College Degrees

Sparker · April 19, 2007

Hey all...

I am pretty sure I am going to pursue a career in helicopters. I don't know what degree I should get to go with my pilots license, and I know a degree isn't required but I want it as a back up if I lose my medical or get injured or something. I also would like a degree in case I want to go into management later on and I think I might have an edge if there gets to be too much job competition.

So... my question is should the degree be an aviation focused degree or business or finance or english or law or (insert generic degree here)???

If I get an aviation degree could I use it outside of a being a pilot?

If I get a more generic degree will anybody in the aviation world give a crap?

Thanks for your opinions!!!

slick1537 · April 19, 2007

I pondered the same question myself. I personally think I would get a degree relating the a specific field but not an aviation degree. If you can't fly anymore, what more will the degree get you. My thinking is like if you wanted to be airborne lawenforment maybe a criminal justice degree would help you out.

klas · April 19, 2007

I pondered the same question myself. I personally think I would get a degree relating the a specific field but not an aviation degree. If you can't fly anymore, what more will the degree get you. My thinking is like if you wanted to be airborne lawenforment maybe a criminal justice degree would help you out.

But can't you use an aviation degree for lke airport management or something?

April 19, 2007

A&P

volition · April 19, 2007

Yes you can!! The aviation degree is a business degree first and foremost with a concentration in aviation.

Voluptuary5 · April 19, 2007

Engineering degrees have ranked towards the top the last couple of years for things like jobs most in demand and some of the highest paying.

Gotta like math a lot, though!

-V5

April 19, 2007

engineering,,,yes

A&P,,,,,,,,yes

pilot,,,,,,,yes

w/those the possibilities are......'the NEW robinson' ?

dont forget determination---they don't teach that in school tho

(i'm all 3, but got too old to persue the possibilities)

500pilot · April 19, 2007

I'm currently taking classes online for aviation saftey degree. Even though avaition doesnt require a degree I'm noticing more and more companies looking for one. Here in the Northeast the larger 76 corp are requiring them and I got lucky with my job not requiring one. Also EMS is starting to like them as well. The other good thing about a degree is you have something to fall back on if you should happen to lose your medical.

fry · April 20, 2007

So... my question is should the degree be an aviation focused degree or business or finance or english or law or (insert generic degree here)???

From today's WSJ:

DAVID WESSEL

Lack of Well-Educated Workers

Has Lots of Roots, No Quick Fix

>>>It's a mystery. With all the energy devoted to expanding prekindergarten programs, leaving no K-12 child behind, improving community colleges and sweetening aid for college students, how can the U.S be short of educated workers?

The shortage is evident from this fact: Employers are paying the typical four-year college graduate [without graduate school] 75% more than they pay high-school grads. Twenty-five years ago, they were paying 40% more.

Employers insist on ever better-educated, skilled workers. So this is partly a story about demand. But it is also about supply. The stock of educated workers isn't increasing fast enough to keep up with rising demand.

"This is the first generation of American-born men who don't have substantially more education than their fathers' generation," says Lawrence Katz, a Harvard University labor economist.

You don't need to decide at the outset what your major is going to be...the first two years are pretty much the same courses for everyone...you just need to get started. And you need to have as your objective that you will finish because...from the same article as the above:

"About two-thirds of new high-school graduates are in college the following fall, but many drop out before completing even a two-year degree or a certificate. The 2000 U.S. Census shows that 43% of those between ages 22 and 34 who report any college attendance didn't get any degree; 13% didn't even finish a single year of college..."

bellpilot · April 20, 2007

Fry,

Where do you find this stuff? I agree with you on getting a degree, our company takes this into account when hiring our CFI's. Currently 75% of our CFI's have a BS. One even has a engineering degree with Embry.

Bellpilot

Tiger Mike · April 20, 2007

A degree will show a prospective employer that you are a person who can take on a difficult task and complete it. It will show that you are an educated person. And college prepares you for more than just a job. You will learn quite a bit about life in 4 years of college.

I have never met anyone who regretted getting degree. But I have met many who regret not getting one.

Sparker · April 22, 2007

So will it make a difference what degree I get, or is everyone pretty much in agreement that it doesn't matter? What I have heard is that it just looks better to have a degree, and I know I will be smarter regardless of the specialty...

Voluptuary5 · April 22, 2007

So will it make a difference what degree I get, or is everyone pretty much in agreement that it doesn't matter? What I have heard is that it just looks better to have a degree, and I know I will be smarter regardless of the specialty...

I would say that it doesn't matter all that much but is should somehow, however obscure, be relatively applicable to the field you are applying it to. Like TigerMike said, it mostly just shows that you are learnable and can power through adversity.

Trust me, I've seen plenty of people with degrees, even advanced degrees, that are (educated) idiots and plenty of people without degrees that are very intelligent. But somehow a degree gives you instant credibility, especially on paper. It is a shame, really, but reality none-the-less...

Also, like TigerMike said, "I have never met anyone who regretted getting degree. But I have met many who regret not getting one". Very true. And if you think about it, 4-5 years of your life is just a drop in the bucket looking at the Big Picture. If the average human lives 75 years, that's only about 6% of your life. Plenty of living to do after that small investment in yourself.

-V5

slick1537 · April 22, 2007

I would say that it doesn't matter all that much but is should somehow, however obscure, be relatively applicable to the field you are applying it to. Like TigerMike said, it mostly just shows that you are learnable and can power through adversity.

Trust me, I've seen plenty of people with degrees, even advanced degrees, that are (educated) idiots and plenty of people without degrees that are very intelligent. But somehow a degree gives you instant credibility, especially on paper. It is a shame, really, but reality none-the-less...

-V5

God isn't that the truth.