If You Want to Be an Airline Pilot, Do You Need a College Degree?

Should you go straight to accelerated flight training? It’s not as simple as you think.

Sam Weigel

Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 04:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

[File photo: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

Major airlines have largely dropped the mandatory four-year college degree for pilots, making it a "preferred qualification" due to the current frenetic hiring pace and competitive candidate pool.
Skipping college for accelerated flight training offers significant cost savings and faster entry into regional airlines, potentially boosting career seniority during the current hiring boom.
However, the author advises aspiring pilots to hedge their bets by considering a degree or keeping options open, as an economic downturn could easily reinstate the degree requirement and preference for major airline positions.
A non-aviation degree is equally valid, and online programs offer flexible ways to pursue education while working, allowing pilots to mitigate future market risks.

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Growing up in a lower-income family in Minnesota, I never gave much thought to college. My parents didn’t attend, nobody in my extended family had a degree, and to the limited amount of contact I had with “rich kids,” college seemed to be part of their world, not mine.

But then I fell in love with flying and quickly discovered that all the major airlines required their pilots to have a four-year degree. So I begrudgingly incorporated college into my plans, ended up mostly enjoying it, and went on to have a pretty typical career path for a 2002 grad, with 12 years from graduation to major airline.