I am an 18 year old freshman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I choose this school because it is the “best” at what it does. I know the training I am receiving is top notch but it comes at a very big cost. I have been considering transferring to a Liberty University, a college very close to home that offers an aviation degeee and is also a Part 141 school. I have a friend back home who is going to community college and earning all of his ratings on his own. I really would like some expert opinions about my options here. What I am really trying to ask is; Will going to Embry-Riddle give me any advantage over going to another lesser known flight school?
Short answer is no. The Regionals need bodies and as long as you have the licenses, ratings and hours they couldn’t care less where you got your training. By the time you get to a Major they want to see a 4yr degree, a clean record, the hours and some nice letters of recommendations.
As long as we’re on the subject I have to be honest, I’ve never been a fan of aviation degrees. You can be a pilot at a Major with a degree in accounting but you can’t be an accountant with an aviation degree. “But Adam I don’t want to be an accountant (or a lawyer, doctor etc)!”. I get that and hopefully things will work out just fine but life doesn’t always go as planned. Suffer some medical issues, have an accident or incident or the industry takes a turn and it’s ALWAYS a good idea to have a Plan B. Just some food for thought.
Thank you for your quick reply. It was very informative and quite a relief to hear as well. I will definitely look into other degrees that may interest me. If there is any other advice you are willing to give to aspiring pilots, I would be more than happy to hear it.
Once again, thank you for your help and I wish you safety and fulfillment in your career.
Thank you for your kind wishes. I have to be honest, I’m feeling pretty fulfilled career wise these days
As for advice, I’m no salesman but if you look at the logo on the top of this forum it clearly says ATP. Now that doesn’t mean I have to “push” ATP, but it does mean that I’m a fan of their program. I’ve been very fortunate in my career and I attribute much of my success to ATP. When I decided to be a professional pilot I did a TON of research. What I came up with is there are certain key factors (at least to me). Length of the program, quality/reputation, MULTI ENGINE TIME and a plan to build time after. Of course like you I came across Riddle and no one can question the quality of their instruction nor their reputation. But I also know ALOT of Riddle grads who wished they hadn’t spent 4yrs and $200k to get trained when the ATP grads did it in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the price. We earned the same licenses and rating and ATP is as respected by the airlines as any school, including Riddle (I currently know a dozen Major airline Capts who have sent their children to ATP). Anyway ATP advert aside, as I said I’m not a fan of aviation degrees and I always recommend you work hard and do well in school (yes grades count) and then after dive in fulltime and do your flight training. ATP allowed me to check all the boxes I listed above. 9mos for everything, LOTS of multitime, and a guaranteed instructor job.
This is the route that worked for me but it’s definitely not the only one. Do your research and make the decision that’s best for you.
Welcome to the forums. I am personally not a fan of Embry Riddle or Liberty. I feel that Embry Riddle’s flight training prices are way out of line and Liberty is a whole different story with Jerry Falwell. Also, keep in mind that a school being part 61 or 141 makes absolutely no difference and no airline is ever going to ask or care which route you went.
I feel that I am stuck at a crossroads and I would like a little more insight and some expert opinions. By the end of this semester I will have my instrument rating and I have 3 or 4 options (that I can see) ahead of me. One would be to finish the school year and receive my commercial certificate next semester from Embry-Riddle and finish school there. Next, is that I could transfer to Liberty’s spring semester and get my commercial for a cheaper price and then finish school there. Third, I could do either one of those routes except instead of finishing school there, I switch to the ATP program and pursue a degree in something other than aviation (also I do not know how my previous training would transfer to the ATP program, if you have an idea please let me know). Last, I could not go to school next semester, pursue the ATP program and then go to another school and choose another major (I am leaning towards meteorology). I know that having a major that is strictly aviation can be dangerous, but also uprooting everything seems like a scary thought as well. I realize that this is on a very personal basis, but I would really appreciate any help at all. Thank you.
I’ve been following your thread. I agree with everything that Chris and
Adam have said thus far. In reference to your question, I have some advice.
I’m not in the Admissions Department. So, take this with a grain of salt.
At your level I would advise against ATP. Only a few of their locations
JUST offer individual ratings. ATP is designed to train students starting
from zero or private pilot all the way through CFI-SE, MEI and CFII. I
don’t know of anyone that has transferred to ATP with an instrument rating,
but…like I said, I don’t make those kinds of decisions. That’s kind of
beside the point though. I just wanted to mention that to hopefully help
make your decision easier by eliminating that option.
At the very least, stay in school. Finishing your degree should be your top
priority. You’re already at Riddle. Stay there. If you can’t afford it
anymore, with all due respect, that was poor planning. Learn from it and
move on.
Thank you for your insight. I may get in contact with ATP schools near where I live and see if they do offer training for specific certificates, just to be certain. If they do not, then I believe my decision should be clear.
Once again, thank you for your help. Best regards,
I just came across this thread and am curious to hear why you are not a fan of Liberty University? I ask only because I am a Liberty student, but haven’t started my flight training yet. I don’t want to spend the money on flight training here if it will work against me. I want to get a 4 year degree either way, but chose a degree in aviation because it is easier to fiance.
If you read the above thread we give a number of reasons why we don’t like aviation degrees in general and the fact the Liberty program is relatively new one. Not saying there’s anything specifically wrong with Liberty I’ve just yet to hear of a single success story.
Thanks! I did see why an aviation degree isn’t ideal, but I am almost 30 and think the degree route is what’s best for me, but understand where you are coming from. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t something with Liberty I didn’t know about.
I am not a fan of Jerry Falwell, the man that founded Liberty. He was a known racist and bigot. His son currently runs the school. Do some research into them when you have a chance.
