Expert: D. Norkus - 2/26/2008

Question
Hi, my name is Justin Hall and I知 an aspiring Pilot. I chose to contact you because you seem to be the most knowledgeable in the areas that I have questions about. I live in Atlanta, Georgia and I am familiar with most aviation schools around Georgia. I am currently looking at a well know school called ATP (Airline Transport Professionals). I知 considering getting both my Private and Airline Transport licenses from their facilities. Their programs run at $55,000 for an Airline Transport certificate and $9,000 for a private license. All together it would cost me about $64,000. I知 not sure if this is high or low for pilot training.  Any feedback on the choice in school or the prices would be greatly appreciated.  I also have a question about aviation degrees. I知 looking into getting a degree in Aviation Science, but I知 having an extreme hard time finding schools in Georgia that offer this degree program.  The reason why I really want to go to a school in Georgia is because Georgia has a scholarship program called the HOPE scholarship for outstanding students who maintain a 3.0 or higher in school. I would greatly appreciate any knowledge on schools that offer ANY type of aviation degrees.  If possible can you recommend any flight schools and or colleges that are in Florida in case Georgia colleges have nothing much going on? My last question is about scholarships. I see that you can answer questions about scholarships. Right now I知 looking into getting as many scholarships as possible; I know they池e out there, but having a hard time trying to find them. If possible can you please provide any info that you have so that I can look into them? Thank you so much for your time, and I look forward to your response

P.S. Sorry, I forgot to mention, when I become a pilot, how does the "moving up the chain" process work. I know you can start as a pilot and become an avaion manager, but ehat next and after that? Thank-You

--Justin Hall


Answer
Justin

1) Flight School/ ATP
I have no personal experience with flight schools. I did all my flight training via a flying clubs in California. Quite often a flying club is a more cost efficient option for flight training, providing you have a good one in your area. Here is a listing of clubs in Georgia
http://www.landings.com/evird.acgi$pass*100772774!_h-www.landings.com/_landings/...

I have had some co-workers that attended ATP though, and they were very happy with their experience. I really suggest going directly to their grads for a first hand opinion of the school. Their website has a message board where you can post messages with a 'mentor' pilot who can tell you all about their experience:

http://www.beanairlinepilot.com/


2) Degree Programs

Know that you do NOT have to have a degree in aviation to become a pilot. In fact, some advise to get a degree in somthing else in case there is ever a time when you are laid off or "furloughed" during your airline career. (I was furloughed right after being hired in 2001 and had to find other work for 2 years before getting recalled.)
Read this link for more on that subject- http://www.jetcareers.com/content/view/22/44/

As far as where you may get an aviation degree in Georgia, you can find a list of schools with aviation programs from the University Aviation Association-  
http://www.uaa.aero/sitefiles/uaa/resourcebin/CurrentMbrList_Inst.pdf

Apparently, Middle Georgia College is the only one in GA with an aviation program from what I can see-
http://www.gavtc.org
As far as recommending a flight school or university in FL or GA, I really can't as I have no experience with such institutions there. Sure, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical in in FL, but I would not recommend going there to become a pilot. (It is about $100,000 for a bachelors degree for a job that starts out at $20,000.)

I suggest these pilot message boards where there are a lot of topics already posted on schools iin those locations

http://forums.flightinfo.com
&
http://forums.jetcareers.com

You can search by name or state or post your own questions.

4)Scholarships

Yes, it is hard to find aviation scholarships. I keep track of many awards, unfortunately almost all are for females only. I suggest these links for finding some scholarship resources:

http://www.flightscholarship.info (my page)
http://wwwavscholars.com

5) "moving up" the chain

A pilot starts their career in a small flying job like towing banner, flying skydivers or flight instructing in small aircraft. Once they get some experience they can move on up to a regional airline (or corporate flying), and then the major airlines. For an in depth explaination please visit my website http://www.pilotcareer.info

If you still need to know more, let me know!
Dottie
3)