Future in Aviation for my Son?

On Oct 10, 10:57 pm, "Morgans" wrote:
"Union Thug" wrote

As far as college; Tell your boy to do what ever he wants but stay
away from most of theses aviation colleges ESPECIALLY Embry Riddle.

You -seriously- need to work on your posting skills.

Thanks for the post Jim. Not sure how that happened and I will make it
clear that this is not the opinion of Jay. Many of these aviation
schools will paint you into a corner career wise . You will spend 60
to 90 K and then have an 1800 a month job to show for it. And if you
change your mind, you wont be qualified to do anything else. It is
better to major in something you can fall back on.



As far as slow times go, there will be no slow times for Joe (or any other
qualified pilots) in the 5 or 6 years it will take to get him ready. They
will be trying to find trained monkeys to be pilots by then.

Right again Jim. There are jobs (At least for now) but the problem is
that they dont pay anything. In real dollars I make less now than I
did 10 years ago.And I will probably make less in 10 years than I do
today. I wont be so bold as to sugest what Jay's kid does with his
life, But I would tell him that if he wants a meaningful decent paying
job he should look outside of flying.

The fears about pensions can be said about -any- job in this day and age.
No profession is safe. That is one reason there are people funding their
own retirements.
Once again, you hit the nail. But consider this, flying is the only
job where the government makes you retire at the peak of your earning
years (OK, maybe ATC too). And lets not even address disability and
survivorship benifits. About a third of us will lose our medicals at
some point in our careers. In the words of a dear friend of mine who
works at Jetblue "I took this ****ty low paying airline job so I can
get some experience, Now all I am qualified to do is hold a ****ty
low paying airline job".
K Baum

Jay Honeck wrote:
As many of you know, my son is taking flight lessons. He's past solo,
and into his cross-country flights.

We're filling out applications for colleges, and his choice of
colleges will be steered by his decisions. Your input is very much
appreciated!

While I can't comment on the rest, having recently been in largely the
same position as your son with regards to college, let me extoll my
opinions.

Is he at all interested in the humanities or in language, that sort of
thing? Almost all B.A's and even some B.S.' can be earned without a
heavy background in math (although I suppose he realizes that he will
have to take at least a few GE math courses). I initially started my
current college with a chem major, but have decided against the math and
have chosen linguistics because my other great passion (besides flying!)
is language. See if he likes that type of subject matter better than
math. Or, you could see about some of the aviation-related fields, like ATC.

With regard to choice of college, that's a bit more difficult without a
strict major chosen; a general 4-year university (or, as I have hit upon
to save loads of cash, 2 years of community college and a transfer; $600
a semester instead of $10,000) might suffice with a more general set of
interests.

There is one thing I will tell you: keep that boy away from ERAU, in all
its forms. That place (and I should know, having spent an interminable
semester there) is a maelstrom of poor piloting and vacuous costs. The
choice of majors is slim, the curriculum is drab, the piloting practices
are atrocious, it costs several arms and legs, and the surrounding
community (at least the Prescott campus) is utterly unbecoming of a
college town. There's a reason their first-semester drop rate is over
60%, and it's not because there are that many stupid people, if you
catch my drift. I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say he'd be
very disappointed if he attended there.

That said, a number of my friends are apparently quite enjoying the ATC
program at UND, even 2 years on, so considering an "aviation" college
might not be a bad idea, either.

TheSmokingGnu

On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:09:15 GMT, TheSmokingGnu
wrote in
%diPi.4551$ln.1002@trnddc07:

That said, a number of my friends are apparently quite enjoying the ATC
program at UND, even 2 years on,

But given the emphasis of automation in future ATC (and even
piloting), is this a sound life-choice for the decades to come?

On Oct 10, 6:24 pm, Jay Honeck wrote:

We're filling out applications for colleges, and his choice of
colleges will be steered by his decisions. Your input is very much
appreciated!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

My nephew recently graduated from Baylor University's (Waco, Tx.)
Aviation program, which is relatively new. After graduating from
Baylor one is qualified for more than just flying.
My nephew went to an FBO in the Dallas area as a CFI and within months
was chief flight instructor. Very soon after that the FBO gave him the
right seat of a King Air they use for their charter operations.
Recently he was given the opportunity to train in their Sabreliner!!!
All this happened in about a year after graduation from Baylor. I
understand he is now flying the Sabreliner. Pretty nice ride for a 22
year old recent college graduate I would say!
I believe he has his sights set on a corporation or an airline.
Let me know if you'd like more info on my nephew, his FBO or Baylor
University.

Ricky

On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:24:29 -0700, Jay Honeck
wrote in .com:

What kinds of careers are out there
right now? What sort of college degree should a 17 year old pursue in
order to come out the other end with a successful job in aviation?

Is it possible the youngster's current aviation focus is a result of
his being a member of an active flying family and his current flight
training? While I heartily condone choosing a carrier in a field he
is passionate about and eminently qualified for, such a choice
requires a bit of prescience. For a viable income stream over many
decades, it's necessary to evaluate the current trends to guess at
what the situation will be in the future.

With the ever accelerating advancement of technologic knowledge and
skill so startlingly evident in our time, this prognostication becomes
even more mandatory. There is little doubt that computerized
automation is part of the future. That will diminish the number of
jobs that require physical skills. I see growth in the medical and
bio-science (genetics) fields (that have been so resistant to
advancement for so long), space related, and electronics fields as
those being poised for growth (among probably several others I've
overlooked ). There will doubtless be jobs available for MBAs in the
future, and the likelihood of increasing violence accompanying the
projected exponential increase in world population should provide
opportunities in the military support fields (if we don't annihilate
ourselves first...).

Whatever choice your son makes, it should be something that fits his
personal, fundamental, innate interests and abilities. Making a
choice based solely on financial gain (as seems to have been done by
most physicians today) is a trap for fools. He needs to spend some
time alone to search his sole, and a few sessions with different
college carrier councilors to begin to get a grip on all the
ramifications of this choice. I would suspect, that there are
counselors available nearby; make an appointment or two.

Above all, he needs to know that it is likely that his focus will
change as his education progresses, and that knowledge should help
take some of the finality out of the decision making process at this
stage.

Is it possible the youngster's current aviation focus is a result of
his being a member of an active flying family and his current flight
training?

Absolutely. We've been trying to get him to focus on career goals,
with thoughts toward college -- and he came 'round to the conclusion
(whilst in mid-flight lesson) that *this* was something he could do
and enjoy. Trust me, I'm as surprised as anyone -- but I think it
would be an interesting career.

He needs to spend some
time alone to search his sole

Well, he doesn't like seafood, and has no trouble with his feet, so I
suspect his sole is fine....

;-)

Above all, he needs to know that it is likely that his focus will
change as his education progresses, and that knowledge should help
take some of the finality out of the decision making process at this
stage.

Agree, although I wish it were otherwise. I changed my major several
times, and ended up taking 5 years to graduate as a result. (I was
also working 35 hours per week, throughout college). Mary, on the
other hand, stayed focussed on her major, thus saving big bucks.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:00:26 -0700, Jay Honeck
wrote in . com:

Is it possible the youngster's current aviation focus is a result of
his being a member of an active flying family and his current flight
training?

Absolutely. We've been trying to get him to focus on career goals,
with thoughts toward college -- and he came 'round to the conclusion
(whilst in mid-flight lesson) that *this* was something he could do
and enjoy. Trust me, I'm as surprised as anyone -- but I think it
would be an interesting career.

Do you honestly believe piloting is likely to sustain his interest and
financial needs for decades to come? I liked automobiles when I was
about his age, but I'm sure glad I didn't choose bus driving as a
carrier.

He needs to spend some time alone to search his sole

Well, he doesn't like seafood, and has no trouble with his feet, so I
suspect his sole is fine....

;-)

Thanks for pointing out my error. But the point is, it's a difficult
choice that warrants considerable reflection and introspection.
Psychologists tell us, that to make a choice among a number of
beneficial things is the most difficult.


Above all, he needs to know that it is likely that his focus will
change as his education progresses, and that knowledge should help
take some of the finality out of the decision making process at this
stage.

Agree, although I wish it were otherwise. I changed my major several
times, and ended up taking 5 years to graduate as a result. (I was
also working 35 hours per week, throughout college). Mary, on the
other hand, stayed focussed on her major, thus saving big bucks.

It's a process. I believe most need to work through it over time as
you have done.

Thanks for pointing out my error. But the point is, it's a difficult
choice that warrants considerable reflection and introspection.
Psychologists tell us, that to make a choice among a number of
beneficial things is the most difficult.


All kidding aside, you're right. He needs to develop some
introspection, and the ability to evaluate his life from outside of
himself. This isn't easy for any of us, and is especially difficult
as a teenager.

Trouble is, you need experience to successfully self-evaluate -- and
that's the one thing teenagers don't have...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 06:35:35 -0700, Jay Honeck
wrote in . com:

Thanks for pointing out my error. But the point is, it's a difficult
choice that warrants considerable reflection and introspection.
Psychologists tell us, that to make a choice among a number of
beneficial things is the most difficult.


All kidding aside, you're right. He needs to develop some
introspection, and the ability to evaluate his life from outside of
himself. This isn't easy for any of us, and is especially difficult
as a teenager.

Like many things, the more one practices something, the better he
successful be becomes at it.

Trouble is, you need experience to successfully self-evaluate -- and
that's the one thing teenagers don't have...

True.

But it's easy to see that there may be undue aviation influence in his
choice at this time in his life. If he bases his decisions on his
interest de jour, you'll probably be able to tell by his evolving
interest in gynecology. :-)

Jay Honeck wrote in news:1192104026.696520.138660
@v3g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

Agree, although I wish it were otherwise. I changed my major several
times, and ended up taking 5 years to graduate as a result. (I was
also working 35 hours per week, throughout college). Mary, on the
other hand, stayed focussed on her major, thus saving big bucks.

The secret to saving bucks on college is to spend a few years after HS in
different jobs until you find one you like that will also pay for school...
You might even be able to get a few life experience credits!