My son is also interested in aviation and is looking at four year schools. Some of the programs are far better than others. The better schools have enough planes that students can get flight time and established links with employers. University of North Dakota, University of Western Michigan and MSU Denver are all good but there are others. My son will have his private pilots license before he goes and perhaps more importantly his medical. I wouldn't want to send a kid to aviation school only to not have them pass the medical.

I once read that if a pilot’s employer/carrier folds, the pilot loses all seniority when switching to a new carrier and starts from the bottom again.

Another risk, if this is actually true.

Anonymous wrote:Maybe look at Embry Riddle. He'd be able to get a relevant degree and earn his license.
I imagine *just* flight school will make it harder to get a job

My nephew completed his degree and earned his license (or whatever it is) at Emory Riddle and immediately found a job with a legacy carrier (this was in 2020). He did not want to go the military route and after research this seemed like the best path to becoming a passenger airline pilot (his goal).

I’d be careful about putting all my eggs into this basket, as there is a reasonable chance of an all-drone future for this industry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What, no? Pilots get paid nothing and burn out very quickly.

Median pilot salaries is closer to $200k.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Transportation-and-Material-Moving/Airline-and-commercial-pilots.htm

It depends too..there are other things you can get into where pilots can easily crack $300, 400, even 500k+.

Name them.

--spouse of a pilot

If you are willing to live internationally, long-haul captains can pull in $300-500k from Asian airlines. Asia pays top primo dollars.

Long haul is mostly former Navy and Air Force. The places hiring out of flight school are regional carriers who don't pay very much

This. And long haul makes for a hard family life.

He needs to realistically look at a regional pilot’s salary and have an alternate plan. He’ll be pigeon holed into aviation that if something happens to him, he’ll have no skills to pivot to another job.

Maybe look at Embry Riddle. He'd be able to get a relevant degree and earn his license.
I imagine *just* flight school will make it harder to get a job

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What, no? Pilots get paid nothing and burn out very quickly.

Huh? Commercial airline pilots are in high demand (a shortage right now) and make solid six figures. I know in DCUM, that’s nothing, because everyone needs to be a millionaire, but in the real world, it’s great.

How long do they have to fly to get to 6 figures

After you get a transport pilots license almost every pilot starts working at a regional. It’s the only way to build up flight hours and eventually get the 800 hours of turbine(jet) experience that legacy carriers like to see.

The regionals are the ones currently facing the greatest shortage. The pilot pipeline is broken at the bottoms due to how long/money it takes to get the required flight training required to become an airline transport pilot with enough hours to fly commercial. At the legacy carriers the hold up is the training requirements. The pandemic and rush of new hires has delayed a lot of the training. A pilot is only allowed to fly one type of aircraft at a time. That can switch around different aircraft models.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What, no? Pilots get paid nothing and burn out very quickly.

Median pilot salaries is closer to $200k.

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/Transportation-and-Material-Moving/Airline-and-commercial-pilots.htm

It depends too..there are other things you can get into where pilots can easily crack $300, 400, even 500k+.

Name them.

--spouse of a pilot

If you are willing to live internationally, long-haul captains can pull in $300-500k from Asian airlines. Asia pays top primo dollars.

Long haul is mostly former Navy and Air Force. The places hiring out of flight school are regional carriers who don't pay very much

My son got his pilots license at 18. He started flying at 14. He is 20 now. He wants to fly as a career. But, he understands how important that bachelor’s degree is. If your son wants to fly professionally, he should definitely plan on college.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What, no? Pilots get paid nothing and burn out very quickly.

Huh? Commercial airline pilots are in high demand (a shortage right now) and make solid six figures. I know in DCUM, that’s nothing, because everyone needs to be a millionaire, but in the real world, it’s great.

How long do they have to fly to get to 6 figures

Anonymous wrote:What, no? Pilots get paid nothing and burn out very quickly.

Huh? Commercial airline pilots are in high demand (a shortage right now) and make solid six figures. I know in DCUM, that’s nothing, because everyone needs to be a millionaire, but in the real world, it’s great.

He will definitely need a degree to be competitive as a pilot for a legacy carrier. Yes, the airlines lowered the minimum standards, but that is to allow highly qualified pilots who may only be missing a few college credits short of a full bachelors like some of the guys coming out of the military.

The bigger hurdle is getting 1500 flight hours (fixed wing, not rotor or drone). If you are coming out of the military or a college degree flight program the number is lower. Legacies like to see 800 hours of jet experience.

- flight instructor who speaks with lots of professional pilots

Anonymous wrote:+1
Best way to best jobs is starting as a military flier. And definitely get a degree first regardless.

Military will pay for both and you'll be a better pilot. I worked in aviation and I will always choose to fly with ex-military. Better training and they're selected for temperament and intelligence. That's why they make up the bulk of the higher paying commercial jobs and will always be preferred in those positions. Civilian flight school can get you a job flying the dirty bird from Trenton to Morgantown, but it's not a direct path to the bigger jobs.

+1
Best way to best jobs is starting as a military flier. And definitely get a degree first regardless.

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of colleges that degree tracks for professional pilots. He needs a degree, or he won't be able to get a good job with any major airline.


https://www.eaa.org/eaa/youth/aviation-schools-colleges-and-programs

My friend’s husband did the aviation degree at MSU Denver, joined the Navy as an officer and flew with them for a decade or so. He really wanted to fly planes and saw roadblocks with airlines. I believe the Navy started paying him while he was still in college.