Hello, I’m Chris!
I’m 17 years old and in two months I’m going to be in my senior year. My goal is to fly for a major airline and I’ve been a big fan of ATP Flight School and want to apply to it. Though I don’t know if I should go to college first to earn a bachelors degree as I know major airlines prefer it, but does that affect my ability to gain seniority at all? I’m really just trying to find the fastest and efficient path to take.
Chris,
If you are in fact a “big fan of ATP” then you would know we always recommend college first. Always. You have no flight experience, no medical, and no life experience outside your home. While many people believe they want to be airline pilots, until you actually do any training you won’t know for certain nor will you know if you have any aptitude for it. What you do know is school and it’s best to continue, finish, get the box checked and also provide yourself with a backup should aviation not work out either by choice or circumstance.
To answer your question delaying training will most likely affect your seniority but so will not having a degree when it’s time to go to a Major. The difference is there’s no chance of you leaving HS, finding out its not really what you want but having min options and a huge loan.
Adam
I really appreciate your help. The plan has always been attend college to earn a degree that can be used as a Plan B, I just wanted to add some things up.
Chris,
The most efficient path would be to complete at least an associates degree first. Then do your flight training and once at a regional you finish the last two years to have a bachelors by the time you’re applying for the majors. This way you have some college experience to help prepare you for the rigors of the program, but you also get to a regional two years sooner.
Hannah
This sounds like a really good path to take and it might be what I’m looking for. I have a couple questions and I’m sorry if this one is a little unrelated, since I would already have an associates degree would it effect the cost of the bachelors degree or tuition? And how long does a pilot usually stay at a regional before applying to a major?
Chris,
Of course it would. In fact with credits from your Associates AND credits from your licenses and ratings you could complete your Bachelors in min time and with min cost. My only caveat with all this is while it is very efficient, going back and finishing school requires alot of discipline and some people get sidetracked. Just something to honestly access in yourself.
How long varies considerably. The standard was 3-5yrs but I’m hearing more and more that number is going down to less than 3 in many cases. Also a number of pilots are going to LCCs immediately and spending more time there. There are many paths and what’s happening today could look very different by the time you’re ready.
Adam
Thank you guys for the responses, I’ll think hard about how I’m going to do things, and I’ll work hard to have aviation as my future career.
Chris,
Please keep this information in mind:
Chris
Thank you, I’ve seen this page before and I read it again just in case. Sorry if I get anything wrong, but if I were to do one of these programs as a regional pilot would I have to have an associates degree in ONLY the field of aviation for credit to transfer toward the bachelors degree since they’re both degrees in aviation? And are these programs good for those who went straight into training and not college? It looks like a really fast way to get into regionals and still be able to obtain a bachelors for the majors.
Chris,
You will need to reach out to those individual colleges to ask about how they handle transfer credits from an associate’s degree, each college has their own policy.
Generally speaking, yes these programs are great for those that go straight to flight training and later need to finish a degree.
Chris
Chris continues to give great information throughout this forum. Thanks for all this. I see answers to all the questions as I go through the various topics. Based on the input, I think my son should at least get an associate degree before doing the ATP path.
Thanks to all for so much information.
Hello Mr.Borges,
I have been wondering how things are going for you since your question. What have you decided to do? I am here gathering information for my son.
Hello Mr. Lulley,
I personally have decided to acquire a bachelor’s degree first, before flight training. This is so I can have a strong backup in case aviation doesn’t work out for whatever reason. It’s also never bad to have, especially if your goal is to work at a major airline.
Chris,
Thanks
I think this is the general consensus among all the mentors, and it is fitting.
Appreciate.
Chris,
Great to hear from you, that’s superb you’re taking the bachelor’s degree route first. Are you studying anything fun?
Brady