Expert: David A. NewMyer - 7/30/2010

Question
Looking to research the best college or university for aviation or aerospace for undergraduate BS degree.  My son is an incoming Senior in high school and I am trying to help him figure out the best schools to apply to.  I am an SIU alumni (Communications) and found the SIU school of aviation, but also wanted to explore other options.  He is currently working on a program for the summer at the Univ. of Chicago that will design a curriculum for high school astronomy course.

Answer
Hi, Ava:

Thanks for your question--from a fellow Saluki at that!  I will try to assist!

First of all, aviation or aerospace is quite a broad area, as you will see below by the general categories of aviation/aerospace employment available in the USA:

Aviation/Aerospace Manufacturing (civil, military and space):  641,100

Airlines (Major, National, Regional and all cargo)             620,526

General aviation (FBOs, corporate flight dept, MROs, etc)      638,000

Government (federal, state and local including FAA, TSA, etc)  175,048

TOTAL                                                         2,074,674

Of the above, approximately 225,000 or so are professional pilots and another 350,000 to 400,000 work in the aviation technician/maintenance field.  The rest do something else including aerospace engineering, airport management, airport planning, air traffic control, etc.

So, the question for you and your son to consider is:  What direction within aviation/aeropace is he interested in?  For example, is he thinking aerospace engineering (where he would be more on the design side of aircraft) or is he thinking of being a pilot or an aviation maintenance technician or an airport manager or what?

Perhaps he could think through the career options a bit more and then let me know via an additional quesiton what direction he might want to pursue.

In the meantime, there is a good guidebook out there for collegiate aviation programs entitled THE COLLEGIATE AVIATION GUIDE.  It is available from the University Aviation Association at www.uaa.aero or by calling 334-844-2434.  They accept credit card orders.

And, please send along another question via AllExperts.com at any time.

Best wishes,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu

PS  You might want to consider coming to Carbondale on one of our Aviation Career Days.  The next one is tentatively set for Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010....with American Airlines tentatively offering a free flight from Chicago O'Hare International to SIUC for the day (return that night to O'Hare).  For more information, www.aviation.siu.edu/careerdays