The Necessity of a College Degree Before Registering as a Pilot
Study Design
A debate has existent on the importance of acquiring a bachelor’s degree before registering as a pilot. The debate becomes more mentioned after a plane crash in Buffalo, New York. Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed on February 12, 2009, in Buffalo New York and raised questions on pilots’ appropriateness towards stall warnings (Depperschmidt, Bliss & Casebolt, 2018). The recommendations from the National Transportation and Safety Board led to the present limit of one thousand and five hundred hours required for a pilot. However, the necessity of the requirement has remained debatable for a long time. The question on whether to go through ATP or Embry Riddle program has been confusing learners for various reasons. Some would wish to attend to Embry Riddle, which would cut down the flight time requirement from 1500 hours to 1000 hours. Others also do not see the difference between the two programs. Besides, the FAA is responsible for approving both programs. The confusion on the requirement needs a solution so that learners can make informed decisions concerning the program to pursue. Also, learners should be given as to why one should acquire a bachelor’s degree before becoming a pilot.
The study is founded on the hypothesis that a college degree before registering as a pilot makes an individual a better pilot. Although acquiring a bachelor’s degree is an achievement, the relationship between the degree and becoming a better pilot remains questionable. The study, therefore, seeks to assess the importance of having a bachelor’s degree irrespective of the program an individual is followed. The findings from several sources considered in the literature will be analyzed to come up with conclusions on the necessity of having a bachelor’s degree before registering as a pilot. Therefore, the research question is on whether a bachelor’s degree is necessary for an individual to become a pilot.
Population and Sample
The target population is expert pilots in the airline companies as well as pilots who have graduated from the different programs of training. The results from the analyzed data will then be used to give enlightenment to stakeholders in the piloting sector. Since collecting information from such individuals may be relatively tricky, a sample size of a thousand respondents will be sufficient for this study. Besides, the experts are busy people who may have little or no time to respond to emails. Moreover, accessing the emails for the respondents requires resources, which may be limited for this study.
The selection of the sample will be random and thus, probabilistic. A probabilistic selection is one that aims at avoiding bias, and each individual has a probability of being chosen. Therefore, the study will not be directed towards pre-selected individuals. Moreover, the selection of the available mails and contacts will be made randomly so that the information is not biased.
Variables and Measures
The variables for the study are based on the required results. First, the study seeks to establish whether a college degree is necessary for one to become a better pilot. Therefore, a variable of response comes up. A respondent is expected to hold a position on whether the degree is necessary. The answer provided could either be positive or negative. Ideally, the response on the status of the respondent depends on their opinion concerning a college degree. In general, the response is a dependent variable since other factors such as the benefits of a college degree and the years of experience of the respondent could impact the response obtained.
The benefits that an individual has enjoyed for having acquired a college degree could be viewed as an independent variable. In most cases, people will hold a positive position after having enjoyed certain benefits. Also, the years of experience of a pilot could determine whether they will advocate for a college degree. Therefore, the years of experience will also be considered as a variable in the study.
Data Collection Methods
The study relies on primary data collected through interviews. Although the sample size is not fixed, considerations are made in that the sample size at any point is large enough for better representation (Flick, 2018). The information required from the sample is broad, depending on the specialization of the individual. For example, experts who are stakeholders in policy-making departments will have different questions from those of pilots who are not involved in decision making. Therefore, the data collection step will be done in two stages. First, the sample will be divided into two groups so that the right interviews are conducted to the right people. Secondly, the questions will be availed to the respondents through the most convenient means. Direct phone calls will be made after booking an appointment with the respondent while mails will be sent to respondents who will not be available through a phone call. Additionally, internet surveys will be used where direct testimonies do not provide sufficient data.
Data Analysis
Research on the necessity of a bachelor’s degree does not need to have specific figures. Instead, the feelings and opinions of individuals are crucial in this study. Therefore, the study design is based on qualitative research. The benefits associated with qualitative research form the basics and motivation behind the study. For example, the chance to ask open-ended questions is essential in getting the available opinions of the target population. Besides, the qualitative research methods provide more details on the aspects that form the research topic. The nature of data required for a qualitative view was the main reason why the qualitative approach was used.
Qualitative approaches make use of available and incoming data. The shortcomings of quantitative data are, therefore omitted by using a qualitative approach in this study. Ideally, the method in this study is flexible in that the quality of available data can be altered to fit the requirements of the study. For example, if the data is found to be of low quality, a new sample can be chosen for use in the study (Stemler, 2015). Generally, the qualitative research approach best fits the requirements of this study. The content from the interviews will then be analyzed to come up with reliable results and conclusions.
References
Depperschmidt, C. L., Bliss, T. J., & Casebolt, M. K. (2018). The effect of Public Law 111-216 on collegiate flight programs: Perceptions of aviation faculty and flight center personnel. The Collegiate Aviation Review International, 33(2).
Flick, U. (2018). An introduction to qualitative research. Sage Publications Limited.
Stemler, S. E. (2015). Content analysis. Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An Interdisciplinary, Searchable, and Linkable Resource, 1-14.