by DaveSims » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:49 am
Well it would depend on where you are located, but there are many fine college in the US that offer aviation related degrees.
That being said, there is a growing trend for pilots not to actually go to college for aviation, but for something else, just acquiring your license on the side. The reason being, aviation is a very competitive career, and at this time, not a well paying one for many. Sure if you stick it out, or get lucky as a corporate guy, you can make a decent living getting to fly. But it never hurts to have a backup plan and degree to fall back on. For example, our local FBO owner and chief pilot has a degree in History, and is state licensed to teach it. Granted he may never need it, but if aviation takes a nose dive, or even if a medical condition grounds him, he has a career to fall back on.
Myself, I attended Louisiana Tech University, started in Professional Aviation, then switched to Aviation Management. Now I work in airport operations, so I get to be around airplanes all day long, and just fly as a hobby. I just got burned out on flying all the time, and didn't want to ruin my favorite hobby.