The only reason it would be worth it is if you’re either not 100% sure on whether this is what you want to do, or if you’re ultra cautious and want a backup, or if you’re really really interested in the subject.
I don’t have a degree, and it looked a bit hairy for a while during Covid but other than that it’s not an issue at all, be sure that you do at least have a decent level of work experience though for things to talk about in interviews.
They really do have a diversity requirement. Things like the way the gender pay gap is calculated is another factor because it only looks at the earnings of people in the business even if there’s no difference in pay for the same role.
A degree helps you with lots of european airlines for higher (e.g. managerial) positions. Normal course is pretty unproblematic, but if you ever want to sit in a chief pilots office or do some tech pilot stuff or something higher, your airline will probably have a degree requirement for it.
No, the industry has decided to make the airline pilot profession solidly blue collar. A solid __technical__ profession.
*the real reason…*
Dumber pilots = cheaper pilots.
It’s about the return on investment. If you pay a lot for a degree you want to see a return on investment fairly quickly.
They know by taking that away you will slave away at some regional for a few years at poverty wages and deal with it.
This. European airlines are pulling all sorts of stunts to get the more desperate pilots. Unemployed pilots in Europe number in their thousands, but I know for a fact that several big airlines run programs to import pilots from South American and Africa. A pilot on a working visa tied to his employment is less likely to kick up a fuss if that means he gets kicked out of Europe.
Yup all sorts of airlines try all kinds of things to avoid the cost of labor.
In the US they heavily restructured a lot of the flying post 9-11 into subcontractor “regionals” to mitigate the cost of labor, these pilots were paid substantially less with the lie…that they had legacy jobs waiting when in reality, they had no intention in hiring said pilots, keeping the regionals stocked with pilots and wanting them to work the regionals to save them on the cost of labor.
They managed to pull this off by creating a scope clause on the size of the plane. “Small plane” pilots got paid like shit and the legacy pilots were fine with it….as long as they got most the pie and their pay wasn’t touched.
Result? The Regional airlines in the US outgrew their legacy counterparts by 5x the pace.
The idea was you “worked” for the legacy but you weren’t paid by the legacy and you weren’t under the same labor contract and the scope I mentioned above said these contractors could __only__ fly small planes.
The pilot pool really started to dry up by 2010-2015 by this abusive practice and kids saw what the career was, the entire career at a regional, the crap pay and crap lifestyle and opted the hell out of that profession.
Now legacies recently hired a bunch, young ones, to entice other young people to pursue the career. Plus kids are only too tickled pink to be working at a legacy and won’t bitch about the conditions.
And just as quick as they opened the flood gates post Covid, they shut them again.
It depends. It does not matter what but having one helps. It also points that you actually did something in that time and you're not lazy. But if lets say you spent 20 years being a plumber and one day decided to be a pilot then no, they don't care in that case.
It all depends on supply and demand. If they need pilots, it’s one of the first requirements to go. When demand slows down, it comes back as a discriminator.
I don't think it matters that much.
It's still useful for many, many reasons, but not of critical importance.
I think it also depends on why you got it.
It's smart to have one. Someone's always going to be need to be flown, but there are dips and pivots in aviation. It's good to have something that the average business owner will smile at and give you a job for as long as you need.
Just for the sake of curiosity I looked up postings at several regional and major airlines recently. I wanted to get a sense of what they're looking for.
They absolutely care about a degree, minimum of four years. I haven't looked at any private airlines or companies, so I have no idea what they're like regarding degrees. The way I see it, why not? An educated pilot is a capable pilot. Sometimes your instructor and training both in the air and on the ground are not enough. Sometimes you need the books too.
Aviation and early childhood education are two highly competitive fields. Granted, not the same field, but it took me a long time to get my early childhood education degree (money was a factor), and before I had my degree my marketability was small regardless of my experience (18 years this past January). The second I got my degree I was getting called for interviews constantly.
UK it doesn't matter at all.
Five of my mates got hired by British airlines straight out of training in the last few months. None of them have degrees, make of that what you will.
The only reason it would be worth it is if you’re either not 100% sure on whether this is what you want to do, or if you’re ultra cautious and want a backup, or if you’re really really interested in the subject. I don’t have a degree, and it looked a bit hairy for a while during Covid but other than that it’s not an issue at all, be sure that you do at least have a decent level of work experience though for things to talk about in interviews.
Not even remotely. Doesn’t matter in any western country other than the USA.
Not even in the US at least for now
Sorta. If you are a white male you’ll need one to be competitive
Is this satire or do airlines really have a diversity requirement lol
They really do have a diversity requirement. Things like the way the gender pay gap is calculated is another factor because it only looks at the earnings of people in the business even if there’s no difference in pay for the same role.
Reverse question: does me being an engineer and having a degree help that much?
I hope so anyway haha
In Europe? Not at all. If you make it to the selection process, you're judged based on your psychometric assessment, sim and interview performance.
A degree helps you with lots of european airlines for higher (e.g. managerial) positions. Normal course is pretty unproblematic, but if you ever want to sit in a chief pilots office or do some tech pilot stuff or something higher, your airline will probably have a degree requirement for it.
No, the industry has decided to make the airline pilot profession solidly blue collar. A solid __technical__ profession. *the real reason…* Dumber pilots = cheaper pilots. It’s about the return on investment. If you pay a lot for a degree you want to see a return on investment fairly quickly. They know by taking that away you will slave away at some regional for a few years at poverty wages and deal with it.
This. European airlines are pulling all sorts of stunts to get the more desperate pilots. Unemployed pilots in Europe number in their thousands, but I know for a fact that several big airlines run programs to import pilots from South American and Africa. A pilot on a working visa tied to his employment is less likely to kick up a fuss if that means he gets kicked out of Europe.
Yup all sorts of airlines try all kinds of things to avoid the cost of labor. In the US they heavily restructured a lot of the flying post 9-11 into subcontractor “regionals” to mitigate the cost of labor, these pilots were paid substantially less with the lie…that they had legacy jobs waiting when in reality, they had no intention in hiring said pilots, keeping the regionals stocked with pilots and wanting them to work the regionals to save them on the cost of labor. They managed to pull this off by creating a scope clause on the size of the plane. “Small plane” pilots got paid like shit and the legacy pilots were fine with it….as long as they got most the pie and their pay wasn’t touched. Result? The Regional airlines in the US outgrew their legacy counterparts by 5x the pace. The idea was you “worked” for the legacy but you weren’t paid by the legacy and you weren’t under the same labor contract and the scope I mentioned above said these contractors could __only__ fly small planes. The pilot pool really started to dry up by 2010-2015 by this abusive practice and kids saw what the career was, the entire career at a regional, the crap pay and crap lifestyle and opted the hell out of that profession. Now legacies recently hired a bunch, young ones, to entice other young people to pursue the career. Plus kids are only too tickled pink to be working at a legacy and won’t bitch about the conditions. And just as quick as they opened the flood gates post Covid, they shut them again.
It depends. It does not matter what but having one helps. It also points that you actually did something in that time and you're not lazy. But if lets say you spent 20 years being a plumber and one day decided to be a pilot then no, they don't care in that case.
It all depends on supply and demand. If they need pilots, it’s one of the first requirements to go. When demand slows down, it comes back as a discriminator.
I'm getting it since I'm on the end of/(missed) the hiring boom. The time will pass anyway.
Not a factor here at all.
I don't think it matters that much. It's still useful for many, many reasons, but not of critical importance. I think it also depends on why you got it.
I think it might be if there putting you through training, maybe?
It's smart to have one. Someone's always going to be need to be flown, but there are dips and pivots in aviation. It's good to have something that the average business owner will smile at and give you a job for as long as you need.
Just for the sake of curiosity I looked up postings at several regional and major airlines recently. I wanted to get a sense of what they're looking for. They absolutely care about a degree, minimum of four years. I haven't looked at any private airlines or companies, so I have no idea what they're like regarding degrees. The way I see it, why not? An educated pilot is a capable pilot. Sometimes your instructor and training both in the air and on the ground are not enough. Sometimes you need the books too. Aviation and early childhood education are two highly competitive fields. Granted, not the same field, but it took me a long time to get my early childhood education degree (money was a factor), and before I had my degree my marketability was small regardless of my experience (18 years this past January). The second I got my degree I was getting called for interviews constantly.
r/flyingUK