Could use some help!

[derg]

But I had a United jumpseater who had a friend who knew someone in their Chautauqua new hire class from back in the day who got hired without a degree...

You complete me.

 

[srn121]

Hey everyone, I hope this is the right spot to post this but anyways I am in a tricky spot right now in my life and could use some advice. As of right now I am a Freshman in college just completing my first semester. I am at Southern Illinois University Carbondale studying Computer Science as of right now. However I want to change majors to aviation. I originally was going to attend SIU for aviation but then thought otherwise because of costs of flight time and such. I like Computer Science but I want nothing more than to be in a plane. I don't have any licenses yet because my parents refused to pay for it when I was around 16. I know they wont be happy if I switch to aviation because they think it cost too much and I would be in debt for too long. Now saying I do switch to aviation, do I stay at SIU or transfer somewhere else? (I live in Illinois so get in-state at SIU, around 28k just for in-state not including flight costs) The reason I ask to transfer is could I get some place cheaper to fly I am not sure. Thank you all for your time.

I'd recommend sticking with Computer Science and learning to fly on the side while you're in college as you can always get your commercial pilots license and don't have to go through the college to make a living doing it.. You might some day want to raise a family and the aviation industry isn't always stable. Finding a job that gets you enough time with your family can be tricky if your significant other is unwilling or unable to move. I think the aviation industry has a bright future, but after having been flying for years I would easily put my family first and take a desk job if needed. Flight training through your university looks more pricey than it needs to be. What I might suggest is looking into getting your private through http://www.flightline1.com at the Carbondale airport and see if its something you actually enjoy. I'm unable to see what their current fees are, but if you can get a 152 for under a $100 an hour wet (less than $85 ideally) then you're getting a decent deal. The only advantage of getting your major changed to a professional flight degree is to get the reduced ATP minimums which will allow you to fly for the regionals with less than 1500 hours. If you're committed to being a bachelor for awhile maybe the aviation route is the way to go, but ideally if you're great with computers you'd buy a plane or part of one and fly for fun in your free time.