Expert: D. Norkus - 12/13/2006

Question
I am going to be going to college to become a pilot in one year and I was wondering if, when hiring, do employers care what school you went to or if you have a bachelors or associates degree? Does it matter weather you went to a expensive college or university compared to a flight school?I have heard that Embry Riddle in Florida and Arizona are the best schools to go to for a degree in pilots is that true? What is the chance that you would be hired at a big airline company right out of college, or training, and be able to fly internationally?

Answer
1) Do employers care what school you went to or if you have a bachelors or associates degree?

No, they do not care where you went to school nor what major your degree is in. In fact, many suggest getting as non-aviation degree to fall back on in case you ever get laid off as a pilot. However, airlines do care if you have a degree. You must have a degree, in any subject matter, to be competitive for an airline job in todays job market.

2)Does it matter weather you went to a expensive college or university compared to a flight school?
A university/college is for your education and pilot certificates while a flight school only for your pilot certificates. Where you attend does not matter but you will need a degree plus the required flight time, not just your pilots certificates, to get hired.

3)I have heard that Embry Riddle in Florida and Arizona are the best schools to go to for a degree in pilots is that true?
Yes, ERAU is a very good school but you will definately pay for it. They are one of the most expensive ways to go.  Their 4 year program will cost you upwards of $80-$100K. You also do not graduate with enough flight time to get hired by the regional airlines (1,000 flight hours) so you must still build up experiene just like everyone else who went to the local flight school and local coillege. Read more about pilots and degrees at the Jetcareers.com website- http://www.jetcareers.com and see the "education" tab on the left habd sidebar.

4)What is the chance that you would be hired at a big airline company right out of college, or training, and be able to fly internationally?

In the USA? You are not even qualified to be hired at a regional/commuter airline, much less a major airline,  directly out of flight school or collegh as you do not have their requitse flight time. As I mentioned, the regionals want at least 1,000 hours of flight experience and the majors want several thousand. After finishing flight school and/or college, you will need to build up your flight experience substantially before you can apply to any airline as typically you will only have about 350 hours.

Read more about training and what is required to get hired at my website- http://www.geocites.com/av8trxx99/FAQ/html
I suggest reading it plus all the links at the bottom of the page as it seems you still need a lot of background career information. Again, the Jetcareers page as a whole will also be of great insight.

Hope this helps.