Grounded in Aviation - Changing Majors by Changing Direction

Published by Tom Thinnes on Fri, Jan 24, 2014

Growing up in Milwaukee, Wis, aviation mecca was only an hour and a half away. During my sophomore year of high school, I took my first “introductory flight” with EAA Young Eagles. I immediately knew I had been bitten by the aviation ‘bug.’ Since that day, I totally focused on the notion of being a commercial pilot. In my eyes, there wasn’t anything like it: having the luxury of always flying, strutting with those stripes on my shoulders, enjoying the four day layovers in exotic places and heading home to enjoy time off for another week before starting a trip again. As I thought about this day in and day out, I said to myself, “This really isn’t a job!”

Throughout high school, I began to set my eyes on Western Michigan University and their nationally recognized aviation program. I decided to enroll at WMU and double major in aviation flight science and aviation management and operations. Soon after I arrived, I began flying in the state of art Cirrus SR-20. The initial feeling of flying such a beautiful piece of equipment was truly amazing and very satisfying. I kept progressing through my training, but as I moved forward, I felt unfilled. Yes, I love planes and airports, but did I enjoy constantly flying and being at the controls?

Over the course of my first semester, my heart wasn’t fully devoted to being part of a professional pilot environment.  Many times I denied this feeling and ignored the fact telling myself, “This can’t be. I want to be an airline pilot! I’ll just pass the training and that’ll be it. It will all be different once I’m done with the training.” I felt like I was just going through the motions with my training, not truly investing myself. Although it was hard to think about and process, I was soon second guessing my career choice and questioning if I really wanted to pursue being a professional pilot. “Do I really want to do this?”

By the end of the semester, I came to a conclusion: drop flight training and the aviation flight science degree. Although I was no longer flying, aviation was still in my blood, and it needed to be addressed. I have always been interested in the management side of things, whether at an airport or an airline. Being part of a sales or management team of an airline/airport, as well as possibly being involved in the administrative operations at an airport, really excited me. Although I chose not to continue the path into a flight career, I knew one thing – be true to yourself and put your best foot forward.

With flying (or anything), you don’t know the reality of something until you try it out. Yes, I wanted to be an airline pilot. I saw the glamorous life of the career, but after sampling a taste and doing some more research, I realized that it was not my ‘cup of tea.’ As I thought about airport management and administration, and the many opportunities and challenges those careers brought, I soon realized it wouldn’t be a huge career change after all. Aviation business and management jobs typically offer extensive travel benefits, while many also enjoy the same benefits of an airline pilot. The only difference being, I won’t be controlling the aircraft in the cockpit.

Writing this today, I am focusing my studies towards the aviation management and operations major, while adding on a communication broadcasting minor. College is all about discovering and learning who you are. Part of that is also about making decisions. As a college student, you make short term and long term decisions every day. Part of the learning process is to explore these decisions and accept the changes they often bring.

Whether you grow up wanting to be a doctor, lawyer, or professional pilot, it is important to realize that things change. Yes, it will initially be hard to stray away from something you have focused on for a long time, but realize things happen for a reason. Be confident in your growth and decisions, don’t hesitate putting your all into what you want to do. I still love aviation and can never get enough. Losing myself for days in the miraculous events at EAA (and other airshows), spotting my favorite planes at many airports and everything in between, brings nothing but pure joy to my face.

Gabriel S. Langley
Western Michigan University
College of Aviation
Aviation Management and Operations