Is St. Cloud State ending its program for one of America's best careers?

Remember how some have questioned St. Cloud State's decision to close down its aviation program because of low demand?

Critics say the slump appears to be ending, and that now there's actually a growing demand for commercial pilots.

I've stumbled across a U.S. News & World Report that seems to agree, ranking pilots among its list of 50 best careers of 2011:

The outlook:

Employment in this field is expected to grow 19 percent through 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. An estimated 7,300 new jobs will be added. With mergers and cutbacks in the industry, a lot of furloughed pilots are currently competing for jobs. But that should ease as the economy improves, air traffic picks up, and a lot of aging pilots retire.

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