Career Days | School of Aviation | SIU

United Airlines Career Day

United Airlines Career Day will be held on October 19, 2024. United Airlines Career Day began in 1994 as a collaborative effort between SIU Aviation and United Airlines. Students from Chicago area will fly-in for the event with local students joining for free campus tours, aviation tours, lunch, dinner and t-shirts. This is a free event that will depart from Chicago O’Hare Airport that morning and return that evening. Students will get the opportunity to interact with United Airlines employees who are alumni of our programs, as well as experience the different aspects of college life at the School of Aviation. The registration will open up on a first come first serve basis on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 10:00 A.M. Be sure to check here for any updates.

The 2019 United Airlines Career Day, held on October 19, 2019, was a special one indeed. This year marked the 25th Anniversary of the first United Airlines Career Day at SIU. The day was enjoyed by 116 Chicago-area students and 30 United employees, many of them alumni of the SIU Aviation programs.

The Airbus 320 arrived in Carbondale a few minutes after 9:00 a.m. The visiting students disembarked from the plane to fanfare and handshakes from SIU administrators and SIU Aviation faculty, staff and students. A group picture was taken by the plane before the Aviation Ambassadors guided visitors on tours of the SIU Aviation facilities. Students were taken on introductory flights, and students who had never flown before were able to experience an Airbus 320 and Cessna 172 for the first time. There were lots of smiles on faces as they enjoyed lunch served by members of the SIU Women in Aviation student group. After lunch, a presentation by the interim chair of the SIU aviation departments, Mike Burgener, and various United employees informed students about aviation and the opportunities that abound at this time in both pilot and maintenance fields.

After a walking tour of the SIU campus, students were screened to board the plane for the return trip to Chicago. They were treated to pizza before boarding the plane.