Med School to Aviation?

[maschmi2]

So I have this friend. His Bachelors is in Biology, he lived in a 3rd world country for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, got a Masters in Anatomy, and is now a 2nd year student in med school. He's contemplating switching to career in aviation. Will his credentials be of any assistance to him when he applies with the airlines? How will he rank among the rest? His thinking is, if he finishes med school (or not) and his credentials will help him, he'll switch careers. But if he'll be ranked amongst those with just a Bachelors or Associates, then he'll probably stay in his current career path. Mind you, he's really burnt out, and all his colleagues hate the medical profession as well, what with HMO crap. Any input and advice?

[I_WANNA_BE_ATP]

I say tell your friend to continue with med school. He is almost done before residency. Tell him to specialiaze in hand/plastics surgery, if he does it right he could be debt free in 5 years. And can learn to fly on the side. One of the ED docs I worked with did just that. After he bought a house and 2 brand new beemers for him and his wife, he was debt free in 7 years. Yes he admitted to working 70 -80 hours a week, but he also got his PPL and insturment rating in that time.
If after your friend does this and is debt free he can start pursueing avaition full time. With a great career to fall back on. Plus he could become an AME. I do not know if the airlines hire MD's for their own inhouse medical staff or not. But that is also a consideration.

[maschmi2]

That was my advice too. But what about the whole seniority issue? Will his past experiences and education make up for that?

[Doug Taylor]

Nope.

You can be a former Space Shuttle commander, get hired at UPS and be the absolute last pilot on the list.

[MQAAord]

When you fly for an airline, you're a number on a list. Your number gets higher when people who've been there longer than you leave. A degree helps you get the interview, but what that degree may be in really has very little relevance.

Period.

There is no brown-nosing, no sucking-up, no rewards for extra effort, no performance-based raises. You're just a number.

[Doug Taylor]

And thank God for that!

Could you imagine the amount of brown nosing that would occur if captain upgrades were socially-based rather than seniority-based?

"Sir, I've never called in sick, never did a go-around and always made the destination with less fuel, I went without eating for an entire day to get back on time!"

[MQAAord]

[ QUOTE ]
And thank God for that!


[/ QUOTE ]

Damn straight!

[Doug Taylor]

Reminds me of when some people brag about never using a sick day, blow snot all over the FMS when they sneeze, then cough and wheeze all flight long...

[Swen]

Now I'm looking forward to that....

[maschmi2]

My head is elsewhere. I can't seem to write worth a piece of poo lately.

I meant seniority amongst interviewees/applicants. If, for example, the legacies start hiring, they'll be loads of applicants, some with very similar educational backgrounds and logbooks. How would my friend be ranked amongst other applicants? How much would educational background and experiences weigh versus logbook thickness?

[Mr_Creepy]

[ QUOTE ]
My head is elsewhere. I can't seem to write worth a piece of poo lately.

I meant seniority amongst interviewees/applicants. If, for example, the legacies start hiring, they'll be loads of applicants, some with very similar educational backgrounds and logbooks. How would my friend be ranked amongst other applicants? How much would educational background and experiences weigh versus logbook thickness?

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not seniority - that's hiring practices. And once you're hired experience doesn't count either. You get placed in a class with others then sorted out various ways.

Most companies use age in class. Mesa used to do a weird thing, they used the last 4 digits of your SSN.

In any case, there is NO seniority given "because you have experience." Doesn't happen.

[MQAAord]

Educational experience & background doesn't carry near as much weight as actual flying experience when it comes to interviewing.

Education is important, don't get me wrong, but if a company has two canidates to pick from and one has a college degree (in whatever field) and 3000 TT with 1000 PIC turbine, s/he's going to be the stronger canidate than someone with a med degree and 1000 TT with no turbine PIC.

[aloft]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a medical degree will get him in the door over someone with just a bachelor's degree. If your friend is thinking of finishing med school just for that, he's in for a rude awakening--not to mention the futility of paying off med school loans on a regional salary (and if he's planning on financing his flight training too, I'd definitely tell him to forget it).

Honestly, sounds to me like this guy is chasing prestige rather than passions. Probably needs some time to get his head together before he does anything.

[project7]

[ QUOTE ]
Honestly, sounds to me like this guy is chasing prestige rather than passions.

[/ QUOTE ]

Bingo. If your friend is willing to forget the whole idea simply because he won't be held in higher regard than others in his training class, he's probably doing it for the wrong reasons.

[USMCmech]

My wife is in her 2nd year of med school as well, so I have a somewhat better perspective of what this guy may be looking at.

He has basicly two options

1 Continue with Med school and finish his MD. Work in a field full of fustrating beauracy, long hours and enormous responsibility. Pay is good, but not as much as you think especially after you start paying off loans.

2 Quit med school and train to be a pilot. Work in a field full of fustrating beauracy, long hours and enormous responsibility. Pay starts off very poor, and gradually improves to average, especially after you start paying off loans.


I would recomend toughing out Med school, and flying your own plane later.

[maschmi2]

[ QUOTE ]
My wife is in her 2nd year of med school as well, so I have a somewhat better perspective of what this guy may be looking at.

He has basicly two options

1 Continue with Med school and finish his MD. Work in a field full of fustrating beauracy, long hours and enormous responsibility. Pay is good, but not as much as you think especially after you start paying off loans.

2 Quit med school and train to be a pilot. Work in a field full of fustrating beauracy, long hours and enormous responsibility. Pay starts off very poor, and gradually improves to average, especially after you start paying off loans.


I would recomend toughing out Med school, and flying your own plane later.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is more along the lines of what my friend is looking at. Not so much prestige. I think for a time, he though his passion was medicine. But now that his eyes are bleeding from reading and he has no life, he's contemplating getting out. But he's in this position where he's not sure if he should give up everything he's been working so hard for, or just sticking with it.

In any event, all of you provided fantastic input and thoughts, so thanks a bunch.

[EatSleepFly]

[ QUOTE ]
But now that his eyes are bleeding from reading and he has no life

[/ QUOTE ]

That sure sounds a lot like aviation to me.

A monkey can physically fly an airplane. A monkey can't recite the 12 immediate action items, the intricacies of a goofy european-designed electrical system, aerodynamics, weather, regs, etc. Trust me, there's PLENTY of reading to be done. It never ends.

[montanapilot]

once he makes it he can get a Bonanza

[Doug Taylor]

Real men fly the P-210 Centurion!

[buffalopilot]

I myself am a physician assistant. I went to 8 years of college like md's do. I am also a commercial pilot and an instructor because i too love aviation. I know that my 8 years of college is overkill for the airlines and that the medical degree itself will not help me get the job. But what i do feel is that if tha interviewer sees that i worked in medicine for 4 year making 100 thousand and i would give that all up to be a pilot, then i am a person who really loves flying. . Why does your friend want to fly? Is it because it sounds cool? It is a big decision. I knew since i was three i was born to fly! Medicine always has security, flying does not. But who cares if its your passion!!

[SkyJeff]

If I was making 100k a year I would keep my job and buy my own plane to fly anytime I want, maybe even rent it out and make money off it when I'm not using it.