Sierra Academy of Aeronautics

[maxrevs]

It looks as if they are going to hold U.K. interviews for Tech Jobs in California. Has anyone applied? What are they offering $wise? Where's all the A&Ps?
Regards, Max

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When I push the panic button, the breaker pops!

[ragspanner]

I was given an interview date the last time they advertised ( although family made me decline due to sudden onset of earthquake phobia). Interviews were to be held in manchester. The guy i spoke to at Sierra seemed ok (Camillus Byrne an Irish lad).
Sierra were acting as recruitng agent for
R.Royce who had taken over a plant in Oakland which maintained Alison 501's & T 56's - not sure if there may have been an on wing support element as well.
I did'nt get into money as i did'nt take it any further but you need to be looking at a wage of around $20 an hr ( not much by UK standards). N.California is pricey & state Tax is about the highest in the US.
Hope this helps, Cheers
Ragspanner.

[gaterbait]

hey rags' off topic, but you say a wage of $20 is not a lot by UK standards for A&Ps. it's a long time since i left there so just for info , what is the going rate there these days? gb

[Dragonspet]

Ragspanner,
You are correct on $20.00 an hour in California you would not be able to afford a place to live. If you guys are contracting your services out, the average wage in the states is in the area of $32.00 - 35.00 per hour plus perdium ( $300 – 320 weekly) and living expenses. California is not the place to live if your goal is to save any money, that place will eat up every thing you make. But if the contracting firm you mentioned is only offering $20.00 try AIRMATE or MDTS if you hold an A & P license Im sure they could find something to suit your needs.
Good luck.

[Bus429]

Be careful!!!
I called their UK agent after an advert in Flight 6 months ago. I nearly fainted when he told me what the top wack was (c$23K) and that only was payable after you had been trained to A & P standards to work on GA!!

[hawkeyepearce]

Having been to a recruitment interview for Flight Instructors and met Mr Camillus Byrne I must say that Sierra does come across as a professional and efficient organisation. As far as A&P or technician/ engineer wages are concerned I cant help ya. The deal they offered prospective instructors was payment on a commission basis ...no of flight/ground school hours billed to a client. Guys that flew 100 plus hrs a month were making around $1500-2000 gross per month which in and around San francisco isnt a lot. the other thing they wanted us to do was fly out to SFO and pay for standardisation training!!!
I left the meeting thinking Dont call me Ill call you...If you know what I mean...Hope this helps...

[Cyclic Hotline]

This topic started out asking the question, where are all the A&P's?

As I read the various comments here, the true reason is that GA maintenance is a losing proposition. The good guys just move right on out of it, to jobs with decent money and prospects. If that $23K quote is accurate, these guys are paying slave wages!

So back to the initial question, where are all the A&P's? They have real jobs, paying real money, with decent benefits, in the location of their choice. There is no shortage of employment opportunity here, but there are a dearth of jobs which do not adequately compensate for the skills, productivity and experience they require!

[maxrevs]

You are absolutely correct! They are trying to get "uninformed" Techs from the U.K., to fill the void. If you look at the American job sites and want adds, you'll see masses of job openings for A&Ps. The trouble is, that the wheel has turned full circle, and the young guys are getting out of A&P school, and in most cases, going straight to the airlines, where they can suplement their medium salaries, with travel benefits medical and 401K plans, etc. I would advise anyone thinking of heading off to the "colonies" (oops!) to give it a lot of serious thought, more so, if you have a family to take with you. It's not all lifestyles of the rich and famous, especially on an A&Ps income.
Sorry to **ss on your bonfire, but that's the sad facts.
Best regards, Max

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When I push the panic button, the breaker pops!

[Cyclic Hotline]

I should also add, that there has been a significant increase in graduates from A&P schools being directly targeted and hired by other industries. Some industries have even taken the search so far, as to advertise in Aviation publications. Aviation technicians are highly desirable, as they are highly trained (and trainable) in a variety of disciplines, used to operating and maintaining complex and expensive equipment, astute troubleshooters and are safety conscious.

Last year the entire graduating class from a school in Vancouver B.C. was hired by the oil and gas industry, and guess what, the pay, conditions and benefits were incomparable to the crap they would have taken as entry level aviation technicians!

I have seen a significant increase in the numebr of experienced A&P's leaving the industry, couple of examples being an Industrial HVAC maintenance job @ $35.00 per hour and an electrical lineman, starting at $27.00 per hour!

The industry of course blames everyone else for this mess, but the reality is that they are so far behind the curve in a burgeoning business, that the course for continued expansion will be the most efficient players, who are able to utilise their manpower to the greatest advantage.

There is a significant chance that some businesses will fail, simply because their management is not astute enough to understand that the success of a business is the combination of a first class stable and competent workforce, married to capable and effective management. As I watch some of these labour negotiations between employer and employee, I just shake my head and try to calculate the long term cost of the ensuing bitterness and mistrust that the management have just created by the manner in which the negotiations are conducted.

If you can't find good employees, you need to closely examine your management structure.

If you can't keep good employees, you need to closely examine your management structure.

A shortage of people simply means that someone, somewhere is doing a better job of managing their company, than you are yours!!!