Expert: David A. NewMyer - 12/23/2004

Question
Hello:  I have a son who is a Junior in High School and he has expressed an interest in going to college and becoming a professional pilot.  I have been researching this field and have some concerns and perhaps you can answer some basic questions. How do you pay for the flight training?  The cost of college plus flight training will be approx. 80,000 dollars.  The info I have gathered does not sound encouraging for flying jobs since most graduates begin as CFI's with very low pay.  I am also concerned that being a pilot will not go along with his wishes to have a family. We live near Kansas State University which has an aviation program but I am impressed with the University of North Dakota.  Do you have an opinion about either of these universities?  Any info would be helpful.  We will speak with both universities but, as you know, they are salesmen and have a program to sell.

Thanks, Duke Harmon

Answer
Mr. Harmon,

Nice to hear from you.  I will try to assist.  

Before I proceed, I want you to know that I work for another of the universities that offer flight training, Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  We have offered flight training here since 1960....

If you want to have an idea who else offers aviation flight related programs at the college level, there is a publication available entitled THE COLLEGIATE AVIATION GUIDE. The cost is about $25.  It is published by the University Aviation Association and they can be contacted at uaa@auburn.edu or at http://www.uaa.aero or by calling (334) 844-2434.  While I am not in the business of recommending one university aviation program over another, I can say that both Kansas State and the University of North Dakota have very good reputations in this field.  

When visiting these programs and any other related programs, it is a good idea to go into such visits with a prepared list of common questions that you will ask on ALL visits to all aviation schools.  These questions will include such things as:

1.  Size of the fleet of aircraft devoted to flight training and does the program have its own aircraft maintenance staff or do they contract it out?
2.  Number of students
3.  Degree programs offered and how are they structured
4.  Placement record
5.  Faculty qualifications--what is the faculty to student ratio and how many senior faculty work for the program (by senior, I mean Assistant Chief Flight Instructor Qualified....1500 flight hours or more, etc)
6.  Will students fly in their first semester?
7.  How quickly does the average student go through the flight program?
8.  How are flight check rides conducted in the program...does the program have the ability to conduct them all internally?
9.  Total costs for the program including tution, room and board, books, flight fees, flight-related supplies, and miscellaneous costs.
10.  Location of airport and transportation to the airport from campus.
AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU CAN THINK OF....

Once you begin making your visits, keep complete notes on the answers you get for each question from each school.  Then keep an overall spread sheet of the answers by school for later comparison.  This will allow your son to approach the selection of the school in an organized manner.

With regard to paying for aviation programs, the University Aviation Association also publishes the COLLEGIATE AVIATION SCHOLARSHIP LISTING, also for about $25.  It lists about $1.4 million in aviation-related scholarships and also has some information on loan programs.  However, your best bet on financial aid and loans is to first apply for general financial aid via www.fafsa.org  which provides a FREE financial aid application process.  Your son's high school guidance counselor should have more information on FAFSA.

Also, consult this website for more aviation-related financial aid and scholarship information:  www.avscholars.com

As far as the job market, I am sure you are seeing the bad news from the so-called "Legacy Airlines" such as United, USAirways and ATA.  The bankruptcies at these airlines have given the news media lots of bad news to write and talk about.  Yes, it is truly bad news, but, there is still lots of pilot hiring going on, especially for younger pilots.  The regional airlines flying regional jet equipment are, in fact, hiring like crazy because they are currently picking up lots of routes that the larger, older "legacy" airlines are no longer able to fly due to the costs involved...especially in flying to smaller markets.  For example, here at SIUC, we are working on a so-called "Bridge Agreement" for hiring with American Eagle Airlines, the largest of the Regional Airlines.  It allows our students to be hired by them with 500 hours of total Pilot in Command (PIC) flight time with 100 hours of Multi Engine time.  Admittedly, the salaries at such airlines are not what they are at legacy airlines.....Delta, until their recent contract re-negotiation, had paid their top pilots around $360,000 a year.  That salary is now down below $300,000....Large regional airlines like American Eagle now pay their Captains with ten years of experience six figures (right at $100,000).  And, those salaries will go up slowly over time....

In addition to flying for airlines, there is also the Corporate and Business Aviation flying world where your son might find a position flying for a Corporate Flight Department.  Those salaries average $150,000 to $200,000 a year for senior captains and heads of flight departments....they would have had to have been with their departments for ten years or longer to make such salaries.

You are right in that the lifestyle of a pilot is a transient one and one where not a lot of money is made early in a pilot's career.  But, that can be said of a number of career fields.  I guess the key thing to ask anyone as they consider career fields is "is this something you really love to do?"  If at any point he no longer loves it, then, he has his answer.  That desire to work at something you really like to go to work to do makes all the difference, as I am sure you know.

Yes, and as far as salesmen are concerned, watch out for the salesmen at both University of North Dakota and at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (if you decide to consider them).  While ALL of us are salesmen, they have some of the more "over the top" sales people in collegiate aviation.  Good programs, but, lots of sales talk too.  Just keep asking questions to get to the information that your son wants to use in making his college choice.

Best wishes to you and your son.  This should be a fun process and I hope it turns out that way for you!

Sincerely,

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