Women Pilots? College Majors? GPA Requirements?

Hi, My name is Grace
For a long while I’ve been unsure of what I want to do in the future. I’ve always loved Physics, Engineering, and Foreign Languages, but I could never find a career that really felt right. I pondered med school for awhile but being stuck in one place all my life (as well as the atrocious amount of student debt) doesn’t really seem appealing to me. I love to travel, and here recently I saw a news article about a female pilot. I have NEVER in my life seen a female pilot flying, and apparently it’s not too common. Since then thoughts of becoming a pilot have been plaguing my mind, it seems like a good fit to my interests. So my question is: Is it possible for any female to become a pilot, or do they have to be extraordinary/ top of their class?

Another question is that I found that a lot of places recommend a bachelors degree. A university that I applied to has an aerospace engineering program in its school of Engineering. If I am able to go down this path would it be wise to major in aerospace engineering or another science I’m passionate about, like Physics? Also: how important is GPA to people becoming pilots (since I hear engineering programs are a real GPA killer)?

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Grace,

A woman needs to meet the same qualifications as a man. There is no need to be at the top of the class, or possess special skills, they simply need to meet the same qualifications that anybody else does.

I do not know of any airlines that publish a minimum GPA, but they certainly must look at it at some point in their selection process. I personally would stay away from a program that is a known GPA killer, especially if you do not intend to use the degree in your line of work.

Chris

Grace,

While there are certainly more male than female pilots, there are quite a few female pilots in the industry. As Chris said the industry does not discriminate against anyone. The requirements are the requirements regardless of gender, race, religion etc.

If you aspire to fly for a Major you will need a BA degree but the field of study is up to you and need not be aerospace or anything else aviation related. I will tell you ANY program can be a “GPA Killer” if you don’t do the work. I would also caution you while you don’t need a top GPA, aviation training itself is far from easy. It you would shy away from a particular field of study because you don’t believe you can do well, what makes you think you would be successful in flight training? It’s not Art Appreciation.

Adam