Engineer positions at LHR

[Ali Crom]

Isn't the P.C. a wonderful tool.
You no longer have to make the arduous journey into town to visit W.H.Smiths just so you can flick through the back pages of Flight International for the jobs section. (The F.I mag must be only magazine that's not on the top shelf but they insist on wrapping in sodding cellophane ).
So now , several months after discovering their on-line jobs page , I've come to the conclusion that my optimistic weekly wait for that next issue with the ideal , low stress & highly paid/rewarding job is just a pipe dream .
Well o.k the low stress & highly paid aspect would be pushing it but there doesn't seem to be many jobs at LHR unless your a driver,loader or trolley dolly as most of the engineer jobs seem to be at the regional airports.
Is this the case or is it that vacancies aren't advertised just filled by word of mouth?

AC.

[This message has been edited by Ali Crom (edited 22 February 2001).]

[Golden Rivet]

The grass isn't any greener on the other side of the fence - its just a different shade of brown. Stay put if you know whats good for you !

------------------
Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread

[time-ex]

I agree with Golden Rivet, but you work for a large company, if you are fed up with shear decks get a move somewhere else. It takes a bit of putting yourself about but it can be done, and there is always the OSE job. It may not be ideal but it is a taste of what's around while protecting what you've got. Have you got your A+P yet? If not - why not? Get it quick while you can. The yanks are about to change it all big time. At least you'll be able to apply for the majority of vacancies at LHR.

[Ali Crom]

It's a tough one!
Do I let my itchy feet get the better of me & jump the fence or take Golden Rivet's advice & stay put?
Well the shear decks don't bother me , I prefer the hangar work so that would limit my options anyway . As far as OSE jobs go they're not as good as they were as the guys are on local contracts I think & my missus moans enough about never seeing me as it is let alone working at an outstation.
The A & P option is worth considering if I could be bothered to spend what little spare time I have got , swatting up .
Well you can't blame me for keeping my ears to the ground as you never know .
I suppose I'll just have to resign myself to the fact that I'd be better off out of the industry altogether .
I see Tescos are recruiting again!!!!

[spannerhead]

Alicrom
I worked sheardecks and the like for many years and then through no real fault of my own ended up on a busy line station. Believe me you can carry out simple tasks and you are a hero. Just quote the p/n of a 1/4 hilok 1/2, inch long and the lineys stand there open mouthed. You really can work as much or as little as you want (or feel like)in one day and you will have accomplished more than the average tyre kicker will do in a week. I find that the job is as challenging as I want to make it.
Wouldn't change it for anything!!!

[time-ex]

If you can bend metal in a sort of professional way you will be elevated to a God like status in the minds of your peers and treated like crap by the management.

You don't realise what you've got until its gone, like a good cabin refurbisher, who are the next trade to get kicked in the nuts by the BA beancounters.

And another thing, if you got a CAA LWTR you won't have much genning up to do for an A+P
the guys on our shift haven't even got CAA LWTR and they walked it. No revision, Nothing - just a good aircraft apprenticeship.

[This message has been edited by time-ex (edited 24 February 2001).]

[DoctorA300]

To SpannerHead,

Quote:
_____________________________________________
You really can work as much or as little as you want (or feel like)in one day and you will have accomplished more than the average tyre kicker will do in a week.
_____________________________________________

I have worked with a good few people that have spent their entire life in a good warm
hangar, and that the second they came to work on the line saw it as their god given right and duty (probally due to low self asteem and poor judgement) to ground an aircraft for something they could have used the mel to get out of.
So before you mouth off anymore than you got balls to back up, think of this, "Even a pilot can ground an aircraft... but it takes an engineer to keep it flying".
Brgds
Doc


[This message has been edited by DoctorA300 (edited 25 February 2001).]

[spannerhead]

Oh dear...I seem to have hit a raw nerve.
So you have worked with ex hangar people have you? Spent their entire life in a nice warm hangar eh?
You must agree that it is not only ex hangar that ground a/c, it depends on the individual. There are many long time lineys that who ground a/c because they are low on "self esteem" and "good judgement". I was mearly saying that with a bit of common sense and a bit of knowledge gained from the hangar that defects that seem beyond normal line work can be cleared quite easily on the ramp. (Granted, not in Sweden in Febuary). A spoiler actuator change on a Boeing 737 will seem quite daunting to a chap who is only used to refueling and kicking tyres, but to someone who has done many in a nice warm hangar it is an easy job.
The MEL. Quite often a sloping shoulder for the line engineer who does not realise how easy the snag can be fixed. With a bit of knowledge and application, a lot of mel'ed snags would not be in the book.
Spannerhead has mouthed off.
Spannerhead has had the balls to to back up?
I will log on again!!
PS: Doctor. Do you suffer from high blood pressure?

[balti king]

Alicrom, I'm glad I left BA when I did, but I think you'll find most companies are the same. My current employer treats you as if you're an apprentice car mechanic but they do pay good authorisation pay which I didn't get at Fleet 2.

[Golden Rivet]

Spannerhead/DrA300

You are both right and both wrong ! -

You have got to remember that the line and the hangar are completely different jobs and transfering between the two is sometimes a difficult transistion to make. I know as I have done it.
An Ex-Sheddy on the line will bring a different type of expertise and a different way of looking at things to the line and this certainly does not equate to a low self esteem or lack of judgement. As for the statement about the MEL, you'll probably find that the defect is deferred through lack of spares, not lack of knowledge !

Conversely I have seen Line guys transfer to the hangar and with it bringing valuable knowledge and experience with them. Given a few months to acclimatize I have seen them mixing it up with the best of them.

[Ali Crom]

What's up Doc ?
I think you need to lighten up a bit.
Perhaps the person/s who you are refering to had after spending an "entire life in a good warm hangar and the second they came to work on the line......." were suffering from thermal shock!
Golden Rivet has hit the hi-lok on the head.
Although we may hold the same licenses & authorisations with the same privileges the
two jobs are very different.
An LAE in the hangar will not only be responsible for a/c in part or in its entirety but also a team of technicians so there is much more emphasis on teamwork .On the line the LAEs tend to more nomadic and often working on their own having to make desisions based on their own experience.
As far as the MEL or DDM is concerned , on the few occaisions that I've had to use it have found certain statements to be abiguous ( as the MM/SRM often is ) which could possibly lead to a misinterpretation of what is actually go/no go.


[This message has been edited by Ali Crom (edited 25 February 2001).]

[DoctorA300]

Thanks AC and GR,
Spannerhead, I was trying to make the point both Alicrom and Golden Rivit did, that it is two completely different jobs, it´s just more fun being rude about it at 4 o´clock in the morning, no offence I hope.
Brgds
Doc ;)

[spannerhead]

No offence taken Doc.
Back to the original topic.
The only airlines that have hangars at LHR as you probably know are BA and Midland.
I know that both companies go back through previous applications to offer job vacancies unless the vacancy is one that is specialist.
Rumour has it that Virgin have a hangar in the pipeline and I am sure that they will have to advertise externally to fill it.
The line jobs are BA,Midland and Virgin as the major employers. It seems that every other airline uses LHR as an outstation with no real maintenance being carried out. If you drive around at 3 in the morning it's only these 3 airlines engineers punting.
Cathay Pacific have quite a large operation with their daystop a/c being worked in the Midland hangar, mostly by Midland staff, with certs by their own staff.
I think that in any working envioronment word of mouth/recomendations seems to be the norm.

[Ali Crom]

The other option is contracting. But what's it like compared to working for a firm?
Apart from the paid annual leave , sick leave & guaranteed regular income what are the benefits along with the obvious tax advantages of becoming a self employed LAE in the UK ( and possibly Europe ) ?
From looking at various web sites/agencies offering work If there is an average hourly rate would it fair to say you could expect to earn around 25-30 pounds with an BCAR LWTR A & C and couple of a/c types under my belt.
Appologies for all the questions but if you hadn't noticed I'm a bit green on the subject.

[This message has been edited by Ali Crom (edited 26 February 2001).]

[WenWe]

AliCrom, a good friend of mine has been on the contracting circuit for a while.
Year before last - in work all year,£75K tax free, cushy line maint job in a good company/ European (good)location.
Last year due to a combination of illness & timing of contracts starting/ending, only 5 months work - some of which as a Mech.
Swings & roundabouts.

[DoctorA300]

Does anyone know why it is so hard for British companies to accept Mainland European Licences. I have on several occations been offered jobs if I could get a British licence. Is it a problem for a British Jar145 company to optain an approval for a non-British licence, there is obviously no problem for British engineers in Europe.
Brgds
Doc

[cotos]

Unfortuneately Doc, this is a typically Britsh thing. We British think we have the best systems, the best A/C licensing system, the best car manufacturing system, the best shipbuilding industry, the best health system and the like because we are British and we don't like anything foreign. There is a mentality that if you don't have an CAA A&C or an approval from some gash outfit, you no nothing about aircraft. An ICAO 2 (ref the other ongoing thread) is OK around the world but only an A&C will do in the UK. Fortuneately I have both, so the world is available. Having said that I found plenty of work with an ICAO 2 but there is not much about for A&C licence, probably due to the lack of avionic knowledge normally associated with the UK CAA A&C Licensed Eng.