Originally Posted by
Kengineer-130
What would you think the best carrer path would be to follow for someone who has got 7 years RAF aircraft engineering experience (engines + recent airframe conversion) ? do all the exams and training for Part 66 B2 LAE , or go to uni and do an aeronautical engineering degree?
What sort of salaries/ wages can you expect for either paths starting jobs? what is there more demand for ? Getting a bit bored of getting shot at in the desert now,
feel it's time to go into the big scary civillian world
Civilian world's not scary
and RAF training and postive "can do" work attitude are good assets in civvy organisations, IMHO.
You really should do what interests you. *Really* interests you.
Aero, Mechanical or Avionics first degrees are all very well and good. They provide a common technical standard for both design, manufacture and in-service support/logistics engineering. But they are just a ticket into the job.
Just a thought but if you are really set on a degree, why not try and do a 1 year Masters degree in a specialism related to the career path you want? This minimises the "loss of earnings/experience/kudos" you exchange for the joys of tertiary education.
Some postgrad. Uni's accept relevent on the job experience and training in lieu of first degree entry requirements, others offer a 1 year foundation engineering course + a 1 year Masters. If you're earning now then budget for 2-4 years at Uni loss of earning loss of earnings + 2-4 years living expenses. What are we talking? A £60-£150K 'opportunity cost' as they say. Of course you need an accredited M.Eng. as the educational requirement to become Chartered nowadays.
Avionic Systems Engineers and Avionics Software Engineers (specialising in real time applications) are somewhat scarce and comand better starting salaries and prospects then traditional Airframe engineering skills - such as Aero/Mechanical. E.g about 3-5K more per grade. If you're good and have experience, you can occasionally, very occasionally get a job in future concept tyoe work, if that floats the boat...
Employers are few and far between and the big aerospace companies are recruiting in small but steady numbers but this goes in cycles. Are you working on an aircraft type that's recently been released or about to undergo a midlife update? If so, you could search out a job/role with the design authority, who'd value that experience.
On the other hand Licensed Aircraft Engineering is probably closest to what you do now, just the civvy equivalent. Those contracting jobs with biz jets look great to me, but what do I know? Best ask someone who's been there and done it.
Typical salaries in the aerospace industry are about £1K x your age! Topping out around £45K unless you get into very senior management...
