silly question for experienced engineer...

[cessnasey]

hi,

first of all i hope you can all bare with my amature and sometimes annoying questions. however, an insight into the life of an aircraft engineer seems to be impossible to come by as i dont know anyone in the trade personaly to get first hand advice. Im in the process of gaining national qualifications (back to school, a-levels) so i can start my journey. having owned my own business for the past 5years i am very excited that i can finaly afford to chase this dream. theres just a few things im not sure about, that i need to know before i continue.

im wondering how the location of an engineer works. for example, i live in the middle of a triangle of gatwick, heathrow and stansted. would i be completely of my head to think that il be lucky enough to find a job so close to home having qualified? as an aircraft engineer, is having to re-locate the least i should expect?

im just trying to get an idea of the lifestyle im trying to get into. i am married and she would prefer if i didnt have to leave for days at a time, understandably so (so would i to be honest). after all, the preference would be convienience every time!

if relocating is a must and i would have to go away for days at a time, would acccomadation be down to the company id be working for or would it all have to come off my own salary?

it may seem as these questions are a bit early in my career! but i think its important that i know exactly what im getting into, and what to expect before i start..

it would make an educational read if someone was to post "a day in the life of" post. just so newbies like myself and all intrested could get an idea of what an aircraft engineers routine and work actually consists of.


seyhan

[Wodrick]

Presume that your intent is to go to one of the establishments that will do an ab-initio B1 or B2 course and that you intend to emerge having passed the modules just requiring experience, would this be correct?

[cessnasey]

that is correct. :ok:

[Wodrick]

I will respond further, if no one else does, but today is ones birthday so Curry calls !

[spannersatcx]

Having just worked outside in the snow, gale force winds etc etc for 40hrs in the last 3 days, with a varied diet of BK yesterday and McD today I'm too knackered to do anything. Haven't seen the wife and kids for more than an hour each day, still at least we fixed the a/c and I'm now overcome with all the thanks and gratitude from the powers that be.:ouch:

Plus the prospect of another long day tomorrow, still I've got a day off Tuesday, that'll be fun, Wife at work, kids at school/work, I'll have some quality time with myself I guess.:ugh:

Last weekend was better, ended up in Stockholm Saturday, got back Sunday in time for another shift before getting home to say goodnight to the family.

Apart from that it's great.

[ratchetspanner]

Spanners has summed it up. Can be very long hours, 12 hr nightshifts, work miracles with little or no support at 3 in the morning etc etc and normally with very little appreciation from those in the office doing the mon-fri 9-5 jobs. You will need your B1/B2 ticket to start earning some reasonable money but bear in mind the local BMW mechanic down the road will have a higher hourly rate!!!! Anyway, good luck with whatever you do, its not all bad...

[cessnasey]

wow... that bad?

theres a few things i cant understand. there are many threads that exist such as this one and theres even more people advising against getting involved in aircraft engineering. and how a plumber gets a better salary.

on previous threads iv read of some folks earning up to 70k a year, then theres others who find it hard to survive. the pay scale, clearly. varies tremendously.

one thing that confuses me is... if its that bad, why not quit? with "licenced aircraft mechanic" on you're CV im sure the BMW garage down the road, or the next one 2 miles away, will take you on with open arms!

this post isnt written intended with disrespect to fellow aviation enthusiasts/licenced engineers. or to question the advice given. i have a dream as you guys did once. i intend to experience it fist hand. if i find its not for me i shall move on and become a sparky. this way, atleast i wont wonder the rest of my life "what if?"

and, i still wonder how hard it would be to find work close to home. while i am not sure what route i shall take to get there. apprentice, foundation degree and so on il do whatevers available after completing each step. right now my maths and physics needs my attention. after that il move on the next step.

i dont mind working night shifts, working away every month or so, but i dont know if i could bare my 4 on 4 offs one week in exeter, one week in birmingham, one week manchester and so on. i wonder if generally, this is the life of an aircraft engineer. it is this the case?

i love general aviation also and would be just as happy working with cessna's and piper cherokee's! i think i am howard hughes re-icarnated he he.

i appreciate you're advice.

seyhan.

[stevef]

There's not a lot of correlation between car and aircraft mechanics. Many turbine engineers may never have worked on piston engines and the technology in automobile maintenance is far in advance of what you'll find in Lycomings and Continentals anyway. Look at fixed ignition timing and air-cooling for a start. I doubt the local BMW dealership would look at your CV for long...
Another thing, most aircraft maintenance is repetative tasking. Line work is more interesting but read again what spannersatcx says.

Just my opinion.

[Vortechs Jenerator]

I don't think a "Day in the life of " me would help you very much.

"A year in the life of Me", might though but I'm unwilling to type that.

life as a LAE can be very varied. First - repetitive - if, say doing the same checks on the same A/C type, ad neuseum, (and maybe even the same zone on the same aircraft for weeks/months at some places). I've done that.

Life as a roving AOG recoverer can be a bit more exciting, traveling to far off places, gaining access to secure aprons with no language skills can be challenging, frustrating but also rewarding. Different jobs each time.

Line work is ok but can get boring too - doing fairly lightweight work. Best at places where you also go in the hangar when larger jobs are needed rather than sending the aircraft away and never getting involved.

Lots of aircraft work can be low skill and mundane when you know what you're doing and that's boring BUT required. Some jobs are very complex and very satisfying to rectify when you suspect others may have struggled, these are the good days!

Lots of LAE's writing on these boards (Airmech etc) do seem to be in the wrong job. If I hated it as much as some of them do, I'd change paths.

It's NOT all roses, the hours can be long some days in very difficult conditions but by God, the beer tastes good in the bar afterwards.

As an experienced LAE, you can also get involved in management, planning, tech services, repping, claims, lease transfers, MCC/LMC etc etc.

That's kind of what I do - keep things fresh and learn new aspects of the job. It's a long life to do the same **** all the time.

Hope that helps a bit

[extyke]

It depends what you want. I work for a regional airline out in the sticks (two engineers looking after 1 aircraft) and there's good and bad points for both sides. I also spent hours last week battling winds, rain and snow, but only for an 8 hour shift, then went home like I do every night!!! Week of earlies, week of lates, don't do weekends, been here two years, only 1 unscheduled night away.However... I have to work alone permanently and I know that my joiner bother-in-law earns far more than me. It's a lifestyle choice I suppose, I don't want to swap for bigger jets and more money if I'm going to end up working for a living!!!!!!!Now head back below the parapet and wait.....

[smudgethecat]

i love the job, work a four on 4 off shift on a busy line station works varied and interesting in the main ,salary works out at around 44k which incudes approval and shift pay, overtime on top i normally make around 50k. Interestingly enough my brother in law works for a bmw main dealer as a mechanic, he is on around 22k

[Mr.Brown]

Engineering is seen by the bean counters as a constant drain on finance and in the case of a lot of airlines is seen as never making the airline any money just spend spend spend. So you never get any thanks!!:ugh:

You'll have "x" amount of people on board, aircraft AOG and management leaning on you not to take an engineering delay beacause if affects their bonus. You learn very quick in this game to go home from work with a clear conscience, as you don't want to be having dinner with the wife and kids wondering have I done the right thing or not.
Its all about money and costs to the management and they try to make that your responsibility also.

Alot of the time it can be mundane and uneventful, but then you have to make that decision that pi**es the bosses off (:=) and marks your card for years.
But hey at least that Sunday roast was great.:ok:

[spannersatcx]

I didn't say I didn't like it, just trying to show it's no cake walk, it has it's ups and downs like any job. Do I enjoy it, yes, some days it can be quite routine other days the proverbial hits the fan and it can become very trying and testing.

But at the end of the day when you've accomplished what you set out to do under adverse conditions with limited resources, you've just released an a/c with 400 happy punters a what if! captain and constant hassle from traffic people - is it fixed yet, how much longer (I tend to ignore them I'm too long in the tooth now) you can take a certain amount of self pride in what you've achieved. Do you get any thanks from management, doubt it and don't care anymore that's not what it's about, you're only as good as and remembered for your last f£(*& up

I've work on majors in hangars, can be rewarding but can get a bit repetative, last 15 years on the line which again can be both rewarding and repetative. Would I do I do anything else, who knows, you make decisions early on in life be they right or wrong who knows.

I wouldn't detract anyone from doing it, just be aware it can be hard but rewarding. Remuneration varies, some pay well some pay what they can get away with.

My son is in his 1st year of his apprenticeship at BMW, after 3 years he will be on a good salary that took me quite a few more years to get to, will it be as rewarding and as challenging, who knows, depends on what you want from the job.

Dinners a bit better tonight got a chicken korma from Morissons in between my split shifts due to late inbound flight (only 8hrs late) did 3 flights this morning, back in again now, haven't seen the family yet hopefully be back before they're all in bed, but I doubt it. Still got a day off tomorrow:D

[cessnasey]

thank you all very much for youre kind responses to my questions.

does anyone know of anywhere i could visit to see the life? maybe get some work experience? it would be great to get chatting to guys in the trade.

the idea of it now (and as far back as i can remember) excites me. id rather be working on an aircraft than pressing clothes and getting high off dry cleaning chemicals all day for 30 - 35k a year (i currently own a dry cleaner).

id trade that life for this anyday.

[ratchetspanner]

I'm led to believe Monarch are running an adult trainee scheme (engineering experience reqd although not necessarily aviation) and also an apprenticeship scheme at Luton. Might be worth giving them a try to get a foot in the door....

[itwilldoatrip]

The joy of working for Virgin Spanner's
:rolleyes: