Hello All, I am a 2LT currently at Mother Rucker. When I am finished here I will be flying the 60M (in case it matters). I had a few questions from those of you who are further along in your aviation careers then I am. My wife and I made an agreement that we were both going to get graduate degrees in the near future. She is currently getting her masters at Troy while I am at flight school. I am an active guard bum and will be returning home following my stay here. When I get home I was thinking about getting a masters degree from someplace like Embry-Riddle. The problem is that I have no clue what to get it in.
I have a B.S. in Kinesiology with specializations in Physiology and Physical Therapy. If later in my career I choose not to stay in the Army I think that I would rather pursue a career as a rotery wing pilot over a Physical Therapist. I really do not care what my mission would (Corporate, Police, etc.). All I know is that as an Commissioned guy I probability will be hurting for hours on my resume in the civilian field. I am looking for a degree that would help me be competitive getting a job, even if I am a little lower on hours.
I was also wondering about graduate level certificuates like Aviation Safety that Embry-Riddle offers. Are that worth getting, or is it like getting an associates...(better just to go for the degree). I am really lost when it comes to what the civilian community is looking for in pilot qualifications so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all for your help, JS
This message has been edited. Last edited by: ranger1aviator,
As a Part 91/commercial operator on the outside, having the B.S. is really all you need. Anything higher is a discriminator when it comes to the wire, but really isn't required. The thing that you have going for you now is that your degree isn't AV related so you have something to fall back on should the aviation community decide to take a hefty dump. Fixed wing dreams are toast, sorry to say. When the regionals are furloughing like they are currently, you know it's a bad day. The rotor world however, is alive and well and from the mere speculation that I have been privy too will continue to grow at rates far surpassing that of their fixed-wing cousins.
Having an MS, etc., will always help you but if you plan on staying in the AV community once your ADSO is up, I would look at something that would allow you to have a side job that could support you if being a stick-wiggler / button pusher doesn't work out.
Personally, I am/was working on my MS in Criminal Justice so that i could teach online part-time. You can make some pretty good coin on the side provided you have the experience and get the right gig.
Give it some thought. Stay away from the MBA...I think the last thing you want is to be a corporate slave.
Originally posted by if3ii: I have a related question about what your wife is doing but don't want to sidetrack your thread. Do you mind if I email you?
Any degree in the military will benefit you, even if it is a B.A. in Underwater Basket Weaving or a B.S. in Bellybutton Contemplation. What drives whether or not a degree will be worth something to you is what you plan on doing outside of the military, either after ETS or retirement, or even as a part-time Guard bum.
Certain jobs only accept certain degrees. Aviation doesn't really care unless you're working the business management side of aviation.
No problem, I just wanted you to clarify that you weren't actually flying the "M" model in flight school. People would read it and think that they got to fly that in flight school.
Just remember, you have to make it through flight school first. Not saying that you won't, just saying to keep that prioritization in order. Good luck.
I already have my BA also, and have been thinking about getting a Masters as well. I even went to a briefing on the Army Education programs available. I think I'm going to go for Homeland Security. For one, there's always government service. Two, the school that offers it is online and gets paid directly from the Army (too easy for me). Three, Homeland Security should help me out later on if I get selected for OCS.
Originally posted by trafficmp: Are you talking about the AMU program? I was with them until I got put on orders for my MS in Criminal Justice. I like them a lot.
Roger.
I'm just trying to figure out WHEN I should start it, as I'll be deploying in October.
Anyone have any input on whether or not it's possible/likely to do well with an online course while deployed?
