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Thread: Aviation Colleges

  1. #11
    Auburntsts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Antique Tower View Post
    I am an aerospace engineering graduate of Auburn University. Did all my flying on the side.

    Aero Eng is a good degree to have - but I agree with Jim that some diversity is nice too.
    Another Auburn Grad here, except I was an Aviation Management major which at the time was part of the School of Engineering but is now part of the School of Business. The Department of Aviation and Supply Chain Management offers 3 programs: Aviation Management, Professional Flight Management, and Supply Chain Management. http://www.auburn.edu/student_info/b...n/business.pdf
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  2. #12
    Eric Page's Avatar
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    Ryan,

    Definitely listen to the advice you're getting here about skills diversification. My airline employer has furloughed more than 500 pilots in the last few years, and many of them have had serious trouble paying their bills with no other skills/knowledge to fall back on (I've just been lucky; I had enough seniority to avoid furlough, so I didn't have to put my Humanities degree to the test!).

    I have a distant relative who's 4-5 years ahead of you and was in a collegiate flight program. He recently had some very serious heart-related health problems that may ground him permanently. You never know when serious health problems or injuries could strike, so be prepared to survive by doing something else.

    Best of luck. It sounds like there are several airline guys on here and I'm sure any of us would be happy to answer any questions you have.
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  3. #13

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    It surprises me that no one yet has suggested the United States Air Force Academy. Hard to beat the tuition, if you can get in

    Tim

  4. #14
    MLents's Avatar
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    Where you go will depend on your interests. If you are looking at being a pilot, I recommend the University of North Dakota. I have both my Bachelors and Masters in Aviation from UND. As many have mentioned, the airline industry can be challenging, but don't limit your sights to airlines. Many of my colleagues are flying for corporations and UAS companies as well as ATC. UND is a liberal arts university with degree programs in education, law, medicine, engineering, psychology, etc.

    If you are looking specifically at engineering, UND does have an aerospace focus, but the engineering program at ERAU is excellent. I also have a friend that graduated from Florida Institute of Technology and worked for a contractor at NASA. A fellow UND engineering graduate went straight to Boeing after graduating.

    I wouldn't worry specifically about getting "stuck" with an aviation degree if that's the field you want to get into. I know plenty of people in all fields that find their calling outside their degree, but succeed by applying the professionalism and skills they learned earning it.

    I'm pulling for UND, but I've heard great things about SIU and the other schools mentioned. Good Luck!

  5. #15
    Thanks for all the information guys! I totally agree with you all about being diversified in my degrees. I live about an hour South of the UPS Worldport Hub in Louisville, KY. I have several friends that work there with the aircraft. One of them is a avionics technician which I think would be a pretty cool job also. I have considered going into a job working with the planes at UPS, but not specifically a pilot. Any ideas on other jobs like this would also be greatly appreciated. I had thought about doing the job at UPS, then if I had time to also try to fly with a smaller charter company or something similar, where I would still get to fly, meet people, and get paid to do it.

    Thanks again for all the information. As I am trying to narrow down my future career and colleges, any information I can get is useful and this is the best you can get, from people like you all!

  6. #16
    Matt Gonitzke's Avatar
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    Something else I don't think anyone has mentioned is becoming an A&P mechanic...the pay is pretty good, and you'll be able to work with your hands and directly with airplanes. That's a 2-year degree you can do almost anywhere. Something else I forgot to mention is for an engineering degree, you need pretty strong math skills. If that isn't your strong suit, the A&P would probably be more suitable for you. You could always do that first and then pursue an engineering degree after. The A&P would make you a better engineer. I had planned on getting my A&P and my Aero Engineering degree at the same time, but then a professor talked me into getting my Master's instead, but I still want to get my A&P and might very well do that in the spring.

    The engineering and technical fields are where most of the jobs are, so I'd stay away from a liberal arts degree. We may be in a recession, but there are many, many engineering jobs out there right now. The job market for that will probably be even better when you graduate in 4-5 years because a whole bunch of people are going to be retiring.

  7. #17

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    I would really caution you to not get in over your head in tuition costs. I'm 26 years old and have my A&P/IA and working on finishing my BS online with ERAU. With that said, I spent over $50k to get my A&P and GE (two years at SJSU) done. I could have gotten my A&P at a junior college and saved $30k, looking back I wish I had. I've been making 6 figure income for 4 years and I STILL don't have those loans paid off yet. I have co workers doing the SAME job as me, that went to ERAU with over $100k in loans and guess what, they don't make any more then I do. Same thing goes for the pilots at my company, some spent $100k on school and some spend $20k...they all make the same money. San Jose State University in CA has a good aviation program, just another one to add to your list. There's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to paying too much for college, there is a tuition bubble that we are experiencing.

    If you have any questions about A&P as a career hit me up. Also, it would be a good idea to work at UPS as a package thrower while going to school, it's the only way you will get into a company like that as a pilot/mechanic. It's next to impossible to get your foot in the door. Also, I work closely with a lot of engineers at my company, and most of them are mechanical, even though they are working on aircraft. Mechanical engineering is very broad and you can still get 90% of the same jobs working on airplanes as an aerospace guy. Unless you want to be a aerodynamics type engineer....
    Last edited by uavmx; 10-15-2011 at 01:21 PM.

  8. #18

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    I would investigate any aviation program very carefully. Flight schools are folding like wings on a paper airplane. A college program in Louisiana where I use to instruct shut down the program and auctioned off the airplanes and equipment this summer, 30 days notice.

  9. #19
    kscessnadriver's Avatar
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    Like many who have posted, I would caution you in going down the flying degree route. I'm a recent graduate of ERAU Daytona Beach and couldn't recommend that a prospective student go to ERAU to learn to fly. Academically, I enjoyed my time there, took some classes that are very unique and managed to meet a lot of people in an effort to try to network for down the road. I did my flight training part 61 (for the most part, did do a rating at ERAU before deciding it wasn't the right fit for me). Saved a bundle of money on flying and managed to get more flight time in the process.

    Yes, it's not a cheap school. I'm fortunate in that I found a job that will allow me to pay the loans back quickly and fly at the same time. Not many people manage to pull something like that straight out of ERAU, and more often than not, it's all about being in the right place at the right time.

  10. #20
    Thanks so much guys for all of the advice.

    One other thing I am still considering is the actual career in aviation I will pursue. I plan to try to get a job with UPS as the big World port hub in Louisville, KY is not to far away from where I live. My current ideas are either a A&P, Avionics Specialist, and of course flying for UPS would be a dream job. What other jobs are there with UPS? And what other careers in aviation do you think might be good for me, or ones that they would have at UPS. Thanks again my fellow aviation enthusiast!

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