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Paying for Flight School through college?


D-Mac_84

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Hello everyone. I hope I am posting this on the right board, but feel free to move it if not. I have been having trouble finding answers specifically catered to my situation. Not only that, but there seems to be much more knowledge about fixed wing than rotary out there! I do apologize for my wall of text. I try to be as detailed as possible.

 

 

Some background, just graduated HS in June. During my senior year, I became really interested in learning how to fly helicopters. So I set my goal to get the training I need. I am currently planning to do my training with a school called 'Tallahassee Helicopters' located in....Tallahassee, FL. The guys there seem really nice and helpful and have explained the industry to me really well. Tall. Helicopters (TH) is partnered with Utah Valley University (UVU) and they offer an online degree program for a B.S. in Aviation Admin.

 

Heres where I am currently, living with my parents in NC, working a part time job. I've already enrolled in classes for the 2013 Spring semester with UVU. I was planning on moving to Tallahasse in January to begin my flight training. Here is where my questions begin.

 

 

The total cost of the program, from zero, to CFI/CPL is around $85,000. The actual cost is $11,000 per semester and according to TH, training will take around 7-8 semesters. That does not include living expesnses or UVU tuition. Let me put it to you this way, it would cost me a minimum of $50,000 per year for two years to complete flight training. (That's training, UVU tuition, and living all added together)

 

So, the total cost of my flight training is ~$100,000. The thought of that number is mind boggling and nauseating. Approximatly $11,000 of that will be covered by the Federal Stafford Loan. The other $89,000 will have to come from somehwere. Where should I plan on getting this money from? Private student loans? How in the WORLD do I pay for flight training?

 

TH guaruntees in writiing they will employ you (with pay) for an additional 200 hours minimum plus the 200 you have already acheived in training. So I would be leaving TH with 400+ hours in an R-44. Is 400 hours enough to get a steady job to pay back $100,000+ in loans?

 

 

Thanks again for any and all advice guys!

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Do yourself a huge favor and don't get $100,000 in debt in your early early 20s. Your later 20s self will thank you. It is a much longer route, but I'd suggest working and making money to pay for the training over time with less debt. See if you can save the money to do a rating or most of a rating in one chunk. I know that less continuity in training can be a struggle, but so can paying off the price of a house loan with no guarantee that the investment will pay off.

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Sounds to me like Tallahasee Helicopters is fixing to screw you. No reason it should take you 400 hours to get all your ratings, and you don't need to do your training in a 44. Beware out there. There are schools out there just dying for young guys like you that want to dive in head first. You will regret this later, especially if you find that you can't hack it. If you want to be a pilot, go be one, but do some shopping first. Talk to lots of schools, preferably face to face if possible. These are people you will be giving lots of money to and counting on them to train and mentor you for this bottom heavy industry. Last thing you need is to be $100,000 in debt with no job. As far as the degree goes, I would suggest you try and do that separately. Full time school does not lend itself well to full time flight training. You could become saturated very quickly. Not performing at peak because you are tired and stressed about school will be bad for your flying, and the flying will detract from your ability to focus on school.

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0 time through 400hrs in an R44?? Sounds more like a school designed for students who have the GI Bill and the school is looking at a way to get maximum payments. Not people paying for it out of pocket. There are also schools out there (according to someone elses question) that also have 30hrs of MD500 time wrapped into their "Career Pilot" program. Thats about $30,000 just in itself. Find another school that uses R22s and go to school online from your Ipad at your convenience.

 

A college degree isnt going to get you a job when you have low time and having a pilots license probably isnt going to get you a job that requires a degree. Pick one to do full time and do the other part time. If you want to be a pilot, then become one and plug away on your AA a couple classes at a time. But thats just me..........

Edited by Flying Pig
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Don't walk -run. You don't want to do that. Degrees in Aviation Administration is pretty much a degree in basket weaving. I am not saying that going and getting and education is worthless, its not, Go to College if a degree is what you want to get. But get a real one, something that you could make a living with, You want to be a pilot, well getting a degree in Business or Accounting would transfer. Or Engineering or one of the sciences. Then use that to get a Commission and a shot at flight school in the Armed Forces of the United States. That is the way guys use to do it, or just go serve four years and then use the GI Bill. I got news for you you take out a 100K loan for this and you will be on the hook for it no matter what, The Aviation Sector of the economy was the first thing to melt down when the economic down turn occurred. The country is still in recession no matter how you want to define it. And its going to be a long time before the country rights itself and recovers from it. And you want to take on 100K in debt before you hit 20? Where are your parents in all of this? Seems to me that you saw an ad or a helicopter and said to yourself how cool, I should do that, and that school is selling you a line of BS and you took it hook line and sinker. Think about what you are really doing here, then crunch the numbers they given you with an accountant and he or she will tell you what that 100K is really going to cost you vs what the industry really pays pilots to fly, not what some dope in an admissions office says.

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0 time through 400hrs in an R44?? Sounds more like a school designed for students who have the GI Bill and the school is looking at a way to get maximum payments. Not people paying for it out of pocket. There are also schools out there (according to someone elses question) that also have 30hrs of MD500 time wrapped into their "Career Pilot" program. Thats about $30,000 just in itself. Find another school that uses R22s and go to school online from your Ipad at your convenience.

 

This is what I was thinking as well.

 

I know nothing about the school and they probably have a great program, people, and connections, but it may not be the best option for your particular situation. Paying for 200 hours of R44 time, which may seem like a worthy investment with the mantra of bigger is better, may actually hinder you in your career progression. The "magic number" to land that first good job is somewhat variable, but is normally between 1,000 and 2,000 hours. Instructing is your main ride to the big leagues, but the market is dominated by the R22 which is a much more sensitive machine than the 44. If the company lets you go after their obligation of 400 hours, you may be in a bad spot to land another job if you don't have any time on the choppers schools mainly use.

 

Their doesn't seem to be any economies of scale going on with their operation as well. The prices seem somewhat steep considering that's all they deal with, but this is really besides the point.

 

You are much more aware of your living situation than I am, but your numbers seem a little bit off, and I just want to make sure you haven't looked over anything. If I understand correctly, the total cost of the training + college + living expenses = $100,000. Training is $85,000, so that leaves $15,000 for tuition and living expenses, which seems somewhat unrealistic. Again, I just want to make sure you added that right and it doesn't come out to be much more than that.

 

I'm not very well brushed up on the current hiring situation, but in the airline industry, most operators want some form of college education. Just out curiosity, what drew you to Tallahassee to begin with? Same with Utah University? Was it just the connection between them?

 

I would look for a local school or somewhere close within North Carolina. Being able to live at home, or just being close to family for their support and safety net will go a long way during your education and training.

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UVU is not "partnered" with any helicopter flight school. They will give you credit for your certificates but, they are not "partnered" with particular schools. Many schools tell you that but, I have talked with UVU and they claim no ties to particular helicopter flight schools. The benefit with going to UVU is that they have online classes so you can attend from wherever you have internet. Doing their degree program opens up opportunities for financial aid, scholarships, and student loans.

 

At least this is the way it was last time I spoke with UVU.

Edited by gary-mike
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With 400hrs all in the R44 you probably will never find another job once they let you go! Find a school that will train you in the R22. That helicopter is where all the entry-level jobs are!

 

Flight instructors (the only job you'll be able to get until you have 1500hrs) don't make enough money to pay off a student loan (let alone cover living expenses)!

 

The best way to pay for flight training, is to join the Army, and/or go WOFT!

 

 

 

Another newbie talking about ALL R44 training? Are those Silverstate guys back or something?!

Edited by pilot#476398
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It’s already been said but needs to be said again.

 

DO NOT wrap your aviation education into your undergraduate education. Keep them separate. That is, go to a college of your choosing and get the degree in whatever, then pursue the helo certification at a flight school of your choosing that allows you to become marketable to the majority of entry level flight schools. 200-400 hours in a R44 won’t do that.

 

Most importantly, LISTEN to what is being said in this thread. If you choose to ignore it, then you’ll have only yourself to blame….

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+2 on a non aviation related degree and not taking out a loan! I am currently pursing a degree in Homeland Security while flying as much as possible with the money I have to spare. Is it the best situation? NO, but I have 0 debt and 4 years from now I will be thanking myself! Also if you haven't looked into it I would check out the WOFT Army helicopter program. If the Army is not for you take the advice posted above!

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Definitely put your college education first! The only thing you should be taking a 100K loan out for would be med school, law school, or a house (well, maybe not even the house).

 

BTW, I was in your situation a few years ago as well. My options were 1) get a degree then join the military so they could pay for my ratings, 2) get a degree then get rich so I could buy my own damn helicopter, 3) take a loan out and be a commercial pilot sooner, but stay broke for a long time.

 

I'm halfway through option 2, but at least now I can fly when I want, where I want.

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Whoa whoa. Soooo many things to respond to. I cannot thank you guys enough for all this FANTASTIC input!! I'll try to address everything that was brought up, so bare with me.

 

 

Let me begin by saying I have already exhausted the option for Army WOFT. I was 90% complete with my packet…89 ASVAB, 128 AFAST, and a 227 on my APFT. Let's just say I…hit some road bumps and I'd rather not go any further into that.

 

The reason I posted here is because I am indeed skeptical about the costs and training. Do not assume that I was some poor sucker about the whole thing! (Maybe a little at first, but I am learning slowly!)

 

I would never think of going to flight training full time while attending school full time. In fact, I was only going to train 1-2 times per week. Which I found odd for $11,000 for every 4 months of training. (Basically 16-20 sessions were going to cost $11,000) I like the people at TH. What brought me in to them initially was the fact they offered the whole UVU deal on their site. (No other site I saw mentioned a degree program) So that's basically how I made my choice. I want to think they're not out to screw me, the guy that runs the place is so filthy rich, he doesn't need to screw people in order to make money. He owns like 3 Helicopter businesses and a bunch of properties.

 

Somebody mentioned finding a training facility near where I live. That's the problem, there are none! The SC/GA/NC markets are very limited and many have closed. FL has lierally hundreds of schools it seems. So that's the nearest.

 

The UVU degree itself is completely online. It will take 4 years to complete. Do you guys think a B.S. in Aviation Admin is really that useless? I mean, I thought I could at least work in a Delta office or something. Honestly, I was going to use the degree to commission if the helicopter thing didn't work out but I have no idea what kind of shape the armed forces will be in after another 4 years of Obama budget cuts.

 

Flying helicopters is something I've always wanted to do. No, I did not just see and ad and say "Cool". My parents are supportive, but do not feel that the investment is a smart one. (For that amount of money at least) If I could find a competitively priced training program, then I think they would be more supportive with the investment.

 

As far as the R-44 vs R-22 argument, the guys at TH were telling me the R-22 is getting old and many flight schools no longer use them and instead are upgrading to the 44, They said many people that train with them are having to get their PIC time in a 44 because 22 jobs are more limited. Is that not true?

 

Thanks again fellas! You guys should get paid for this advice!

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Run from that flight school. Their R-22 vs R-44 commentary is not truthful.

 

As far as the degree goes, the reason to steer away from aviation is because you aren't diversifying your skills as much as you could. A degree in aviation administration looks okay to the aviation community. But so does a degree in business administration, and business administration looks better in a wider variety of industries.

 

You're young, so give yourself the most options. Seriously, an engineering degree is going to be a lot of work. But it is also going to set yourself up to have the most options. Even with commissioning, the more advanced your degree the higher your chances of getting a package approved. It will be getting more competitive as the war draws down. Have you considered ROTC for any of the branches? If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably go ROTC and have them pay for a mechanical engineering degree. Then I'd try to commission as an aviator, then revert to Warrant Officer and fly once I was a captain and had done my time.

 

But other branches have good ROTC programs as well. But if the military or aviation doesn't work out, you'd still have an engineering degree. That is worth far more than aviation administration.

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You say the guy at TH is filthy rich and has three schools, so he doesn't need to screw people out of their money. How do you think he made his money?? This day in age, an honest flight school is the one barely squeaking by. Not the one with loads of cash. And the R44 stuff is complete bull. Do not do this. I'm begging you! The prices are off and the explanations you got about the training and I assume the rest of the industry are false. The deal this school is selling is only a deal for them!

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Your future if you train only in the R44;

 

You're a 30 year old 400hr CFII working a Starbucks, (because a degree in Aviation is worthless, and no one will hire a 400hr CFII who can't teach in an R22), and living with your parents because you're buried in debt and you have no REAL skills or experience!

 

Go to college, get a degree in something that will qualify you for a good paying career, then pursue flying as a second career!

 

Search the job ads. There's a supply and demand problem in aviation! If you can't go military, you probably won't make it!

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TH guaruntees in writiing they will employ you (with pay) for an additional 200 hours minimum plus the 200 you have already acheived in training.

 

Think about it.

 

No matter how good or bad you are, they'll hire you? 50% of the doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class, and the same is true of pilots. When you're shelling out one hundred thousand dollars, do you want the worst instructor to graduate, simply because a school guarantees every student that they'll be hired? No? Neither does anybody else.

 

The flight school knows this. The flight school cannot guarantee that they'll employ you as a pilot or instructor until you've proven yourself. You may or may not be up to the task...don't buy into any school that guarantees you a job. They can't. The ugly unseen name in the room, silver state, tried to con people with that line, and it was as much a falsehood then as now.

 

Utah Valley University is a joke. They've inflated themselves into something they never were, and are not. They don't give credit beyond the private, and they've overpriced, with a poor program and a long history of selling falsehoods. I knew the people running that program long before they were a university, and I still remember when they promised new students a 4 year degree that they couldn't deliver, and parked a drug-siezed airplane at the Provo airport...and told prospective students that it was their multi-engine trainer. It wasn't even airworthy. Their degrees aren't worth half of that.

 

A degree in aviation is still a degree, but it carries no mileage and it won't get you anywhere. You can go a long way in aviation without a degree, too...don't let anyone tell you it's a must-have. It isn't.

 

It's a good idea to have, but for fall-back reasons, not because it will heartily advance your career as a pilot. It helps pad the resume, and if you choose your major wisely it may provide a useful fall-back...but it's no panacea and it's no guarantee, and what it does mostly is leave you deeply in debt.

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Is college for everyone... No... But if you study something other than easy everyday classes taken by the masses and really focus on your future, it will pay dividends...

 

Someone I know graduated last year with a bachelor degree in an aviation field and today at 23 is earning $109,000 annually after one year on the job (not uncommon in this field)... Plus just started his flight training, paying cash along the way... Another girl I know graduated last year, is flying in helicopters daily in Yuma supporting a military contract earning in excess of $80,000 annually and has no ratings yet, however is now enrolled in flight lessons since her job will cover the training expense if she'll commit to a four year contract with the company...

 

Keep living with your parents and go for the degree and if your hearts set on an aviation degree you might want to consider a degree in "Human Factors in Aviation", since it opens far more doors than most other aviation degrees other than engineering, plus depending on your field of expertise, you'll still have the opportunity to fly as part of your daily job...

 

Human factors involves gathering information about human abilities, limitations, and other characteristics and applying it to tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments to produce safe, comfortable, and effective human use. In aviation, human factors is dedicated to better understanding how humans can most safely and efficiently be integrated with the technology. That understanding is then translated into design, training, policies, or procedures to help humans perform better.

 

Because improving human performance can help the industry reduce the commercial aviation accident rate, much of the focus is on designing human-aircraft interfaces and developing procedures for both flight crews and maintenance technicians. Manufacturers also continue to examine human performance throughout the aircraft to improve usability, maintainability, reliability, and comfort. In addition, human factors specialists participate in analyzing operational safety and developing methods and tools to help operators better manage human error. These responsibilities require the specialists to work closely with engineers, safety experts, test and training pilots, mechanics, and cabin crews to properly integrate human factors into the design of all aircraft. Their areas of responsibility include addressing human factors in,

 

Flight deck design.

Design for maintainability and in-service support.

Error management.

Passenger cabin design.

 

Regardless of what anyone on a forum says, secure a degree that best suits your interest and career goals... If that degree just so happens to be Aviation Business Administration, then that's what you study, because the only major difference between the Aviation degree and Business Admin degree is the additional knowledge you'll learn concerning airport operations and aviation law.

 

Since you mentioned OCS after college, you should also know once you've completed your freshman year of college the Marines will offer you a full scholarship for the remaining three years of college, plus pay you a salary while attending school and Guarantee you a Pilot Slot in Writing...

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For the R-44 comment alone, don't go to that school. If all the flight schools out there got rid of their R-22's, they'd be cutting themselves out of the market. Not many people can afford to pay for all of their training in a 44 that aren't being backed by huge loans or the Post 9/11 GI Bill.

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Ok, so let me summarize what I've learned.

 

-If I train completely in a 44, a future career at Starbucks is guaranteed.

-TH was lying

-UVU is a useless school and the degree I plan on earning is useless as well

-There is NO way a kid out of high school can start a career in helicopter aviation

-Go to college, get a "useful" degree, and just maybe if I can find a career making $100k+/yr, I can complete training by 40 and start a helicopter career with a turbine rating by 50?

 

Ok ok, enough with the sarcasm. (Although some of it is serious)

 

I really appreciate all the input guys. This is really eye opening. My plan was flying WOFT since I was in 10th grade, and I did not find out it wasn't going to be possible until August so I have literally had to make a 180 and go the civillian route. So all this has been done withing the last 3 months. I guess this is the first time I've really reached out to the fellow helicopter community, mainly because I was...as you all pointed out...wanting to "dive in head first".

 

Let me ask you guys a question. Early on, I was looking a ERAU, but ruled it out due to tuition costs. Now that I am finding out it is going to cost an ass of money either way to begin a career in aviation, I might as well do it the right way. According to many, ERAU is looked at as the most accredited areonautical universities in the country. They have the networking ability and graduation from ERAU in the fixed wing world means a shot at working for Delta, AA, SW, etc right out of college.

 

So, thoughts on ERAU?

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Let me ask you guys a question. Early on, I was looking a ERAU, but ruled it out due to tuition costs. Now that I am finding out it is going to cost an ass of money either way to begin a career in aviation, I might as well do it the right way. According to many, ERAU is looked at as the most accredited areonautical universities in the country. They have the networking ability and graduation from ERAU in the fixed wing world means a shot at working for Delta, AA, SW, etc right out of college.

 

So, thoughts on ERAU?

 

I was in your same shoes coming out of high school and considered ERAU as well. I thought it was the grand daddy of flight training and a no brainer if I wanted to be the "best" pilot. Embry Riddle looks great on a resume (although many will disagree), but it comes at an extremely high price. I really haven't followed their helicopter progression, but I think its based out of Prescott, unless Daytona is now up and running, so this may be something to consider. It's a private university, so the costs for tuition will be very high as well as a premium tacked on to their aircraft.

 

Just a quick look at their website and tuition for 2012-2013 for non-flight students is: $41,460.

 

Multiply this by 4, and add in the bare minimum of the actual helicopter training of $60,000 and you're looking at $220,000. Maybe someone can correct me if I'm mistaken on the numbers, but this is what drove me far away from there. You'll find aviation is a massive balancing act for quality of life.

 

Aviation gets the pay of a ski instructor, with the education costs of a doctor. If you can really plan out the money without diving in head first, you'll be much further ahead, and really enjoy your life when you're out there working.

 

I would personally stay in North Carolina if I were you. I don't think Embry Riddle will give you any leg up over the competition for the amount of money you'll be spending. If you can get in state tuition, maybe live at home, and find a local school, you'll be much better off in my opinion.

 

If you don't want to go that route there are many colleges with aviation programs around the country with slightly better pricing than ERAU. I'm not sure if they have helicopter training though.

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Ok, so let me summarize what I've learned.

 

-If I train completely in a 44, a future career at Starbucks is guaranteed.

-TH was lying

-UVU is a useless school and the degree I plan on earning is useless as well

-There is NO way a kid out of high school can start a career in helicopter aviation

-Go to college, get a "useful" degree, and just maybe if I can find a career making $100k+/yr, I can complete training by 40 and start a helicopter career with a turbine rating by 50?

 

Ok ok, enough with the sarcasm. (Although some of it is serious)

 

I really appreciate all the input guys. This is really eye opening. My plan was flying WOFT since I was in 10th grade, and I did not find out it wasn't going to be possible until August so I have literally had to make a 180 and go the civillian route. So all this has been done withing the last 3 months. I guess this is the first time I've really reached out to the fellow helicopter community, mainly because I was...as you all pointed out...wanting to "dive in head first".

 

Let me ask you guys a question. Early on, I was looking a ERAU, but ruled it out due to tuition costs. Now that I am finding out it is going to cost an ass of money either way to begin a career in aviation, I might as well do it the right way. According to many, ERAU is looked at as the most accredited areonautical universities in the country. They have the networking ability and graduation from ERAU in the fixed wing world means a shot at working for Delta, AA, SW, etc right out of college.

 

So, thoughts on ERAU?

 

You are working off some serious misconceptions or misinformation and on top of that are being somewhat confusing. However, at your age and experience I had the same exact problem. It was years after I started working in the industry and watching my friends take their different roads that I started to gain an understanding of the industry.

 

So let's start with your comment about wanting to be a helicopter pilot which was followed later by a comment about ERAU and your chances at working for an airline. Do you want to be a fixed wing pilot or a helicopter pilot? Because if you just want to fly I'll tell you that fixed wing training will be considerably cheaper and easier to land a job. But there's no way you will ever get hired directly out of training by a major airline, in fact it's tough to get hired directly out of flight instructing into even a good regional airline.

 

That said, if you are set on becoming a helicopter pilot do not go to a school that puts together a neat "package" deal. Find a school that is affordable and will allow you the best opportunity to get a job, because even if you spend $800,000 to get your ratings in a turbine helicopter you are still just a 200 hour CFI with zero time in the helicopter that you will be training people in. When I say best opportunity to get a job I don't mean "we will hire you right out of flight school for 200 hours then you're cut loose." I'm saying pick a school with a marketable entry level airframe that wont cost you an arm and a leg for bogus "turbine transitions" and "long line experience."

 

The absolute worst thing you can do is pay college tuition on top of flight training for a degree that does not give you a real advantage and will be useless outside aviation. Save yourself some money and go find a community college with some good transfer programs and work towards a real degree near your home town.

 

Finally, the best thing I ever did for my aviation career was start out working on the flight line. I had no idea how general aviation operated until I started being exposed to the business side of things. It allowed me to meet a huge variety of working pilots of all experience levels and see the big picture and allowed me to step back and re-evaluate the path I was choosing to pursue my dream. It also opened many doors that I would not have had otherwise and allowed me to actually have some options along the way.

 

It's too bad you gave up on WOFT with your packet so far completed.

 

Anyways, D-Mac_84, good luck to you and keep asking questions.

Edited by SBuzzkill
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I looked into ERAU once. Its a nice campus and I liked the guys at Universal Helicopters (I think that's who they use?). However, my guess is that they have more pull in the fixed-wing world (since we don't really need a college degree, but they usually do)? Personnally, I'd just go to ASU and get a degree in the High-tech field, while training with Universal down in Scottsdale (if they're still there?) instead of going up to Prescott.

 

If you're on the East Coast, though, you could check out Bristow?,...or Boatpix :o

 

One more thing on the R44, (because a lot of schools do use them IN ADDITION to the R22, or S300) in case they never bothered to tell you? If you did your training in the R22, you'd only need 5 hours in the R44 to be PIC (which means if someone hired you, you could still do photo/tour flights in one, while you build up to the 25 hours needed to teach in it). That would save you a ton of money!

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One more thing on the R44, (because a lot of schools do use them IN ADDITION to the R22, or S300) in case they never bothered to tell you? If you did your training in the R22, you'd only need 5 hours in the R44 to be PIC (which means if someone hired you, you could still do photo/tour flights in one, while you build up to the 25 hours needed to teach in it). That would save you a ton of money!

 

Bingo

 

And as Pilot476398 mentioned you'll eventually run across Boatpix as well. I will reserve judgement, but I encourage you to do extensive research about them and make sure you see past the initial sales pitch (which all schools have). They have attractive offers, but this forum can offer a wealth of knowledge into the behind the scenes.

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It isn't all doom and gloom, but it is better to go into the industry without rose colored glasses. You'll be better off for knowing the dark side. So while all these posts are just random people on the internet spouting advice, the advice still rings with personal truth for those that posted. You get to take it all with a grain of salt. Like Buzz said, keep asking questions. Being around a flight line and asking questions is a way to absorb lots of little life experience tips so you can learn from the mistakes of others and chart your own path.

 

So a kid out of high school can invest in and start a helicopter career. And can get a helicopter flying job after flying nothing but an R-44. And people can pile on a $100,000 dollars in debt and dig out of it while in the aviation industry. But maybe, just maybe, there are less painful and less risky ways to do things.

 

It is all about opportunity cost. When you pick one path, there will be a cost associated with it. Most likely in time and money. The key is finding the level of risk you're ready to handle. Maybe that is $100,000 in flight training and a degree in aviation administration. In my opinion that is more risky that getting a degree in an unrelated field and then expanding into aviation.

 

Kind of like the ERAU Professional Pilot degrees. I see lots of Army Aviators going for those, but in my view, you're already a professional pilot with FAA ratings. How much beefier is your resume by having a degree in the same thing you have certifications in? Are you now suddenly twice the professional pilot?

 

But if you're an engineer and a pilot, now you have more options and a bigger resume.

 

As a last note on this thread, from me anyway, I'd like to really emphasize what Buzzkill said about community college. I did the first 2 years of my college education at community college. By far it is the best money I've ever spent. After going to Boise State University and now Embry Riddle, I still feel like I did far more learning for far less money at the community college level. The classes were smaller. The prices were cheaper. And the whole experience was much more personable. In my opinion, it is a less risky way to start getting your education, especially with the number of times people switch degrees these days.

 

If you kick butt in community college, apply for scholarships and all that money floating out there. Look for ROTC options. You're young. You have loads of choices and paths you can take.

Edited by heloidaho
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