I know that most believe that you should complete college before attending ATP but I was wondering how many people attended ATP without getting a bachelors degree?
Also for airlines who prefer degrees can it be an associates degree or does it have to be a bachelors degree?
TIA
Gavin,
Of the many thousands of students that attend ATP there’s no way of knowing how many had degrees or not as it’s not a requirement.
What’s more telling (and Hannah can attest to) is that virtually all the pilots on her newhire class had 4yr degrees.
Finally the question on the Major airline application is do you have a 4yr degree? A 2yr degree isn’t even a consideration.
Adam
I do not have my 4 year degree. I’m just going back and forth with myself on whether or not I should start ATP now or get my degree first and start around 2026 at ATP after doing my degree.
Gavin,
As a general rule we all agree people should complete their educations before doing their training. HOWEVER, this is a personal decision and one only you make for yourself.
At some point you’re going to want to have that 4yr degree and many pilots get theirs when they’re flying for Regionals. Thing is many also find it very difficult to accomplish this after they’ve already started flying. You need to be honest with yourself and decide what’s best for you based on your abilities and work ethic.
Adam
Thanks for the comment, Adam. I truly believe that I can get my degree at the regionals based on my work ethic!
Gavin,
Make sure you take a look at the program prerequisites on the ATP website. If you don’t have a degree, make sure you satisfy one of those requirements instead. Typically the degree is preferred because the airline career pilot program is incredibly accelerated and having solid study skills and time management from college directly translates to program success.
You may be able to get to a regional without it but a major is a complete question mark depending on the hiring environment at the time.
Hannah
Gavin,
No airline (or hardly any other company for that matter) regard an associate’s degree as an actual degree. Think of it as a half way there certificate.
Chris