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Air Transportation at Polk State College

Winter Haven, FL · Public · Bachelor's Degree
71 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
73
Optimistic
71
Base Case
67
Pessimistic
Earnings $50,499/yr (14% vs median)
AI Risk Moderate (33% exposed)
Job Market Large (60,400 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Air Transportation graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $579K $512K $421K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 43.0x 38.0x 31.3x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 11.8x 10.4x 8.6x
Viable Career Paths 6 of 6 6 of 6 6 of 6
DegreeWorth Score 73 71 67

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$13,464
Out-of-state: $49,088

Career Paths

Where Air Transportation graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 60,400 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers $226,600 11,700 +3.9% 35%
Air traffic controllers $144,580 2,200 +1.2% 34%
Commercial pilots $122,670 6,600 +5.1% 24%
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers $102,010 18,500 +6.1% 49%
Flight attendants $67,130 19,800 +9.2% 17%
Airfield operations specialists $56,750 1,600 +4.2% 37%

Compare & Explore

Air Transportation at Other Schools

Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus ($88,085) Hallmark University ($79,086) University of North Texas ($56,487) Utah Valley University ($56,402) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott ($54,827) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach ($54,827) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide ($54,827) Everglades University ($53,331)

Other Majors at Polk State College

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($81,004) Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods ($48,210) Business Administration, Management and Operations ($45,921) Criminal Justice and Corrections ($40,808)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Air Transportation at Polk State College?
This program scores 71/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 73 (optimistic) to 67 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Air Transportation career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Air Transportation graduates retain 6 of 6 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $421,158 (pessimistic) to $578,914 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Air Transportation graduates?
The career paths mapped to Air Transportation have roughly 60,400 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Air Transportation at Polk State College worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 38.0x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 31.3x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.