No college degree= No Job?

1) You can't take the ATP written until you have met all the qualifications for the rating, including 1,500 hours minimum. You also don't "sit in the left seat and get your ATP". It's the other way around, even with a regional. You get your ATP and then, if you're captain material and you have enough seniority, then you sit in the left seat.

2) Due to the present economy, if things go back to the way ithey were in the 80's and 90's (very likely) , you'll need a lot more than 700 hours to get on with a regional carrier. Back then, 1,500 - 2,000 hours was typical for a new hire. I think we'll see that again for awhile, but since you're only 14 things should be on the upswing by the time you're ready.

3) A college degree doesn't necessarily make you a better pilot, but it does show a potential employer that you have at least some brains, you are probably trainable, and you'll probably get through the intense studying without washing out. If you don't have a degree, you're an unknown quantity and you'd better have a spotless record and a history of steady employment with little job hopping. Figure on building 8,000 - 10,000 hours before the majors will look at you if you don't have a Bachelor's degree. Perhaps less if you have lots of multi-engine turbine pilot-in-command experience, or substantial time in high gross weight aircraft.

4) The way most major airline hiring works is sort of like this: an application has a series of questions and each answer is worth 'X' amount of points. Your answers are scored by a computer. A real person of any importance in the hiring process doesn't read your resume until you get past the computer scoring stage. Hypothetical example: ATP? Yes? 10 points. Written only? 2 points. Two year degree? 5 points. Four year degree? 20 points. Add 1 points per 200 hours flight time. Add 1 additional point for each 200 hours multi engine time, and another point for each 200 hours turbine time, and another point if it is in aircraft over 50,000 pounds. Type rating? add 5 points. Etc. Etc. Lets say their interview threshold is 100 points. If you don't have the four year degree, you can make up the deficit with an extra 4,000 hours (about 4 years of full time flying). It's not exactly like that, but this illustrates my point about how it basically works.

5) You generally get to know the "right people" by working with them in an aviation environment.

Does a college degree make somebody a better pilot? Depends what you mean by "better pilot". Being a great pilot is about 20% skill and 80% attitude. The "skill" part comes with experience. The starting point for judging skill and experience is the logbook. The "attitude" part is a lot harder to judge, but it is the most important part.

What all is involved with the "attitude" part of being a pilot? Being safety-oriented is a big part. This means continually learning. Read the aircraft manual. Research accident reports. Dig into FAA publications. Take training seriously. Don't take shortcuts.

What does a college degree have to do with this? It's a starting point. It shows that you are serious about learning. It shows that you have the skills needed to get into college and meet the minimum requirements to earn a degree. It shows that you have taken initiative to learn more than the bare minimum requirement. Just like a logbook doesn't tell the whole story of how skilled you are as a pilot, a degree doesn't tell the whole story about your attitude, but they are both starting points.

Another part of "attitude" is how well you get along with others. Being a professional pilot is being a team player. Are you the kind of person that somebody would want to be with for four days straight? Would you contribute to the overall safety and image of a company? How does your attitude contribute to the overall image of the profession?

Much of that can be answered by people you know. That's where the networking comes in. Don't worry too much about that right now. All that means is that as you build experience, have you earned the respect of those around you? If you have 6,000 hours but don't have anybody to vouch for your character, you are probably an isolationist. Not good. But if you have 6,000 hours and have a lot of contacts in the industry, that's a good thing. Some of networking is just luck of being in the right place at the right time, but much of it is just being the kind of person that others want to know. If you exhibit the attitudes I have mentioned, this will come naturally.

Getting hired for any job requires a combination of qualifications. Unless a degree of some kind is required by law for the job, the absence of a degree is not an absolute obstacle to getting the job, and in some cases it may not be factored in at all.

You don't need a college degree to be qualified to fly an airplane, so the lack of a degree is no absolute obstacle to getting a job as a pilot. However, individual employers may be more or less worried about college degrees. In general, the greater the supply of pilots in relation to the demand, the more likely employers are to insist on college degrees to help sort through the candidates; but when pilots are few and positions are many, the need for a degree evaporates.

The major value to a degree is that it may give you knowledge or skills that will help you to find a useful job if for some reason you cannot become a pilot.

Also, writing skills are at least as important to many employers (albeit perhaps not airlines) as a college degree, so watch your typos.

The overwhelming majority of airlines require a four-year degree even to be considered. This means you will not even be granted an interview without one, much less get hired.

But there is a difference between "published" minimums and "competitive" minimums. You will not get interviewed unless you have the published minimum experience. However, there are other people applying for the same job you are applying for. The more experienced ones will tend to get hired more easily. You may need to have several thousand hours more than the required number of hours in order to be considered competitive.

Reference www.aviationinterviews.com for more information on required and competitive minimums various airlines.

You will not be disqualified if you do not have a college degree, but the vast majority of airlines will look at someone with a degree before they consider someone without, even if the person with a degree has less time.

I wouldn't worry about it too much though. By your timeline you would have several years of getting to know people who will be moving up to the majors ahead of you, so by the time you get ready to step up to the majors, you should know some people who will be able to put in a good word for you.

Its possible, I mean Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to break the sound barrier and he had no college degree, well he joined the USAF and got his education there but you never know. One thing I know is that math is very important to know if you want to be a pilot. Just don't give up trying to be a pilot. If you got a dream, you should go and get it. Work hard, study well, get those grades up, and you never know what you could accomplish.

Get your degree(secondary skill) as a fall back just in case you can't fly(**** can and does happen). It's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. I suggest getting your A&P ticket, that way if you can't fly for some reason you can still be in aviation.

no degree doesn't = no job, but no flying job + no degree/back up skills = rough times

Broadcasting is hard to get into from what I've heard. Try getting on with a station as desk help and getting to know the people who can give you a break. You should be over-qualified to be a secretary or research person, and it would get your foot in the door.

it would be nearly impossible to get a job, even in a regional, without a college degree. Also, what happens if you can't get an FAA medical in the fist class? Now you can't be a pilot and you don't have enough education to get another job that would support a family.

best of luck to you