Airline Pilot Bachelor's Degree

Danil,

The majors are not at all concerned with your degree major, they just want to see a four year degree.

Chris

Hey @Yarden , does Skywest hire those without college degrees? Iā€™m 29 years old now, wasnā€™t sure what I wanted to do after high school, lived in Germany and went to school out there for a bit, and due to practical means, I had to start working full-time right after high school. Anyways, Iā€™m about halfway through instrument and hope to be airline ready in 18 months or so, and my plan was to start working on an online degree while working for a regional. I really donā€™t think I can add school ontop of my already heavy workload of flight training. Would love to hear your insight.

Peter,

No Regionals require a degree so not a problem.

Btw, I know 2 pilots named Peter Anderson (oneā€™s an instructor they call "Re-Pete). Must be something about the name and aviation? :wink:

Adam

Peter,

You do not need a degree for any of the regionals, but you will for the majors. Your plan of getting a degree while flying for the regionals is a solid one and has been done by many before you.

Chris

I wish the majors didnā€™t require a degree. Iā€™m already demonstrating drive and determination dropping over 100g when you factor interest in etc. Oh well. Do the majors look down upon degrees obtained through online programs such as Western Governors University? Thatā€™s the one that fits my budget and schedule best from what I can determine

Thatā€™s funny. Iā€™ve only met one other person with my name I believe. Thereā€™s a famous Swedish actor named Peter Andersson haha.

Peter,

And I wish I was born a Rockefeller and Heidi Klum was my wife. Yea no ā€œdropping over $100kā€ just shows you have or can get it. Trust me Iā€™ve seen PLENTY of students who have no problem wasting daddyā€™s money on flight training so it doesnā€™t demonstrate drive or determination by paying the cost of admission (maybe desire?). They also want to see the ability to complete a task that takes 4yrs to complete and letā€™s not forget there is something to be said for an education. As far as online degrees go Iā€™m not familiar with Western Governors but as long as itā€™s a legit accredited university youā€™ll be fine.

Btw, youā€™re spending $100k on flight training AND theyā€™re charging you a high hourly rate for sim time? That doesnā€™t sound right.

Adam

Yea, thereā€™s only like 2 sims for over a hundred students or so, so itā€™s always booked haha

Peter,

I am very glad that the majors require a degree as it is one of the reasons that we are able to negotiate the pay packages that we are. You simply cannot expect to make $300,000 or more per year without having a higher education. College isnā€™t just about drive and determination, it is also about proper punctuation use, correct sentence structure, learning about best business practices and so forth.

I have never heard of Western Governors University and I have been involved in teaching at a college. I would strongly suggest that you look into the accreditation of this school and specifically check to see if they have an actual campus. If they do not have a physical campus, I would stay away from them. A budget based degree will not save you any money at all if it is worthless.

I also strongly question why you are paying over $100,000 for your flight training. I would suggest looking into other schools as that seems rather expensive to me.

Chris

It isnā€™t just ā€œhahaā€. That is clearly indicative of a flight school that does not have their act together.

WGU is a fully accredited 4 year degree. I know this because my mother-in-law works there and I have quizzed her about it. Donā€™t expect a graduate offer from Goldman Sachs or Google, but for the purposes of having a degree for the majors, it will suffice. I plan to complete my degree through them while Iā€™m working at a regional.

Thatā€™s great. Iā€™m glad to hear someone else is taking a similar path. I also have heard nothing but good things from past colleagues enrolled in WGU. They seem to be one of the more respected, affordable and self-paced programs out there.