Q. I am currently finishing up my MBA and am working on my private pilot certificate. I plan to continue on with commercial/multiengine and ultimately CFI certificates. Does it matter if I attend a community college or university? Will one open more doors than the other?
A. Earning a master’s degree in business administration is a superb strategy for weathering the industry’s inevitable ups and downs. Having the kind of business savvy that comes with an MBA should serve you well in management positions inside or outside the industry.
Having an MBA should prove beneficial in an interview. It will make you an “added value” candidate. If competing for a rare flying position, given two candidates with equal skills, personality, and experience, the one with higher education is apt to be the first choice.
If all you desire is the flight time, experience, and FAA credentials, you may wish to immerse yourself into a non-stop flight program. You already have the educational background. Some flight academies have “direct track” relationships with regional airlines or corporate operators so they are worth exploring. If you still opt for an aviation degree, you can always get one online while you practice your career.
If competing for a rare flying position, the candidate with higher education is apt to be the first choice.
However, if you aim to add an aviation degree along with a wallet full of FAA ratings in a traditional manner, a community college is a great way to go. Although earning those ratings and a four-year degree at a “name brand” university may work for those with time and money, a two-year degree along with a compressed flight schedule to acquire those ratings in two years has many pluses.
There is a network of professionals who hire pilots that favor alumni. If an interviewing captain who attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is looking at an ERAU grad, there is something to be said for that bond.
On the other hand, expediency and cost do favor the community colleges.
Some of the fine small colleges such as Aims in Greeley, Colorado; Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City; Miami-Dade; Hesston College in Kansas; Big Bend in Oregon; and Cochise College in Arizona have great programs at about half the cost of those “name brand” institutions. You will be finished in two years, earning an associate's degree in aviation in most instances, and can get on with your career rather than spending two more years at a four-year college. And guess what? The FAA certificates and ratings are all the same.
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