Pilot Hiring around 2025

austinrc said:
Thanks for the input, everyone. I understand many of you think the aviation degree is a bad idea, but for me its what I am motivated to study. If I need a backup plan later in life, I will just figure it out then. I know it sounds flippant, but I am willing to face the consequences if it goes south

Thanks for the advice about not worrying about the future as well.
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You’re on the right path by coming here and asking questions. If you want a degree in aviation, go for it! Best of luck and keep us in the loop in the future
 
I don’t think an aviation degree is bad at all.

I prefer a non-aviation degree just in case you have other strong interests and for some reason you choose not to fly professionally.

With that said, there is a clear hiring preference for university aviation graduates. But you have to ask yourself, is what looks good to an airline going to best match your personal and professional ambitions?
 
You could always do a double major. Do aviation and whatever (I did business). If you stay around in the summers to instruct at the school or locally, it’s really not hard. You can even tailor things to take the additional classes/credits to go right into a masters program IF flying doesn’t pan out for some reason. I did the additional credits and double in 3 years and still had to wait until 21 years old to start at a regional. In day 1 of regional class (2006) street captain was being offered to those who met the mins. The CEO literally said, “if you are here more than 5 years you are wasting your talent, or have messed up”. Got a 10 year appreciation pin before starting at a major. That’s the industry.

Meanwhile, the guys who had a blast in college and were the back end of the hiring wave got furloughed from regional #1, hired at regional #2, were captains quick and are now major airline captains thousands of numbers senior to me. It’s all about timing and a good bit of luck. For a while I didn’t know if I would fly again, or even still be alive with health issues, but I had a solid backup if flying wouldn’t work. Some of those guys who had a blast in college and were furloughed now don’t work in aviation. That’s where luck comes in. Keep a goal in mind and do what you can to attain it.

Thats my hindsight that you can take with a grain of salt.... to someone in your shoes I’d only say this in passing; get a degree in something you would enjoy if you can’t fly. At the same time get your certificates as quickly as possible, with the most flight time you can manage, and do what is needed to get to where you want to be. Life is short, so live it, but always plan and actively work your options for the outcome you plan to achieve. Things will happen to you and around you that you have zero control over, but don’t let you present day decisions be anything you will one day regret.

If you want to be a pilot, don’t beat around the bush- go all in for it. That’s the degree (current hiring practices), passing up on parties to fly in the morning, and making connections. The quicker you can move on from each stage, the better. When the “major” interview(s) arrive, the interviewer doesn’t care about anything beyond hiring a PILOT, unless you present a case otherwise (not wise). Keep your focus, but if you can add a backup- it can’t hurt. It’s your life that you get to live.
 
If you want to be a pilot I'd recommend being careful to avoid any DUIs or other things that kids can be pressured into doing at your age as that will make your aspired profession much more difficult. I know in some states people under 21 can get DUIs at a lower blood alcohol level than those over and I doubt the FAA will make a distinction.

Airports can be fun places to hang out at and I would recommend going to any EAA event you can and if you haven't already looked into it working at an FBO can be a great way to network and maybe build some free time.

You don't need a 4 year degree or a degree at all to fly planes or fly for the regionals. There are some community colleges and technical schools that offer a 2 year degree in aviation and the extra two years in college might not help your career as much as you think. I think the restricted ATP is very overrated as well as you can get a fun, good paying job at 1000 hours and more than likely get that extra 500 hours within a year while making money as opposed to spending it on school and if there's a recession that restricted ATP will open less doors than that extra 500 will.
 
austinrc said:
Thanks for the input, everyone. I understand many of you think the aviation degree is a bad idea, but for me its what I am motivated to study. If I need a backup plan later in life, I will just figure it out then. I know it sounds flippant, but I am willing to face the consequences if it goes south.

Thanks for the advice about not worrying about the future as well.
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I got a degree in aviation, it has its pros. My interest rates are massively lower and I'm super thankful for that now. Plus, grants and scholarships paid for over half. Free money I wouldn't have had elsewhere. When I got out of high school I had the same mentality, I just wanted to study aviation. I figured if I studied something else I'd lose motivation. Still one of the best decisions I made and with aviation you can usually even study over summers (and fly) and possibly graduate up to a year early (depending on the school). I would stay every summer and do at least a few classes, usually the harder science or math ones, and then fly. Stack up my credits for like 1/4 of the cost as a normal semester.

Of course, it would be good to have a back up in case of furlough or something. But don't worry to much about studying aviation, it still has pros. I think you'll do great and good luck!

Suggestion: if you're close to an airport, get a job there. I got a job on the ramp and they let me use it for intern credits. I believe I got 15 credits which also helped me graduate early. Fuelers, rampers, cargo and airport ops were filled with aviation students where I went (smaller aviation school).
 
Autothrust Blue said:
Yeah. World needs more liberal arts majors. :(
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47500
 
ASpilot2be said:
You might be surprised what people with aviation degrees do outside aviation! Plus, is a computer degree any more exciting?
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Depends!

I studied aeronautical science at ERAU, but the work that my engineering friends were doing was far more interesting. I liked flying, but four years of academics which could have been rolled into a self-study course or a solid two months of straight ground school was a little "mind-deadening" I took advanced math courses there because I just couldn't imagine dropping that kind of money for courses that were less complex than I had in junior high school.

But that's my own kink! :)
 
jtrain609 said:
People were saying this when we went to college. They were wrong then, and they're wrong now.
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I'm not so sure. I went 2002-2006. It's worse now.

I will say, 17-18 yr old kids should be given full information on degree outcomes in terms of numbers, graduates, job offers, etc. Colleges keep track of ALL that stuff and it is highly confidential info for them. The #1 degree choice for an 18 yr old is 'undecided.' That's just how it is when young adults don't know what they want to do for the rest of their lives (and not many people at that age do). Colleges absolutely milk this.

The reality is if colleges ever sat down and said hey here's our top 10 degrees in terms of highest numbers of jobs successfully obtained at age 22 upon graduation, they'd have to lay off 70% of the school staff because their fields/areas would be unnecessary. That's the honest truth. Far too many college degrees are useless and nothing more than a piece of paper that says you did college for 4 yrs. My degree is an exception in that it is a highly technical degree for a bachelor. One of my college roommates was undecided and with "counseling" he did a 4 yr bachelor in political science. Guess what he got at age 22 besides that piece of paper? Absolute didly squat. Luckily he knew computers (side hobby, and later took some technical course after college) and then he landed a job as an IT/network administrator kinda guy and is doing okay today.
 
Derg said:
Please keep the editorial comments off this topic. The kid needs to go to college.
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He does. But to the OP, be very careful where you go and what degree you choose. In this day and age, I would heavily insist on staying away from "Bachelors in Aviation Science" from the likes of Embry, UND, or any other big aviation name (no offense to Derg or anyone else).
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
I'm not so sure. I went 2002-2006. It's worse now.

I will say, 17-18 yr old kids should be given full information on degree outcomes in terms of numbers, graduates, job offers, etc. Colleges keep track of ALL that stuff and it is highly confidential info for them. The #1 degree choice for an 18 yr old is 'undecided.' That's just how it is when young adults don't know what they want to do for the rest of their lives (and not many people at that age do). Colleges absolutely milk this.

The reality is if colleges ever sat down and said hey here's our top 10 degrees in terms of highest numbers of jobs successfully obtained at age 22 upon graduation, they'd have to lay off 70% of the school staff because their fields/areas would be unnecessary. That's the honest truth. Far too many college degrees are useless and nothing more than a piece of paper that says you did college for 4 yrs. My degree is an exception in that it is a highly technical degree for a bachelor. One of my college roommates was undecided and with "counseling" he did a 4 yr bachelor in political science. Guess what he got at age 22 besides that piece of paper? Absolute didly squat. Luckily he knew computers (side hobby, and later took some technical course after college) and then he landed a job as an IT/network administrator kinda guy and is doing okay today.
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OF COURSE! Every other degree program is stupid except the one YOU completed, because you're brilliant and everyone else makes horrible decisions.

Here's that data you were asking about, it took about 15 seconds of Googling to find it: How Much Is a College Degree Worth? -- The Motley Fool
 
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