Advice for a first time Mechanic job hunter?

[Liambb]

Ok, so I graduated with a 2:1 from University this year in Aircraft Engineering, since around June/July I have been job hunting to become an Aircraft Mechanic. I have only had 1 interviews and rarely hear back from companies, I have looked over my CV and covering letter a thousand times so I'm relatively sure that there alright. It seems pretty much everyone only wants Mechanics/Fitters with aircraft experience, which I have some but not a great deal of. I have asked companies at my local airport (Newcastle) however they showed no interested in me doing voluntary work let alone giving me a job.

I have looked at graduate schemes however they seem to be tailored toward office jobs, when really what I want is to be working hands on with the aircraft as a mechanic, eventually a licensed engineer (currently sitting my exams). Most major airlines either want grads in for those office job grad schemes or not at all it seems as everything else requires experience.

Basically, long story short, are there any mechanics or engineers out there who could maybe give me some guidance. I am looking for work every day, I have sent many speculative applications and regularly check all major airlines websites.

Is there anywhere specific I should look?
Any companies you know of taking on people with little experience?
Is there anything else I can do apart from take my Part 66 license exams and just wait?

If you have any advice I really apprechiate it.

Regards

Liam

[woptb]

Hi Liam,you seem to be trying all the right things.Have you tried the agencies for fitter work ? Good luck mate !

[Liambb]

Hey, yea I'm registerd to all of the agencies I could find, however agencies all seemd tailored toward contract work, which I want to do but with no experience it seems almost impossible.

[YOUNGBUCK]

Hi Liam,

As many other people have found on this site and others, It is a difficult situation you find yourself in but not impossible. I have worked with other Engineers whom have completed a degree and managed to get jobs with the firms they worked for as work experience - KLM norwich is an example.
Completing your 66 licence will probably not help in your quest to find hands on work as companies still want engineers and mechanics who have experience regardless of level of qualification.
As you have also pointed out, there are jobs out the for office based engineering jobs, BA have graduate schemes. These jobs include systems engineering (dev eng) and reliability engineering , which can involve travelling and visiting checks too.
If you have your heart set on working hands on with the tools then you may want to consider applying for an apprenticeship if you can find one or joining the RAF do some time, get training, get paid, and then you can leave with some experience to accompany your licence and stand a better chance of getting a job with a MRO.

[Liambb]

Hi Buck, I have considered the RAF however if my memory is correct I believe the minimum service is 12 years for a Technician or an Engineer, which would mean I'd be signing up to the RAF until I'm 35 years old, if the minimum service was less I'd definitely consider it.

I contacted the company I did my experience with however they told me that they did not need anyone more mechanics/fitters at the time.

And yea I'm pretty dead set on working hands on with the aircraft, even if it takes another 6 months of job hunting before I find my lucky break. Guess I'll just have to be a bit more patient and keep looking.

One more thing, I have sent speculative applications to companies months ago (maybe mid summer some of them), should I send my CV and cover letter again or is that just considered rude sending them my CV multiple times? I guess after a month or two my CV will probably just slip off their system, assuming they even put it on record in the first place. Is it ok to re-send a CV + cover letter after a few months of no response?

Thanks again

Liam

[patkinson]

Liam,
Either apply to join the RAF...a degree puts you in the officer cadet rnge..or try Virgin as a grad engineer..aircraft mechs are a dime adozen..but check with one of the aircraft contrctors..see what sort of work they can offer..careers advice from a major carrier is worth investigating also...what you have could be whatbthey are looking for....see what is necessary from the CAA...what the basic qualifications are towards becoming a licensed aircraft engineer...good luck..
from an old retired multi licensed a&c a&p engineer.....!

[Phalconphixer]

Have you tried Cobham / FR Aviation at Teeside? Been a while since I left FRA but they were generally approachable and prepared to listen... don't just send a CV call them, talk to them... The fleet aircraft are mainly Dassault Falcon 20's of 1969 vintage but have Rockwell Collins Proline 4 glass cockpits and all the latest bells and whistles...

[Liambb]

Hi, thanks for the responses. I've not tried FR at Teeside yet, I'll be sure to give them a call and see if there is anything they are able to offer me.

Thanks

[YOUNGBUCK]

Could you do more work experience to help you gain experience?

Having not sent speculative CV's before, I'm not sure if it is a successful approach, however it shows keen-ness, they will tell you if they have it on file (which they probably will have), companies get hundreds and hundreds of CVs for any job opening and the sorting process is very crude to begin with.

My friend joined the Raf, done his training plus a couple of extra years and then left to go contracting. He done 4-5 years before leaving, I think the 12 year thing is for pensions. He had to give a years notice.

[Liambb]

I have tried asking a few airlines at my local airport if I could do some voluntary work however they showed no interest, there's a couple I have not been able to contact simply because I cannot find any contact information and the airlines general customer services won't give me a email or phone number for there Newcastle maintenance teams.

And yea I think I might have to look into the RAF in a couple of months if I've still not found work and attempt to go through that route.

[MAC 40612]

You might not like this reply, but I've got to ask. If you wanted to work "hands-on" why did you go down the University route to start with?

The problem you've got [as I see it, from the point of view of an Engineer who has been in Aircraft Maintenance for 30+ years] is that many potential employers will probably see you as over-qualified for a Mechanic job. They will probably think you will either get bored or will not want to stay on the "shop-floor" for very long with your qualifications, so the money they spend on you in terms of training/courses etc will not give them a good return on their investment in you.

Also be aware that many employers are trying to "de-skill" the job as much as possible, with many major airlines putting pressure on EASA to do away with the "expensive" [as they see it] licensing system and go to a much cheaper [for them] company approval type system, so long term I do not think things are going to get better on the shop floor end.

As you state, most graduate schemes are aimed at recruiting staff that will go into Technical support roles rather than hands on type work.

If you really do want to go down the Mechanic route you could always try going in as an Apprentice with an Employer. It might sound like a backward step but I know we have had Apprentices start in the past where I work [a certain Big Airline ;) ] that have had degrees.

So you might want to try BA for either Apprentice or Mechanic jobs [There were due to be more intakes in the coming financial year, which in BA now runs Jan-Dec as the holding company IAG is registered in Spain] but there is another financial review about Engineering costs going on at present, so I think it's on hold. Remember BA employs Engineers not only at Heathrow but also at the Major overhaul bases in Glasgow and Cardiff.

Good luck with your job search and I hope I didn't sound too "downbeat". I wouldn't want to discourage anyone who genuinely wants to work "on the tools" nowadays as many don't want to get their hands dirty any more!

[Liambb]

Hey Mac, at the time when I decided to go down the route of getting a degree I wasn't really aware of how the whole system worked. My college lectures would just tell us that we would need to go to university, the college and uni were closely linked, so probably meant more money for them for the more students they got to enrol. I didn't really check elsewhere as they were all ex-mechanics and engineers so I assumed they knew best.

To be fair though I don't regret the degree route even if it's going to make landing my initial job a bit harder, it's always good to have later in life if I wanted to progress or age meant the physical work was becoming too demanding, although I guess by which point my experience would be more than enough to suffice. Still though, I'm glad I've got it.

Thanks for the heads up for BA, I regularly check large airlines websites, including BA, so I'll keep a look out for any apprentice/traineeship programs.

Thanks for your response, appreciate it.

[Marlons]

I was in the same position as you last year! If you got all your modules you can get into Ryanair as a trainee

[Liambb]

Yea a few of my mates have told me the same thing, I should have my modules completed by the summer, hopefully they'll still be taking in some new Mechanics by then.

[Liambb]

Oh well, scrap that, got an interview sooner than I thought with Ryanair. They just got back to me about the Engineer Training Program in Hanger 10 at Stanstead, which I applied to for before christmas and they just gave me an interview for this Wednesday. *crosses fingers*

[MAC 40612]

Oh well, scrap that, got an interview sooner than I thought with Ryanair. They just got back to me about the Engineer Training Program in Hanger 10 at Stanstead, which I applied to for before Christmas and they just gave me an interview for this Wednesday. *crosses fingers*

Good luck with the interview, you might want to learn how to spell Hangar and Stansted though ;)

[Liambb]

True true, what a relief they didn't make me do a spelling test!