ATP and school while in the regionals?

Hey all,

I’ve been working the ramp for one of the majors for a few years now and am eager to get in the cockpit. I have flown with a friend who is doing part 141 currently and thoroughly enjoyed it. Currently I am doing research into ATP and I like what I see thus far. I have financing secured, however my dilemma is not having a college degree, not even my AA. How feasible is it to knock out school while at the regionals. I am 27 so I’d like to get my seniority date as soon as possible. Any insight to a process along these lines would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Nick

Nick,

That really depends on you. I know many pilots who got their degrees while at the Regionals and many who tried and just couldn’t seem to buckle down and do it. If you have the discipline it certainly can be done but you have to put in the time and the effort.

Adam

Appreciate the quick response. In your professional opinion what would be the best way to go about gaining all the education requirements?

Nick,

There are some online aviation degree programs that will give you college credit for your licenses and ratings. If it were me I’d do some research into one of those as it could probably save you some time and money.

Adam

Copy that, thanks for the info. I’ve recently read about liberty university offering credit for flight training. Will do more research into that avenue.

https://atpflightschool.com/airline-career-pilot-program/college-credit.html

You should contact ATP directly for more information.

Nick,

Getting an online college degree while at the regionals is absolutely possible to do and in fact many before you have done it. I would recommend looking into Utah Valley University.

Chris

Requested info from them earlier today. Very intriguing. Thanks for the help!

Nick,
I’m currently a student at ATP and I plan on finishing up my degree while at a regional. I’ll add that for me, that pay bump from regional to major is enough to push me to finish that degree two times if I had to. Since we are on the topic I do have a question for the Mentors and anyone with this experience that I’ve been wondering about; once at a regional, i understand that you don’t have the most favorable schedule so being that i have seen @Chris mention how a face to face lecture is more valuable than online courses. I wonder if a classroom lecture is possible and if there is any idea how this would be achievable without having to miss classes.

Ankel,

As a newhire, whether it be at a Regional or Major, you don’t have the best schedule but as you gain seniority (which you can relatively quickly at the Regionals) you will have much greater control over schedule and life. The problem is if you wait till the point when you can actually do classroom learning you may be delaying your degree beyond the point where you could/should be applying to a Major.

So while eventually it might be possible to actually take classes, timeframe wise you’ll probably be better served studying online.

Adam

Ok thanks Adam, that makes more sense I’ll plan on online courses which I have no problem with.

Nick,

While I would absolutely prefer in person classes, you have to do what you have to do and an online degree will work just fine.

Chris

Thanks Chris, will do.

An Associate degree is minimum requirement for starting with ATP training, right?

I didn’t think you needed a degree to fly commercially. It is a plus though.

ATP requires two year of college, two years of work experience, or a private pilot license to enroll in the program.

I would have to agree with what Chris said, I graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelors degree in Aviation Management. For the better most part of the degree, most of my classes were only offered ONLINE.