Is an aircraft mechanic a well-paying job?

[Nihilist]

I'm currently a 22-year-old community-college student who certainly needs to find a job but I believe that community college might not the best choice to assist me considering that I've been there for too long because of my mathematics difficulties and course re-takes.

I was wondering if anyone who's worked as an aircraft mechanic/technician/or anything similar has any insight on whether it is a good job to consider.

Did you attend an apprenticeship? Is it a good job field right now? Were you required to join a union?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

[Krugerrand]

I've been around a number of aircraft mechanics. There is good money to be paid with the big airlines. That will probably require you to join a union.

The job security is not pretty. Airlines are fickle businesses. They earn a boat load of money one year and lose it all in the next. You're faced with a lot of mergers and bankruptcies that will mess with your union contracts and seniority.

You'll get to fly standby for free ... but then you'll learn that the flights are so over-sold that you don't stand much practical chance of getting anywhere.

[TheViper]

Don't forget that the military hires many civilian aircraft mechanics and they pay well.

[newbitech]

I have been looking in to several of the aviation trade schools. I think those schools are way over priced. These schools won't give you a degree, and from what I hear, the training isn't all that great. The biggest benefit comes from the OJT that you earn while you learn type thing in an apprenticeship. I am definitely looking into trade unions in the field as a possible in, because I am not willing to go 40k in to debt for a 14 month program that is nothing more than a job referral service wrapped in a standardized curriculum that spends the first 8 months teaching history, industry regulations, and basic math.

I believe a trade union will put me to work in this field much quicker and at a fraction of the cost of the trade school.

[ZanZibar]

I know an independent aircraft mechanic who can sometimes make $1k/day doing work at small gen av airports.

[osan]

I'm currently a 22-year-old community-college student who certainly needs to find a job but I believe that community college might not the best choice to assist me considering that I've been there for too long because of my mathematics difficulties and course re-takes.

I was wondering if anyone who's worked as an aircraft mechanic/technician/or anything similar has any insight on whether it is a good job to consider.

Did you attend an apprenticeship? Is it a good job field right now? Were you required to join a union?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Airframe, sheetmetal. and powerplant mechanics all seem to do pretty well - $25-$35/hr here in WV. IF it interests you, there is decent money to be made there. I have an old friend who did power for airlines in NJ. He is retired now, but did rather well.

One good thing about sheetmetal work is that it can transfer to other areas such as custom automobile metal and restorations. My friend Dick does that sort of work the old fashioned way - all by hand - and makes beautiful stuff. He made a front bumper for a '34 Delahaye that cost the customer some $9K as I recall. Another friend is perhaps the most knowledgeable man on the planet with the English wheel. He makes his doing body panels for Jags and other high ticket restorations.

Unless civil aviation industries collapse substantially, there seems to be a fairly solid future for aircraft mechanics. I would also point out that college is not for everyone. On top of that, the university system in the USA has become something of a joke over the past 20 years. I am not at all convinced that going into hock for $100K, give or take, is sound planning for one's future. If you want to become an engineer, doctor, vet, dentist, lawyer, or other hard-line professional, then college is a must. But taking on such debt for a degree in political science or "human development" seems completely idiotic to my way of thinking. And if perchance college is not doing it for you, learn the lesson and change. Don't be afraid, especially if you have something else in mind that interests you. Doing what you love is more important than college.

[showpan]

There are always a few classified ads in the aircraft industry. especially around Texas and Arizona. Unfortunately, those places do not pay all that well and they are not union. In other parts of the country, they pay a little higher the further North you go and the union pays twice as much. Job security is fairly decent for a skilled worker and it's not a bad trade. As someone else pointed out, you can also get hired on a military base if you don't have a problem contributing to the war machine. I attended a Technical High school for Sheet Metal and in our senior year, Boeing, and others were trying to recruit us. If I was 22 again...lol...and had a chance to do all of this over, I would have picked something in health care. A registered nurse makes almost twice that of an aircraft mechanic and job security is unmatched. There is no shame as a male nurse and there are a lot of perks...lol. There are also a ton of different other fields you can get into once you have finished your schooling. Just by registering for classes, you can get a job immediately making between $14 - $18 hr. to start!! Union hospitals will pay more and give you much better benefits and conditions while non union will give you more hours to make up for the difference. My brother in law works with the mentally ill for the state of CT and makes over $50 hr.