Commercial LAME to GA

[nelbhoy]

Hi guys,
Looking for a bit of info. Has anybody switched from jet maintenance to piston engined maint in Australia? I'm an avionic LAME with a possible job offer on GA aircraft. To be honest I am extremely excited by it. I know the money may be less, but the thought of working for a relatively small family business as opposed to a soulless commercial carrier really appeals.
Is it a huge difference in type of work? How exactly do you get to the point of holding a GA CRS? Does every aircraft have individual courses?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

[AEROMEDIC]

It's a BIG change...
Coming from the relatively sheltered environment of airline to GA pistons has lots of challenges.
There's parts availability, more focus on costs, small stores, fewer tools, etc.
You are expected to apply a broader range of skills and often no-one to assist in problem solving.
You must be self starting and self sufficient or it won't work.
Greater responsibility in on time and under budget maintenance. Some operators don't pay for overtime, so check your work package.
Week-end duty rostering is common and expect to be called in when you least expect it and when it's most inconvenient..
While it can be a family atmosphere, work relations with the pilots can get strained when their expectations don't align with yours, particularly when you cannot provide a release to service in their time frame.
There is obviously less complexity and fewer systems to deal with, but can be tight when accessing components.
I have done it for years after airline employment and loved it for a while, but went back to airline in the end and appreciated the conditions there much more.
Good luck if you do this, but have no regrets if you decide to return to the jets. It's all experience.

Cheers
:ok::ok: