I have had 6 employers in 25 years of aeromaintenance, ranging from defense, airline through to GA. Defense trains well but its pure luck whether you end up at a good squadron or bad one plus the qualifications gained are poorly recognized out side of defense. Of my 5 civil employers, 1 was good (GA and small airline) the others were not good places to work. Several went broke while I was there with me losing as much as $10000 each time.
I have 5 trades, several grp20 and 21 but I choose to work as a self employed electrician, wiring houses, small factories and writing plc programs.
My point is that aviation is a very low quality employer unless you get lucky, I found one good one in 25 years and I stayed until they closed the doors but I am qualified and experienced. Starting out as an apprentice is a great way to learn a trade but not only will you not get one in aviation unless you know someone but your learning a useless trade. Go and do a trade apprenticeship learning something to do with the construction industry, its well paid and the work can always be local or not, your choice.
Your correct about EASA, if the poor employers dont drive you out of the industry then CASA will.
I hate to be negative, I like fixing aircraft very much but I like being paid and not being on call 24/7 more.
Anyway, my 2 cents based on my experiences, I am sure there are engineers out there who only have glowing recommendations for the industry, I just dont know any.
cheers.
