Simviation Forums

I'm 16 years old, and I definitely know what I want to have as a career. I most definitely want to me a Commercial Airline pilot, but the thing is, I'm clueless on what type of college/major I should have? Could any one help?  :-?

It depends: if you want to make money, get your CPA or a law degree maybe.

The airline industry is in bad shape these days, and as usual, the rank and file- including the pilots- are getting the worst of it. Entry-level pay for flight crew is not very enticing.
And even in the best of times, it's been a competitive business that requires a very serious commitment... even in the glory days of airline flying, the road to senior captain, with your pick of the juicy routes and schedules, with a fat paycheck and excellent benefits was a long hard one for most pilots.

So now more than ever, it's wise to have a "Plan B"... airlines don't really care if your degree is aviation-related, although they like to see applicants with a college degree of some kind, so a degree in some "fallback" field is a smart move, even if you really want to fly for a living.

There are a number of aviation degree programs out there, though, most of which include all the flight training... I suggest you google "aviation degree".

oh alright, I'll do that. thanks Rotty.

If you want to remain in aviation and actually pay the bills, there are other alternatives as well.  I have a degree in aviation management and work as an airport operations coordinator, which means basically we coordinate the inspections, training and maintenance of the airfields.  My goal is to someday be an airport manager, which still pays pretty good in many places.  Plus there are jobs as aircraft mechanics and other such things.  

If you want to remain in aviation and actually pay the bills, there are other alternatives as well.  I have a degree in aviation management and work as an airport operations coordinator, which means basically we coordinate the inspections, training and maintenance of the airfields.  My goal is to someday be an airport manager, which still pays pretty good in many places.  Plus there are jobs as aircraft mechanics and other such things.  

Thats actually something I would really like to do. How did you get into it?

I went to college for it.  I originally planned to be an airline pilot, back in the booming 90s.  But when the furloughs started being handed out I switched majors from flying to management and never looked back.  It is a four year degree and varies a little bit from college to college.  The only advice I would give is to do a good internship at a larger airport, even if the internship isn't paid.  That way you would have a foot in the door.  I did mine at a small reliever airport and that set me back a little when it came time to find real work.  

I would actually be really happy with that Job with the aviation business struggling and being an airport manager or something like that would be really awesome, thanks for the inspiration.  ;)

Air Force.

Apprentice Plumber, Bricklayer, Carpenter, Electrician, Gas Fitter, etc.?.....

..always a requirement for one of them...Trust me... ...!

Paul...The usual Tradesman... 8-)...!

If you have any more questions about airport management, shoot me a message and I'll be more than happy to help you out.  I enjoy my career so far, especially since part of my duties include aircraft firefighting.