What major is recommended as a college degree if I plan to be a commercial pilot?

Question

I want to be a commercial pilot and am in High School. Is there a preferred college major that I got to do that will give me an edge to be hired as a commercial pilot ? Thanks a lot !

Answer 1

Physics, with Maths sub. would be the best!

Answer 2

awful answers so far. Get a degree, it will always pay off in the end. Do not get an aviation degree, remember what they say about putting all your eggs in one basket? Get some sort of a science degree, something you can fall back on if flying doesn't work out for you. All you have to do is develop a condition that disqualifies you from a medical and your aviation career is over, you don't want to have to fall back on an aviation degree, do you? If you have a degree in... lets say engineering. Any aviation company that may hire you as a pilot will look at that and thing you must be fairly smart, thats a tough degree to get. Now if you have an aviation degree, they won't hold it against you, but it won't put you a notch above your competition. A degree is a degree for the most part. In fact, some places do not accept aviation degrees for pilots positions. One that I can think of off the top of my head is nasa. They want their pilots to have a bachelors (at the very least) in a science field, I think aeronautical engineering as the only aviation related degree they will accept. The cost of helicopter training is very high. You won't be able to get a license for $3,000, not even if you know someone that own a helicopter. Expect to pay around $10,000. and another 10,000 for an instrument rating. The best way is to start in a glider for about 5 hours, learn the basics and then get a fixed wing license. Then you can get a rotorcraft add on for the same you would pay for your rotorcraft license, plus you would have a fixed wing license which always looks good. Lastly, and this is down the road for you. Think long and hard before you get into the air ambulance business. Talk to people that do it and see what they have to say.