Whether you’re looking to start your first career or considering a change, take a minute to think outside the standard office routine. Have you ever thought about being an aircraft mechanic? This is a fun and rewarding career that can take you as far as you want to go. Read on for the 5 best things about being an aircraft mechanic!
#1: It’s Fun and Exciting
Let’s start with the most obvious benefit: working with airplanes is a dream come true. It takes a fortune to become a pilot, and frankly, all you do is sit in a chair for hours. Admittedly, the scenery is terrific. However, there’s another way to work in aviation, and it’s both more accessible and more engaging. As an aircraft mechanic, you’ll be getting your hands on some of the most fascinating machines ever built, and you’ll know them inside and out. Friends and family will look to you for stories, and new people you meet are bound to be impressed when you tell them what you do for a living. Best of all, you’ll look forward to going in to work every day because you love what you do. For some mechanics, it’s almost like an ongoing childhood – getting to play with gigantic toys all day long! Of course, your work will be very serious as well. People’s lives depend on the skill and thoroughness of aircraft mechanics, and that responsibility can make the job even more rewarding.
#2: There’s Opportunity for Advancement
Being an aircraft mechanic means starting with a good base salary and benefits. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual median wage for aircraft mechanics in 2019 was $64,090. However, there’s plenty of room to make more money: the top 10 percent made more than $101,070. So what makes the difference? For one thing, the job usually allows for plenty of overtime if you want it. More importantly, once you’re working in the field, there are many ways to specialize and expand your knowledge. You can choose to focus on one type of aircraft, or one specific system, or even get into aerospace parts manufacturing. You can work for small shops, large airlines, or even the federal government. Additionally, there’s plenty of opportunity for continuing education. Basically, the direction you take your career and the money you can make are entirely up to you. If you have the drive and the interest to learn new things, branch out, and hone your skills, you can write your own ticket. Compared to other technical careers, there’s a huge amount of variety and specialization. Best of all, this allows you to identify the parts of the job that you enjoy most of all and just do those things for a living!
#3: You Can Travel
One of the best things about being an aircraft mechanic is that you get to move around. For one thing, there are jobs available virtually everywhere. There are plenty of jobs in America, but if you’re a certified mechanic, you can easily find work in Europe, Asia, the Middle East – pretty much anywhere in the world. Even once you’ve settled down into a position, you can still move around. Aircraft mechanics who work for smaller shops are frequently sent out on road trips to repair aircraft at rural airports, allowing them to see new places without ranging too far from their homes. On the other hand, if you get a job working for a major airline, you’ll be entitled to flight benefits. That means that you and your family can fly anywhere in the country for free. In fact, you can even travel internationally, and you usually only have to cover the taxes.
#4: It’s Easy to Get a Job
Another great advantage of this career is that, as of right now, there is a worldwide shortage of technicians. Moreover, this shortage is only projected to get worse over the next 20 years. What this means for you is that you should be able to find a job practically anywhere you want. In fact, many airlines and other corporations are actively recruiting new mechanics right out of technical schools. Some students have even arranged for companies to pay their tuitions instead of taking out student loans! If you play your cards right, you could potentially get a free education and have a job waiting for you. The shortage of aircraft mechanics is that dire.
#5: You’ll Have Long-Term Job Security
Because of the projected shortage of aircraft mechanics worldwide, the long-term outlook for a career in the field is especially bright. Of course the industry is cyclical, and that means that layoffs sometimes happen. As the price of oil rises and falls, people change their flying habits, and that affects staffing at major airlines and other transportation and shipping companies. If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that nothing is certain. Because of the increasing worldwide demand, however, a certified aircraft mechanic can always pick up another job. Air travel is on the rise all over the world, and that means you’ll always be in demand. Aircraft mechanics are some of the most marketable people in the world, and they will be for years to come.
What Are You Waiting For?
There’s never been a better time to enter this amazing career. If you like to work with your hands and your brain, are detail-oriented, enjoy a challenge, and want to see more of the world, then contact North Central Institute right away. Even if you have absolutely no experience or prior training, we can get you started on the path to being an aircraft mechanic in less than two years. You CAN do this. Change your life today!
