The Road to Becoming an Airline Pilot?

Question

I want to know if it would be a okay if I skipped out on college and head straight for flight training. I know for a fact that there are some airline pilots out there who do not possess any degree and yet they fly multi-million dollar jets. I'm afraid if I do attend college first then I might have to pull out student loans. Flight training is expensive as it is. It doesn't help at all being in debt.

After obtaining my PPL, IR, CPL, MER, ATP and maybe CFI I could build up my hours instructing, transporting skydivers, etc. Then I could fly for a foreign airline and be based either in a foreign country or in the states. My first choice would be to transport cargo rather than passengers. It'll be a long and arduous journey to get to the airlines, this I know. So I don't mind working full-time or multiple part time jobs to pay for flying lessons and working my way up. I rather train at a local FBO than one of those fancy, extremely expensive academies. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

While college is no longer a requirement for most airlines, particularly at the "regionals", the competetion for jobs is really fierce. If you do not have at least a 2 year degree, and preferrably a 4 year degree, you will not be as competetive as those who do.  The fact is, most airline companies screen resumes by computer and score your eligibility by a points system...so many points for turbine time, multi time, PIC time, ATP rating, college degree, ex-military, etc. It's doable without the degree, but much harder. It doesn't matter what the degree is in, as long as you have one, and college does not have to be expensive if you are smart about it (i.e. go to community and state colleges). If you do go to college, choose a subject that both interests you and can employ you if for some reason you don't make it as a major airline pilot, a medical issue comes up, or you simply decide to quit flying. One thing that college does is that it shows a potential employer that you have at least some brains, that you are trainable, and that you can finish somerthing you start. Those are very good indicators of your character and abilities.

Answer 2

If you want to be a military pilot officer or to fly for one of the major airlines, you MUST complete a 4-year college degree.  There are some people who post answers on here who will tell you that you don't need a degree, but they are behind the times.

What John B says puts it in a nutshell:  there are many aviation careers, including some that are very rewarding, that do not require the degree, but if you want to fly for the major airlines, you must have the degree.

The airline hiring executives are not even talking to people who do not have 4-year college degrees, and, of course, you cannot be a commissioned officer in the US armed forces without the degree.  And all military pilots are commissioned officers.

So one way or the other, you will have to get the degree or settle for a career in charter, instructing, cargo, or some other career track.  Some of these are lots of fun, if you have the disposition.

Your degree can be in any field; just get that diploma.  It's good if you learn something in the process.  Airline hiring executives are currently really interested in pilots with degrees in business administration, accounting, and law enforcement, as well as the traditional mathematics, science, and engineering fields.

By the way, there is a simple reason why the crew executives nowadays insist on the 4-year college degree:  the aircraft systems and flight procedures are growing more complex every year, and they want to know that you have the learning ability and study skills to be able to assimilate complex material in a timely manner.

There's no way around this, so just go for it.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Don't skip college.

Answer 4

What you will need to be more competitive is a College Degree. In today's environment a College Degree will enable you to have a "Plan B" in case the flying doesn't work out.

You could skip the college at first and pursue the flying but I would recommend that you do eventually get the degree. It will help with future earnings. You may be one of the lucky ones and get hired with out a degree but why take the risk? Sitting in a room full of applicants for your dream job and they all have a degree with the exact same flying credentials as you do except you don't have a degree. Who would you hire?

You are correct that you don't need a degree but it is highly desirable.

Answer 5

You are thinking on the right lines. You will succeed.

Answer 6

If you have the money, because it will be a lot go for it,  you don't need a degree to be a pilot,  but expect alot of years of low wages,   unless you hook up with a decent corporate jet job,  but regional airlines, and flight schools don't pay c**p, and you have to do you time in the small planes before you can get on with the big boys.    Only way you can do air force is with a degree, or there academy.  But sounds like you have a clue how it works,  and yes best way to build hours is to instruct once you get rated to do so.

Answer 7

I had a fabulous forty year flying career with only a HS diploma but I was d**n lucky. And I never flew for the airlines but I did fly some forty million dollar jets. No, college teaches you nothing you need to fly that you don't learn by the fifth grade. But it does seem the norm for the airlines to require a four year degree so procede  at the risk of your own peril.

Answer 8

Two words dude... Air Force !!!

Answer 9

You don't have to do all that stuff before instructing.  You just need a CPL and an instructor rating.

It sounds like you're planning on spending $100,000 on flight training before you even instruct.  You could buy your own plane with that kind of money.  Or better yet, all that time you're planning to work at the same time as train, you could use at least part of that time towards a degree.

Ask yourself, these days, if you ran an airline, would you choose a pilot who has a degree or who doesn't?