Careers In Aviation - 2008

Hi Readers: This is a good time to begin a career in aviation. There are no less than 12 major aviation career fields open, now employing hundreds of thousands of qualified personnel, male and female, all working to provide an expanding prime mode of transportation in the U.S. and most of the world. Within these career fields there are 70+ job opportunities that have to be filled, periodically, by attrition, retirement, or by new developments. The expansion of air travel itself, year to year, keeps the need current for more pilots, air traffic controllers, mechanics, and other qualified personnel.
Currently, the aviation industry offers opportunities in pilot careers, airline and airport operations, airline and airport services, aircraft companies (new companies and expansion), aircraft systems and electronics maintenance, technical services, food services, law and security services, and travel and tourist operations. And this list does not include the federal, state, and municipal department and agency requirements for aviation services (such as for fire and rescue, ambulance and health, etc.), and does not include the military use off independent contractors for air travel requirements. Nor does it include aviation requirements by agencies such as DOT, FAA, and NTSB.
In the midst of the jet age, development of new airplanes and equipment have required advanced designs and manufacture, resulting in new jobs, particularly in connection with automated digital systems and air traffic control. Air Cargo is expanding, day by day; and increased public travel have required more and better passenger processing and security. It is ironic that computer engineers are telling us that the present-day computer science will soon be replaced by more advanced systems.
All these career categories require education, training, and many, experience. Some of this is supplied by the airplane companies themselves; others, by independent aviation contractors; Colleges and Universities; and technical schools. There are private individual offers, also. Schools such as Embrey-Riddle, King, Airline Transport Professionals, and American Flyers, to cite a few, are seasoned aviation educational suppliers, as are colleges and universities. The University of North Dakota, for instance, has had a separate school for air traffic controllers. And there are others. Almost all of these contractors provide computer on-line courses, either complete or incrementally.
The cost of the education and training for these categories is not cheap, but appears reasonable considering a lot of the training garantees job placement and at least interview. The flying-hour certificates, such as a Regional Jet Standards Certificate, which garantees an airline pilot interview (with Airline partnerships) can run $5,995/7days. Garanteed ME ratings are priced at $1,295 to $1,475, an ATP certificate is priced at $1,595, and a multi-CFI for $1395. In Dallas, TX., for instance, ME PIC time is priced at $129/hr wet.
There is all kinds of help on the computer to satisfy your needs for instruction and training. There is, for example, a 1300+ Aviation School Database on line - an index of flying schools http://www.bestaviation.net/. Seaplanes ratings, for instance, can be obtianed through http://www.adventureseaplane.com/ and Aircraft Dispatcher training can be obtained on-line and by correspondence courses from http://www.avgschools.com/. There are some opportunities with the Airlines themselves - Northwest Airlines has a website for unpaid internships, and University Aviation Associates has career opportunities for aviation educators. Aviation Associations, such as AOPA, can be a big help, too.
Aviation employment still appears very positive. A recent report from Regional Airlines indicate the need: WestJet Airlines for pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics; Wings of Alaska for pilots and mechanics; Gemini Air Cargo for pilots and mechanics; Ryan Intl Airlines for mechanics; Anana Flight for pilots and mechanics; A13X Airlines for pilots and mechanics; Mesaba Airlines for pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics, and USA 3000 Airlines for mechanics only. These were Jan and Feb reports.
The January 2008 NTSB aircraft Accident reports will be coming up soon.
Thanks for listening. R.S.