Becoming an airline pilot. military or college?

Question

does anyone know if it is cheaper to join airforce or to go to college? Also, which will get me flying for a major airline more quickly?

Answer 1

First off, try Air Force ROTC. Personally I choose the Air National Guard and have a one weekend a month commitment. In Ohio, the guard pays 100% Tuition. Most other states do too, then you can get your degree in aviation and fly for the airlines. My answer is to do both.

Answer 2

It's probably cheaper to join the air force, but their qualifications for becoming a pilot are going to be high.  Many of the people in USAF (u.s. air force) are not even pilots.  In the air force you will be paid to do your job but get to log flight hours too.  If you go to a flight training school you could be limited if you don't have a way to pay for the extra hours needed to accrue in order to get a license.  It just depends on the USAF's need for pilots at the time you consider.  Be mindful that the USAF does NOT guarantee their jobs.  From what I was told, they are actually over-staffed in many areas of the air force so you might also want to consider the Navy.  I think you would have better luck there because it is the second biggest branch of the military and the Dept of the Air Force is the smallest.  That means that there are more opportunities for advancement in the Navy than the Air Force because there are more jobs to fill plus the Air Force has a bunch of people who don't want to retire which makes it harder for the next guy to get promoted.  If you go into the military, many airlines have something called "Veteran's Preference" which makes your résumé more competitive with others' especially because many of their pilots are retired military.  But hey if you want USAF, then go for it!  It's your choice if you want to say Air Power/Hooah or Aye Aye or just want to stay civilian.  Good luck!

Answer 3

It's cheaper to join the Air Force- they pay you. You can have your ATP license faster privately if you jave enough money - a long shot, but joining the air force can build you a lekker reputation if you get to fly Hercule's or C-5's and so on. After that you can jolt down to the nearest airport and say "howzit".

Of course - getting your license takes a while in the first place. Be patient.

Answer 4

If you want to do your flight training through the military, you still need to go to college.  Flight slots are officer positions, not enlisted positions.

The military is very selective with filling flight slots.  Even if that's the route you want to take, there's no guarantee that it'll work out as planned.  That doesn't mean that it's not worth a try though.

Flight training in a collegiate program will cost $50,000-75,000 on top of regular tuition costs.  From there, you would most likely go to a regional airline.  After that, you might or might not move on to a major airline.  It all depends on the market conditions at the time.  Many people in today's market can't take the 50-75% pay cut that goes with moving from a captain position at a regional airline to a first officer position at a major airline.  Although this pay cut is temporary, it's also hard to swallow if you don't plan carefully for it.

If the military route ends up working for you, you may be able to bypass the regional airlines and go directly to the major airlines.  Between earning better pay as a military pilot (compared to flight instructing and flying for the regionals), saving $100,000 of college costs, and bypassing the regionals (not promising that, it all depends on the market), you would probably be in better shape taking the military route.

Talk to a recruiter before you start college.  See what your chances are of scoring a flight slot.  If you decide on the military route, make sure that you are joining to serve your country, not to build your time toward an airline.

Here's a GREAT article explaining the current state of the industry.  It ran in the New York Times last week.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/busine...

Answer 5

coffeebuzz is right.  You can get civilan flight training without a college degree, but not military.  Military flight training requires that you be a commissioined officer, and to be a commissioned officer you need to have a 4 year college degree.