are expensive, I'd also suggest this.
Get a medical done. Make sure you don't have any conditions that are disqualifying. Then get your Private Pilot Certificate. See if it's something you really want to do for a living. Every day. For a number of years.
Then - if the answer is yes and you can hold a medical, proceed.