Aeronautics / Aviation / Aerospace Science and Technology, General:
This was a major at a two college. Even there was no actual flight training involved it was a great ground school traing that covered weather, private pilot, IFR, and commercial rating. By the time I finished my A/S degree I have passed FAA written exams for Private Pilot rating, IFR rating, and Comercial rating. This would of been a lot better if I had the money for the flying lessons.
Airline / Commercial / Professional Pilot and Flight Crew:
I received a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace: Professional Piloting from Middle Tennessee State University. I enjoyed the program there very much. The teachers were very professional and experienced, many of them from the military. The classes were well taught, and were well thought out to prepare for this career.
I would certainly do it again if given the chance, but careers in this field are very hard to find. A great many years will be spent either giving flight instuction to build hours, and flying freight. I recommend getting as many multi-engine hours as possible, as this is what the airlines are looking for. Another possible entry point into an airline career is as a dispatcher, and I would recommend studying for and taking the FAA Aircraft Dispatcher's exam.
Pros are definiately the money that can eventually be made in this industry. The cons are poor job security, unionized labor, and a long period of doing absolutely terrible jobs in order to prepare for the left seat of a major airline jet.
Aeronautics / Aviation / Aerospace Science and Technology, General:
The degree itself I am very neutral about. It is very narrow and difficult to apply to anything other than the aviation industry. Lately the aviation industry has not been so successful. I tried to mitigate the effects of such a specific degree by studying aviation as broadly as possible. In the end, though, if you do not want to work as a pilot, air traffic controller, aviation weather personnel or the like, it is not very useful. It's hard to explain to your potential employer how a degree like this would make you more qualified to manage a Chili's than the highschool student who has 4 years of restaraunt management experience. If you are not completely certain you want to make aviation a life-long career, opt for a more broadly applicable education, such as business management.
About a third of the students at Washington and Lee University still receive some financial aid from interest on an endowment set up by George Washington in 1796.
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