So as I begin my senior year of high school, it's time for me to severely consider what I want to do come July of 2008. I've been mostly considering joining the navy, but I've also been looking at schools. One that caught my eye in particular was the Vaughn College of Aeronautics in Flushing. It's got the major I want, and it's relatively close to home. I was wondering for the folks who have jobs in the aviation industry, where did you go to school and what was your major?
-James
I went to Duke, majored in Mathematics, and I'm an aviation underwriter now (insure airplanes for a living!). Schools like ERAU or Mountain State University have great aviation programs but you don't necessarily have to go to an aviation-themed school to work in the industry. A good number of my aviation industry contacts went to two or four year colleges not affiliated with aviation, even CFI's. I know AA recruited at Duke and other schools for a revenue analyst position (I interviewed and made it to second round cuts in Dallas but they didn't give me the job :evil: which is why I don't fly AA anymore :borat: .) I would say pick a school that you like. Visit schools and see what opportunities are available.
If you have any questions about applying to schools or anything else, feel free to PM me.
BTW how are those new SAT's?
"I can't wait until tomorrow, cause I get better looking everyday"
--Joe Namath
Vaughn College of Aeronautics is the old Academy of Aeronautics across from LGA near planeview park.
"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' "
Ronald Reagan
I joined the Navy when I graduated from High School, went to College Part Time, though, never completed...
Landed a job with Nippon Cargo Airlines & loved that I had military experience, since then I have been with Polar Air Cargo & Alteon/Boeing....
I always suggest for people to join the military, people love seeing military experience on a resume.
“The problem with socialism is that you eventually,
run out of other people’s money.” - Margaret Thatcher
Went to the Air Force Academy and am chillin' on casual waiting to start pilot training in Texas...
Do you want to be a pilot, or are you trying to work a job in the industry? My advice is that it all depends, lol.
For example, if you want to go into more of a managerial position, then pick a school with a good management program, even if it doesn't necessarily offer an aviation management program. My thoughts are that an airline would look more favorably on a management degree from a place such as Duke than they would from a place such as Vaughn College. Again, just my personal opinion, not trying to bash Vaughn or anything.
If you've really got your sights set on being a pilot, first make sure you are currently medically qualified (find a doc who can give you a FAA flying class 3 (or whatever it is now)) exam and certify you. Then decide how you're going to achieve that goal. If you're thinking about the military, I can speak a little about the military way to go... My advice is to pick a school that offers an AFROTC or NROTC program. That way you kind of separate your education and flying goals. The downside of going the military route is that you're not automatically guaranteed a pilot slot, (can actually be tough to get one) but you pretty much have to be medically perfect to even be considered for one and on top of that you have to commit 10 years to the military after you complete pilot training. The upside is that all your training will be free, and after your commitment is up (between the ages of 32-35 most likely) you'll have a good amount of hours and be pretty marketable in not just the civilian flying world, but in other fields in the civilian world as well. Also, you generally don't have to work your way up in the military community. I know quite a few 24,25, 26 year olds flying multi-million dollar jets, from F15s to C17s to KC10s....
If you wanted to take the military thing a step further, you could always apply to either the Naval or Air Force Academy, which is a tough 4 year program which'll net you a B.S. in something (even non-aviation related) and pretty much guarantees you a pilot slot (as long as you're medically qualified), but which still carries the 10 year commitment after pilot training.
As for doing it the civilian way, I'll let someone else with more expertise speak on it, but my advice is not to put your eggs all in one basket. That way in case the flying thing doesn't work out, or after a few years you get sick of it you'll at least have something to fall back on.
In any case, good luck with everything!
Cmon USAF you're makaking us look bad. Airlines don't care about where you went to school, because you can still be an ass. Look at the current white house tennant.
What they are looking for is a completed degree, you can have a degree in anything like knitting socks.When you complete the 4 yrs it shows that you can stick with something, and they like commitment. Really on your interview the 'Do you have a college degree?' is a fill in the bubble question, not an essay.
But as of now you should get those liscences first! Get a job on a regional then call up a college ask them how many credits you can get for being a pilot and do the online course. It will be easier and less expensive- Guaranteed.
Maybe not, but if you're looking into a managerial position at an airline, I would think a management degree from a big name school holds a little more credence than a degree from someplace like North American College. Very few places are going to hire you based solely on your degree, the interview is what really matters. But, having good credentials to back up your interview helps a lot.Originally Posted by Informant
As far as flying gigs go, I can't speak for all of them, but I can give you three recent examples of military pilots being selected over civilian guys. Three pilots I know, 2 C17s and 1 KC10 guy, either finished up their commitment with the AF or VSPed out of the Air Force, and went for civilian flying jobs. In each case, the pilots were in the bottom half of their "interview pool" in terms of flying hours, but were the ones who were called back and eventually offered the job. Think about it in terms of being on that selection board for the airline. Would you rather a guy who's flown 1,600 hours in a twin engined turbo-prop, or maybe small lear jet, probably all routine flying, not knowing what his real background or lifestyle is among other factors, or a guy who's got 1,300 hours in a large jet, probably just as big if not bigger than the planes your airline has, coming from a military background, where you know you have to at least be somewhat disciplined and have your **** together (especially in today's AF) who's been in tactical situations and probably under pressure quite a few times in their flying career?
I wouldn't have mentioned the military route, because it is a tough route, but since he mentioned joining the Navy, I figured I'd mention it. And since you mention it Informant, I can say that the "classmates" of yours that I spoke to, and that I know through other people, were all doing pretty well for themselves, whether it was flying heavy jets across oceans in the civilian world making well over $100K a year - with many earning a retirement check on top of that, or doing other jobs in the civilian world paying well over that. And all were happy with their current situations. But a lot of those guys went out there, worked hard for what they wanted, didn't expect things to be handed to them, and succeeded.
And what does the current White House tenant have to do with the college selection process :?:
But that's where the interview comes in. Obviously, you have to have a college degree to even apply for most of these jobs. If you're "bubble sheet" looks favorable, and you get called in for an interview, the fact that you got a degree knitting socks from Online American University will be there, and chances are that is going to stick out and they are going to ask you about it. I would bet the airlines want to see not only that you are committed to something, but that you challenged yourself and worked hard.What they are looking for is a completed degree, you can have a degree in anything like knitting socks.When you complete the 4 yrs it shows that you can stick with something, and they like commitment. Really on your interview the 'Do you have a college degree?' is a fill in the bubble question, not an essay.
Most regionals require a college degree in order to become a pilot, and most want between 700-1000+ hours of PIC, multi-engine time, before even considering you as an applicant. So that's probably not the best way to go, and probably wouldn't even happen...But as of now you should get those liscences first! Get a job on a regional then call up a college ask them how many credits you can get for being a pilot and do the online course. It will be easier and less expensive- Guaranteed.
What you have to realize is that there are trade-offs in everything. Going the civilian route is great because you aren't tied down to anything, you are free to do what you want, when you want to, and you can take as long as you want to get your stuff done. The trade-off is that it's VERY expensive and it's very tough making it up the chain until you can finally get a gig that puts enough money in your pocket AFTER all those loans you took to learn how to fly are paid off to live somewhat well.
The military route is great because you really do get a world-class flying education for free, if you can hack it and do well enough you can pretty much pick what you want to fly, and you will have a consistent, pretty-well paying job for as long as you pretty much desire, with no flying loans to payoff. Friend of mine, 26 years old, is flying C17s around the world, and making upwards of $70K a year. The trade-off is that it's very demanding, you aren't free to go do what you want when you want, you have a commitment, you may be deployed for 90 days or more, and you will probably have to move around every 3-4 years. You HAVE to want to do the military thing too - it's not one of those things where you can just be like "hmmm I guess I'll try this out"...
Anyway, hope that helps out a little more. No offense to you Informant, but I would take what you said with a grain of salt. Getting hired by anyone offering a good job these days isn't easy - especially when corporations are being sued left and right for negligence, for their employees doing stupid stuff or not being adequately trained or for corruption. Companies want to see credentials, that you worked hard and were committed to getting those, that you were/are disciplined and that you have real world experience.
I believe what it all comes down to is work ethic and attitude. Regardless of which way you go, if you have a good work ethic, and don't expect things to just fall in your lap, and don't get a big head and have a positive attitude and the drive to succeed, and can roll with the punches, you'll eventually make it.
Good luck again!
im tired all I will say now is that I fly about one trip a month, home to feed the cows and the kids and I still make over 180k without college would this be happening? no but when your just starting out you do it for experience after that the glory and then finally the paycheck.
went to the ARMY out of high school, went to Embry-Riddle in PRC while in the service. i trasferred to the College of Aeronautics (now Vaughn) and am there to this day. this yes is my last year and i can't get out of this school quick enough!! Riddle was a good school though the location could have been a lot better. i really don't have anything good to say about Vaugh.
it is mathematically impossible for either hummingbirds, or helicopters to fly. fortunately, neither are aware of this.
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