I’m currently a Junior in High School (16 yrs old) and have wanted to be an airline pilot for as long as I can remember. My dad has agreed to pay for my PPL training as long as I maintain good grades. We plan on beginning the PPL training next summer and having it completed by winter. Afterward, we’ll rent planes or fly with pilots from a local EEA chapter until I turn 18 in the spring. That’s when things are getting confusing for me.
I talk to pilots as much as I can and I know I need and I want a college degree. I was planning on attending Western Michigan. Many of the pilots I talk to have suggested I skip the first semester of College and attend a flight school and obtain all my ratings including the Instructors rating. Once I get done with the course, then worry about the college degree and get a degree in business not aviation, because the business degree will be better to fall back on. Do you agree that I should put off college and do the accelerated course to get my ratings or should I go right to school and get my degree and a minor in business? I can then try to get a job as an instructor near the college or be an instructor at ATP and get a degree locally (Chicago area). They say getting all the rating done first is the best way to start working toward my 1500 hours and that going directly to college will put me behind when I graduate.
I’m asking now because this is the year I’m supposed to visit schools and apply next summer. My head is kind of spinning with which route I should go. Any help would really be great.
I don’t know why your head is spinning? This is not a decision you need to make for at least 2yrs and at that point things will surely be clearer.
Meanwhile everyone has an opinion but I respectfully disagree with putting off college. You should definitely go to college and def earn a degree in something other than aviation as a backup. There is no reason however to delay school. You’re very young and you need to do well on school and focus on that. Afterwards you can finish the rest of your training and focus on building time. This is not a race.
Btw unless you train at ATP you cannot instruct for ATP.
I understand that the fastest path to the airlines is moat likely to do as you are saying, go right to flight training after college and then work on a degree later. However, that is not in my humble opinion the best path. I am a firm believer in finishing college right after high school and then working on your ratings. A few things to think about here: 1) it is easier to stay in “school mode” and just go from high school to college, it is a natural transition. It is much harder to go back to college after being in the workforce, it seems that so many people just continue to put it off because other things get in the way. 2) if you are trying to flight instruct while also being enrolled in college, you might find that many flight schools will not be willing to hire a part time CFI. 3) if you get your ratings, then go back to focus on college and do no fly much, you will likely find that your aviation knowledge becomes stale very quickly.
I recommend college, then going to an accelerated flight training program immediately after college.
Thanks for getting back to me. I really appreciate your opinion. I was looking forward to going to college, getting my degree and working on becoming a pilot. I’m glad to hear that you think remaining in school is the best route to go because that was my preference. When I was thinking about the flight school route, it seemed like it would be kind of difficult to get flying hours while maintaining my school grades when I went back to school. Thanks again for your help.
Thanks for getting back to me. I really appreciate your thoughts. I showed it to my dad and he said you have an excellent point. He told me that with his previous career, he was able to start working during High School. When he graduated he took time off from school to concentrate on his job and went back for his college degree the following spring. He said he lasted two weeks because he lost all interest in it. I was looking forward to college and that was my first choice. After hearing from you and Adam, I’m pretty confident I’ll keep the original plan.