PAN PAN SPLASH
Is really out of date with the wages in the aircraft engineering field.
Mind you the long hours issue hasn't totally gone away. The working conditions can be pretty crappy as well.
I had a quick look at the national statistics office figures for UK wages in 2006.
They are interesting.
The average wage for a senior health professional is £53,976.
Given that these people do work long hours the comparison with a licensed engineer working a lot of night shifts, but little overtime is probably a reasonable comparison. This is in the UK not overseas.
I have equalled or exceeded this figure for the last 5 years.
The top 10% of all earners in the UK made £46,072 on average.
The national average for men is £25,324
If you then move into licensed engineers who are contracting then the figures can double and of course being self employed has major tax advantages which means you get to keep more of the dosh. Stories of contract licensed guys earning £100,000 are not myths, I've seen the pay slips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've also seen the time sheets and it is a tough way to make a living.
Once qualified the pay in aircraft maintenance can be substantial if you are working for the right operator. In theory this pay is available after the age of 21. So anyone starting as an apprentice at 16 who gets his exams out of the way stands to make a good living in an interesting job.