Aviation Colleges

I am currently in High School and have a passion for aviation. I am a student pilot currently and know I want to go into aviation in my future. Right now I am looking at either aerospace engineering or a pilot. What are some reccomendations for colleges out there? Some I have looked at are Embry Ridde (The Daytona Beach Campus) and North Dakota University, what are some opinions on these? I live in Kentucky and would like to not go to far away for college so around there would be great!

Thanks, can't wait to hear what everyone has to say! :cool:

I got both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Aerospace Engineering at ERAU Daytona, so I'd highly recommend that if you decide to pursue the engineering route. The low student/professor ratio makes all of the professors very available for questions, help, etc. You will not get that at larger schools. You would also be around many other people who are passionate about aviation. If you have any more specific questions about ERAU, feel free to send me a PM and I'll do my best to answer them.

For piloting, Southern Illinois University has an aviation program, so does Purdue.

For engineering, (at least when I went there) Rose Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute) had a BSME program in which you could concentrate in aerospace. (I just did the regular ME track as the advanced Aero courses take a lot of higher math that I wasn't so good at)

(Purdue has an Aerospace engineering program also, but who wants to go to the second best engineering school in Indiana?? ;) )

University of Central Missouri.

http://www.ucmo.edu/aviation/

Call me the rain on the parade, but if you want to fly for a living (I'm a furloughed airline guy) get a degree in something other than aviation. I would say do the engineering degree and fly "on the side" to get your ratings. That way you have something to fall back on if you are grounded medically or are furloughed. I am a UND alumni, and my aviation degree and a buck will get me a cup of coffee ($.90 in the terminal with airline ID :-D). I was sort of warned but I didn't listen, so I try to spread that word.

Flying is a great career, much better than sitting in a cubicle! That said, try to be realistic and think about how you will support yourself if you all of a sudden can't fly or get laid off or furloughed from an airline. Good luck!

Jim

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.

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Originally Posted by Jim Hann

Call me the rain on the parade, but if you want to fly for a living (I'm a furloughed airline guy) get a degree in something other than aviation. I would say do the engineering degree and fly "on the side" to get your ratings. That way you have something to fall back on if you are grounded medically or are furloughed. I am a UND alumni, and my aviation degree and a buck will get me a cup of coffee ($.90 in the terminal with airline ID :-D). I was sort of warned but I didn't listen, so I try to spread that word.

Flying is a great career, much better than sitting in a cubicle! That said, try to be realistic and think about how you will support yourself if you all of a sudden can't fly or get laid off or furloughed from an airline. Good luck!

Jim

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...and to add on to Jim's post...

Nothing wrong with getting an aviation minor or emphasis for any degree you wish to pursue. Aeronautical Engineering? Go for Engineering and take the extra classes to get you familiar with the aeronautical side of it. Aviation Management? Go for Management (or even business) and take the Aviation Management class as an elective. Aviation Science? Go to the local FBO and get your ratings (cheaper and better taught) while you're getting a Liberal Arts degree.

Aviation is my third career. I'm having a blast, but as Jim mentions, if you have something go wrong with your health or the economy turns south at a bad time for you (low seniority) you'll be out on the street with nothing to fall back on.

Good luck whichever way you go. If you apply yourself, you'll do good.


(Oh, and this is coming from someone that got his Masters at Riddle.)

Ryan,

I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in Aerospace Administration. The school also has a pilot training program. I am currently employed with Lockheed Martin as a Flight Service Specialist. Don't ignore Air Traffic Control as a viable career option. They pay is usually VERY good, and there are locations all over the country. True, you're not flying for a living, but most entry-level pilots don't really earn a living wage. We have several that work for us now that they realize how bad the pay was.

I would really recommend either working to pay for your tuition, or suckering your parents into paying for it. ERAU and the other "big" schools are very expensive. You'll be looking at over $100k in student loan debt just to finish college. I've done time at ERAU in Daytona, and while it's a nice campus, the name isn't always worth the premium price (just my opinion).

Also, if you like girls, you'll want to consider someplace other than ERAU. Last I checked, the dude to chick ratio was 13:1. Those are bad odds, my friend. A larger university like MTSU has waaaaay more to offer than aviation, and therefore a whole lot more chicks. Trust me. This is important. It may be the most important factor. :)

Above all else, be realistic with yourself about the costs of becoming a professional pilot, the pay you're likely to earn, and the huge student loan bill you'll have to repay. I know guys who are paying over $1000/mo in student loans. That doesn't leave much money for rent and food when you're only making $30k/year.

Good luck, and let us all know what you decide!

-Wayne

Not that far from you is Ohio University, Athens Ohio. They have one of the oldest aviation departments in the country. They are rated as one of the best values for the cost of education. Stick to your dreams, that way you will never say " I wish I had done that". Good Lock

Hey Ryan. I started my airline career at the ripe old age of 20 in 1956(Delta). You can't do that anymore though. Go to a school that you can get a degree in aviation and all of your ratings. My grandson went to Louisiana Tech in Ruston, LA and got all of his ratings except the multi-engine there. They were too expensive, so he got that rating at a place in Dallas for a lot less. He flight instructed for about 4 years for an outfit in Daytona Beach that did contract instructing for Embry-Riddle and finally landed a job with Pinnacle Airlines about 5 years ago. He is now flying Captain on the big Canadair Regional Jet(can't think of the model) but is still hoping to land a job on a major airline sometime down the road. He got a great aviation education there.

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Originally Posted by Antique Tower

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.

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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

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.

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

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!

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!

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.

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....

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.

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.

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!

Those are all different careers. I will weight in on the A&P Side as compared to a pilot (because I wanted to be a pilot originally)Most of this advice comes down to what you put into it, what connections you make, and being smart about the path you go. I am an A&P/IA and my Dad and stepdad are both professional corporate pilots, so I've lived in a pilot family and I work in the industry as a 26yr old.

First and foremost the amount of energy, blood, sweat, long hours, tons of training, lots of money for that training, overtime, working your way up that is required of an Aviation Maintainer or a Pilot is honestly NOT worth the money you will make. What makes up for that is passion and enjoying the job...so first and foremost do you have the passion to make up for all those negatives above? As a pilot, working 14 hour + days, living in hotels for days on end, crossing multiple time zones, (unless you work for an airline) you can plan on losing or changing jobs every few years. As a mechanic, tons of overtime, hard physical labor at times, being outside in the blaring heat or freezing cold, working on extremely complex machines with arguably just as much a factor in the safety of those that fly on the plane, all while being considered a blue collar worker, wrench monkey, bottom of the totem pole, unskilled laborer and paid that way (more on pay later).

Now with that being said, let's go back to the Pilot vs. Mechanic. I would argue that as a mechanic there is just as much potential to make the same or more then a large majority of pilots. Although, with that being said, the ceiling of what a pilot can make is higher. It all comes down to how hard you work, how hard you network, who you know, and how good you are. As a 26yr old, I make $100-140k a year, but my job requires traveling 6 months out of the year to make that sort of money. As a crew chief on a corporate jet there is also potential to make that much or more. Again, it's a path, you aren't going to fall into that job, but neither will you as a Pilot. My father has been flying corporate jets for 30 years and I make more then he does. Is there potential for him to make more? Yes, but he chose a better schedule (works 8 days on 8 days off roughly). How many pilots out there are stuck making $50k a year flying a king air? A lot, just as there are mechanics making that much. There is a shortage of A&Ps, and the starting pay for most jobs is increasing. $20-30/hr seems to be where a lot of those jobs start, but again, they are increasing. But how many airline pilots flying regional's are making $15/hr? As with any career you choose, the potential is there, but it's the path to get there that you have to figure out.

I chose to not be a pilot because of the schedule, being on call, slippage in pay and I thought I could make just as much as a mechanic yet have a better schedule, life, etc. I found by working on cars that I really enjoyed turning wrenches and had an aptitude for understanding systems and troubleshooting (that diff between a Technician and Wrench Turner is that ability) Also, flying is 99% sitting on your ASS being bored at altitude, then spending the other 1% taking off and landing (the exciting part). It can ruin the fun of flying, it was 15 years before my Dad got back into flying single engines for himself! I'd rather make money doing something else in that enables you to do your true passion (flying) Obviously with the path I chose, I travel a lot, but enjoy it. Ultimately for the sacrifices that people work in Aviation, I cannot recommend it to anyone, again, read above, except for the true passion to do it....

I guess with any career there is going to be a low, middle and high pay scale. I think most Pilots and Mechanics fall into the $40k-80k a year range. But there is potential for into the 6 figures. It's not the norm, but the potential is there. Just as if you were going to become an Engineer, there's a low, middle, high. If you have the smarts and desire to be an engineer, and then fly for fun for yourself, that's another path to consider.


sorry if that is kind of rambling, and doesn't make sense. Just keep asking questions. I'm not trying to scare you away, but these are the things you need to consider, the negatives, of the aviation industry. It's a very cyclical industry too.

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Originally Posted by Ryan Hornback

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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The only one that comes to mind immediately is Dispatcher.

http://www.sheffield.com/home.html

Of course, you have all the ramp rat jobs as well.

I would definitely recommend going to a state college and getting your flying in on the side. I had originally planned to go to Embry-Riddle, but got some real sticker shock on the cost of the program. Both main State U campuses here in Alaska have an A & P program. If I wasn't sure what direction I was to take in an aviation career I'd get the A & P in conjunction with a four year degree program. The A & P training gives you many useful skills and training you can use even if you never touch an airplane.

One good alternative for getting flight hours, especially if you have an A & P is to buy a Champ, Chief or T-craft and log some (relatively) cheap flight hours. I consider this sort of time more valuable for aquiring basic flying skills than the new glass cockpit wonders.

Getting any sort of job with UPS would probably be a good move in your area. Do they have any sort of college assistance program? I wouldn't be surprised if they did. You might also look into the Air National Guard, if you're so inclined. I was in the Guard in Anchorage in the early 80's and got financial assistance for both flight training and college and aquired enough experience in the Guard to get my A & P...Louis

Just wanted to say that I didn't mean to discourage you from getting into aviation. Just wanted to reiterate that it's not a easy gravy train, it's not this glamorous job as it can be made out to be, or that it once was. If it's a passion it will be a good career and take care of you. Work hard and it can take you places.

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Originally Posted by uavmx

Just wanted to say that I didn't mean to discourage you from getting into aviation. Just wanted to reiterate that it's not a easy gravy train, it's not this glamorous job as it can be made out to be, or that it once was. If it's a passion it will be a good career and take care of you. Work hard and it can take you places.

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Very pertinent summary. It's one of those carreers in which hard works pays off.
______________________
Alexandra
http://aerocomfittings.com/

Pop: You do realize that you are replying to a post that is 14 years old from a member that hasn't been here in more than 11 years.....

"Pop Alexendra" is a spambot.

I've reported Pop Alexandra as a spambot a few times but it seems nobody cares.