Originally Posted by whiskeyflyer
am I the only aero degree holder to stay in the office? When I first graduated I had to earn peanuts and work my way up through maintenance checks in microfiche readers, planning jobs, tech support etc. etc etc
Now I am engineering manager for a maintenance facility and to be honest my technical skills are used for less than 50% of the job, as most of the time is logistic, HR, training, planning, international travel, sometimes not being the most popular person but university prepares you for that. In my experience university graduates are not the best working directly in the aircraft. They are not "hard" enough. The best guys worked their way up the appi route and have been "hands on" (I hope I got the message across correctly because I have probably offened somebody there, but that is not the intention)
Register with flightinternational.com automated email system for jobs and click on admin. Even if you just get you foot in the door in the records department, you become more employable and get contacts.
Much as the industry moans about not enough mechanics, the mechanics are not paid enough and treated to appalling conditions. As is often noted, car mechanics can pull more money, work in better facilities, with modern equipment and basically not have to take the rap if their workmanship is not up to scratch, but once you put your stamp against an aircraft job, its a legal responsibility. So think carefully before you set your mind on working on the line (3am Sunday morning, raining, cold and dark, being blown around on a "cherry picker" and all you got is a coat, torch and a spanner to fix a snag before the aircraft departs at 6)
but hey I am sticking to this cut throat avaition industry... I am to dumn to do anything else.