Am I Doing The Right Things? Options

[jet]

Hi everyone,

I have a few basic questions/musings about whether I'm diong the right thing here.

Starting off, I've always been so fascinated by flight and aircraft that I feel my destiny is to fly aircraft for a living. I have always only felt motivated or compelled to learn about fulfilling this amibition. However, I never had the financial capability of getting past 3 flying lessons back when I was 16, and went into the route of the computing industry for a time, and worked on on qualifications, now I'm studying a computing degree.
However, this is a really costly venture, which will see me landed in a £21,000 debt when I get out. My question is this, would it have been better if I had put aside the finances to take out a PPL or CPL course instead of what I'm currently doing? What about aeronautical universities such as Embry Riddle or Oxford Aviation Training? I hear a lot of people poo-poo these places, but they seem like a very direct way of focusing on what is required to become a pilot, especially for those who know what they really want to do, such as I do. Sure that would be costly too, but at least I'd have a clear cut path to my ambition, and my interest and motivation would be fulfilled.
So, really I guess I fail to see the relevance of how what I'm doing now is going to make it any easier to become a commerical pilot. I know this is what I chose to do, but it seems like our lecturers have the notion that everybody on my course is expecting to have a 30 year career as an "expert programmer designing quality solutions" *yaaaaawn*.
I chose a degree course because I believed that having a degree would show a high standard of academic learning capability, but now I really wonder, especially with the costs, both to my time and finances, if it really is the thing to do, especially the course I'm doing.
Does anyone have any opinions on this, or just some kind of advice? I know there are many people on this board who are pilots and surely those who have been in simiar situations as me now, so I'd love to hear from you.

If anyone feels the need to be cynical or to be over-critical/opinionated, then I accept your criticisms but I don't want to hear from you if you comment only to be negative, or expressive cynicism, sarcasm or any other such negative attitudes, as I've actually seen from certain members on this board in topic such as these.

Anyway, thinking on what I said, I'd be grateful to hear from people who've been in these situations and who made the decisions which got them to fulfill their dreams today.

*ps - sorry for any spelling mistakes.

[Tpattyii]

I think the big question here should be this. "How far do I really want to go in the aviation industry?" If the answer is that you want to fly for some big nice airline...then you need to continue with your degree. If you would be happy simply flying freight in a jet that is almost twice your age...then don't waste anymore money on that college stuff. I took the route that would get me into the air as fast as possible. I spent a little time in college and found that my best subject was late night drunken tail hunting. So, needless to say, I never finished my first year of college. I quit college and started flying and working at the local FBO. As of now I'm an FO for a freight company that is looking to upgrade me to Capt here in the next few months. After I upgrade I plan on staying with my company for a few more years to get some good jet time, then go on to a company like SWA. Here lies the problem...

SWA does not require a 4 year degree, but one really helps due to the fact that they run a point system in their interviews. Having a 4 year degree will help my chances of being hired there that much more. So, between now and then I have to pick up a 4 year degree all while flying full time and getting a whole 6 days off a month. I am happy to be flying, but I really wish that I would have stuck it out in college.

If you really have the drive and desire to do well in the industry, I would suggest to you to stay in college. While you may not directly be learning about aviation in the current set of classes you are in...you are helping yourself in the long run by giving yourself something to fall back on. If aviation is given another gut shot like 9/11, you'll be happy to have some knowledge in a career field that has nothing to do with aviation.

I hope this helps, and I'm sure others will be along shortly.

Tp2

[c150student]

Now, this would depend on where you live (although you used a £ symbol so I can guess now actually...anyway). In America, apparently it is very important to get a degree for the airlines to even consider you, but in the UK, a degree isnt essential. I dont think a computing degree would be particularly helpful for a pilot (that said, I'm doing computing A level, you could help me out haha) but it may get the airlines to look at your CV. Then the question is, do you want to work that hard for a degree, and get in that much debt, just so some guy looks at your CV for a bit longer? Well, it may mean the difference between getting a job or not, but, it may not.
£21,000 may mean the difference between being able to afford the training and not being able to. Personally, I'm still debating on whether to go to Uni, or to spend the £20,000 or whatever on training fees...become a CFI, get different flying jobs, then eventually apply at an airline.

Anyway, back to your question. The problem with going to an aviation school is that you have nothing to fall back on if you cant make it as a pilot, for whatever reason. At least, with your degree, you could become a programmer.

If you want to fly for a living, have you thought about jobs outside of the airlines? Getting a job with the airlines would be difficult, but how about an instructor? Flying 'flying doctors' around (I have a friend, here in the UK like me, whos mum works in a flying medical plane, thing). I dont think the requirements for these jobs are as high, and I dont think they require an ATPL, please correct me if I am wrong (which, I accept, I probably am). That way, you can build hours, and then maybe pay for an ATPL, and get an airline job, should you want it. It all depends what you want to end up doing, and how you want to get there.

I hope that helped, and I hope I wasnt coming across cynical or anything.

[cessnapilot72]

I've got a friend who instructs (instructed) at my flight school who was just hired by AmeriFlight. He doesn't have his degree yet, but he's two years into it. He's got it worked out somehow to be flying and doing his classes online. I don't know if this necessarily the best course of action, and to be honest, really didn't think it was possible (it might not be, he hasn't started this whole deal yet), but evidently it's a possibility.

I didn't even start flying until my junior year of college. It made college a little more challenging, studying for classes, and for flying, but I learned a lot about time management and what I was capable of doing when I stayed organized. I felt like my PPL was the hardest of my ratings/certificates to this point, mostly because it was all brand new to me. I wasn't building on knowledge I already had, I was learning completely new things.

My recommendation, from a still fairly green pilot with a college degree (and VERY thankful for it), is to finish college. Finish college and fly at the same time if you can. If not, finish college first. The degree is not just something that will help get you jobs flying, it is also something that you can rely on should your eyes go bad, or should you fail a physical, or a checkride, or anything else that could possibly go wrong. Get a degree in something other than flying.

[Ranger]

but I really wish that I would have stuck it out in college.

All of you U.S. based pilots with a desire to fly for an airline need to reread Tpattyii's post again. And pay particular attention to the above line.