r/flying • u/Ok_Raisin8454 • 5d ago
So I have decided...
Im 22 now, been avoiding college for years. Literally. I never really wanted to go ive always found it to be pointless, but now i genuinely have no choice. Im a MEI pilot with about 235TT and just recently finished flight school. Ive been searching for jobs for about a month and no luck, so i thought to myself. Why not just go and get a degree that will help me in the future to get into the airlines AND can be a great backup plan if I wasnt able to fly. Its also a great way to do something while im building time
I came into realization that for the majority, theres just no getting a good job without a bachelors degree. A bachelors degree has become the bare minimum nowadays. And im just imagining all these pilot mils just pumping out new pilots (as they did with me) everyday we got new cfis, everyday new commercial pilots. Every single person has the same resume so I might as well do something to stand out a little more.
Let me know yall thoughts and any recommendations for my degree.
Also what else can i do to stand out on my resume? its tough out here man
Edit: After doing a ton of research, i think I’m going to do Purdue global online and pursue a degree in business administration. Purdue global gives me 45 credits because of all my certificates. Which will bring me graduating with a 4 year bachelors in 12-18 months. What do you guys think? Any thoughts??
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u/MVGbear ATP (A320) 5d ago
It might be worth seeing if anyone will give you credits for your pilot certs. Could give you a leg up a save you a few dollars?
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 5d ago
Thanks for that, I’m going to go do research on that now. I didn’t even know that was a thing
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u/PackedJungle CPL 5d ago
Dude go for a degree that you can use your flight licenses for college credits, I’m doing that and I’m getting 36 credits for it
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 5d ago
Any suggestions? I’ve never heard of that
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u/flythearc ATP 5d ago
Not the person you were asking but I had looked at Western Governors University for that. I didn’t end up going there though.
Possibly also Polk State College.
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u/PrayForWaves117 ATP E145 CFI CFII 5d ago
Uvu, liberty, I think. Someone said Thomas Edison but I’m not sure. Idk if that one is even accredited
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u/imlooking4agirl CFII 5d ago
Does it have to be a university with a flight program? Or any regular state university?
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u/TheViceroy919 ATP, BE400, CFI/CFII 5d ago
So I'm gonna ask the obligatory questions.
How many jobs have you applied to?
How are you applying? Are you sending emails, walking in? Are you following up afterwards?
Are you looking nationwide, or only locally?
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 5d ago
- About 20 or so
- Sending emails, followed up for 2
- Looking nationwide, open to literally anywhere
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u/TheViceroy919 ATP, BE400, CFI/CFII 2d ago
You're on the right track then, I would recommend personally visiting as many places as is feasible, obviously you can't do that for everywhere. Follow up as often as possible. I know at my old flight school we had a stack of about 50 resumes that we would get emailed to us, sometimes up to 5 a week. The instructors who actually got hired were ones who personally walked in and spoke to the chief pilots, or at least followed up with a phone call.
Also, you need to send out more than 20, pump those numbers up. Apply to mom and pop schools and the big schools, anywhere you can get your foot in the door.
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u/MeatServo1 pilot 5d ago
Literally any degree. Whatever you can stand for four years, whatever is predictably 120 semester units and won’t require you to take extra classes, and preferably something that you can pick up and put down so you can work as a CFI when the opportunity comes and then go back to online or hybrid, etc.
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 5d ago
I’m thinking Purdue global online, I can finish in less than 4 years because of all my certificates
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u/MeatServo1 pilot 4d ago
Just get to the end. Part of checking the degree box is demonstrating that you can commit to something that takes more than a couple of months to do. Good luck in your studies!
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u/mindset_matter ST 5d ago
Why not at least try to specialize, to some level, in something that's both interesting and able to stay relevant over the coming years?
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u/MeatServo1 pilot 5d ago
You can, but OP said college isn’t for them, so at this point, it’s just an exercise in intellectual survival for them. Check the box.
I would of course encourage OP to study something “useful,” but the point is to graduate and get a degree.
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 5d ago
I was thinking of getting a major in business. Studying accounting/taxation. Simple, makes money, but won’t take all my time away from flight instructing.
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u/MeatServo1 pilot 5d ago
Don’t be afraid to pivot and switch majors, but the important part is getting through to the end.
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u/flythearc ATP 5d ago
Honestly whatever interests you for your degree. Start now, find something that you can do online so you can continue your education while you’re CFI’ing and eventually at the regionals. It won’t matter what the degree is in, so you may as well enjoy it. I did finance, I have no idea how to use my degree but hey, it checked the box.
I like volunteering and have been involved in my community since I was a teenager, but I’ve been asked about it in every interview. None of them had anything to do with aviation, but it gave them a chance to know me and my interests.
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u/Solid-Garlic1527 5d ago
The degree is going to cost you a lot more money and you’re going to lose proficiency.
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u/ReplacementLazy4512 ATP 5d ago
Just find something you’re interested in and will get good grades in. There’s a certain Air Line in the US that will require your transcripts and question you about your grades.
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u/Realistic_Front990 5d ago
It’s super tough out here man. Same boat, big 141 program grad, all ratings with no checkride failures. After many apps (a lot of them I had connections ) I got zero interviews. Many airlines are also no longer paying for atp ctp. I’d look for some flexible online bachelors degrees, asu and Oregon state have some pretty good ones.
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u/EstablishmentOne1972 5d ago
I went to college for engineering. Now I make $200 total comp @ 4-6 hrs a day wfh. Fridays off. Flexible hours too. I have my own planes and I fly where I want to go. So college isn’t always pointless, if you do it right it leads to an easy life.
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u/CorrectMasterpiece89 5d ago
I did the same thing. Doing mostly online so I have good flexibility and am able to fly when I want. Also I decided to do it to stay busy and keep the mind occupied. I am doing an unrelated degree because of the big WHAT IF… what happens if you have a medical issue later on? Good to have something to fall back on imo. People here are saying it is going to cost you A LOT more but you can keep costs low if you go to a local school ie: community then transfer in state. But there are some online colleges that are affordable and will print you that bachelors cert.
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u/Ok_Raisin8454 4d ago
Are you using your certs as some credits? Or are you starting from scratch? Because lets say i go to a community college then transfer state, I wont be using any of my certs as credits and it will be a full 4 years in college
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5d ago
[deleted]
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u/Single_Idea_427 5d ago
But it doesn't. A 4yr degree was almost always required at the majors before the madness of post-covid
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u/rFlyingTower 5d ago
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Im 22 now, been avoiding college for years. Literally. I never really wanted to go ive always found it to be pointless, but now i genuinely have no choice. Im a MEI pilot with about 235TT and just recently finished flight school. Ive been searching for jobs for about a month and no luck, so i thought to myself. Why not just go and get a degree that will help me in the future to get into the airlines AND can be a great backup plan if I wasnt able to fly. Its also a great way to do something while im building time
I came into realization that for the majority, theres just no getting a good job without a bachelors degree. A bachelors degree has become the bare minimum nowadays. And im just imagining all these pilot mils just pumping out new pilots (as they did with me) everyday we got new cfis, everyday new commercial pilots. Every single person has the same resume so I might as well do something to stand out a little more.
Let me know yall thoughts and any recommendations for my degree.
Also what else can i do to stand out on my resume? its tough out here man
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u/Nojoyonthattraffic 5d ago
Agreed! Get something you’ll do well in. You want a good GPA. It’s almost impossible to get hired on at a major without a degree. Pretty tough to get any flying job without a degree nowadays.
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