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Several Paths Available for Aviation Candidates
For those seeking a career as a pilot or aviation
manager, there are several paths to take:
- Enroll in a flight operations certification program.
- Enter an ab initio program at a flight school
that is aligned with a major or regional airline.
- Earn a four-year college or university degree
that combines aviation management or flight operations with another
discipline.
Georgia State University (Atlanta) launched
its aviation education program 25 years ago at the urging of Delta
Air Lines. The Aviation and Transportation Studies program is part
of GSU’s Public Policy Studies degree.
"We elected to do it this way because it created
a stronger market for our students," said Rick Charles, associate
professor and coordinator of the aviation and transportation studies
program. "Public policy is very relevant to the aviation industry."
About 40% of GSU’s students are not pilots.
The remainder take advantage of the ab initio program at the school,
which is affiliated with Atlanta Southeast Airlines (ASA), a Delta
regional carrier. After completing GSU courses, graduates have accumulated
hours in high-performance aircraft and are prepared to move right
into the cockpit of an ASA aircraft.
Administrators at Dowling College in Shirley,
N.Y., are touting the virtues of their program, which combines flight
operations and management with a liberal arts education. "This combination
is unique," said Martin M. Holley, the new dean of the school of
aviation. "Liberal arts education is about situational awareness,
something essential in the cockpit. It works. We are graduating
people who think."
Holley said Dowling’s program has undergone
a massive transformation in the past nine months. "We knew we had
to move our program to a new level," he said. It includes bringing
the flight-training portion of the program in-house. Dowling is
acquiring its own aircraft, beginning with six Piper single-engine
airplanes. Two simulators are being installed for the school at
Brookhaven Airport, where there also will be a dedicated flight
line and 12 newly wired classrooms. Working with the Dowling business
faculty, the college also will offer an MBA in aviation management.
The College of Aeronautics in New York City
has 1,300 students this year, with about 55% of those in its aviation
maintenance program. The college has established an Aviation Training
Institute for maintenance and flight training. The institute realigns
the class schedule from an academic calendar to an accelerated option
that allows students to complete their airframe and powerplant (A&P)
courses in 16 months. Scott Monroe is the head of the institute,
while Herb Armstrong continues to lead the academic program. Those
who complete the A&P program can enter the associate of applied
science or B.S. programs to earn academic degrees, Armstrong said.
The College of Aeronautics also has established
an associate’s degree in airport management in response to a need
expressed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
"We will offer the program this year for Port
Authority employees and tenants at JFK [John F. Kennedy International
Airport] to meet a career development need."
Armstrong added the college hopes to bring
its flight training program in-house, a move that will serve the
students who are enrolled in the flight training and maintenance
programs.
Aviation educators said it is difficult to
recruit maintenance students, in part because A&Ps are viewed as
low-tech employees.
"Nothing could be further from the truth,"
said Alan Davis, director of aviation programs at Cochise College
in Douglas, Ariz. "When you’re going out to fix a Boeing 777, you
take a laptop, not just a wrench."
The FAA estimates the aviation industry will
require 15,000 new maintenance technicians every year for the next
seven years. At best, U.S. colleges and universities will produce
8,000-9,000 graduates annually.
"Obviously, we need to do something differently,"
said Davis. The College of Aeronautics’ Armstrong agrees, indicating
that the school has 100% placement for graduates.
Davis proposes that aerospace industry leaders
work with aviation schools to attract students, but also to fund
their education through a payback contract of some sort.
At the same time, Cochise College is working
to make its aviation education program more responsive to the industry.
The school has added a more in-depth course in helicopter maintenance
and repair, as well as a course in composite materials. "These make
the students more marketable," Davis declared.
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