Future AME Discouraged

This forum has been developed to discuss maintenance topics in Canada.

Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore

Post Reply
pilotdreams
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 118
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:36 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by pilotdreams »

I just want the young guys reading this to know that not all AMEs are broke and more whiny about work conditions/industry than a 20 year old pilot.
---------- ADS -----------
 
How do you know when your half way through a date with a Pilot? When they say "enough talk about flying, lets talk about me!"
User avatar
cramer604
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:11 pm
Location: vancouver

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by cramer604 »

:prayer:
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by cramer604 on Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
cramer604
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:11 pm
Location: vancouver

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by cramer604 »

:prayer:
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by cramer604 on Mon Jan 30, 2012 3:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
conehead
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 426
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2004 9:32 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by conehead »

cramer604 wrote:sorry i misinterpreted that wrong. .
So, you interpreted it correctly? Reminds me of something a former U.S. President would say...
---------- ADS -----------
 
Indanao
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 439
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2009 4:25 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by Indanao »

cramer604 wrote:Question, along with your flight training, did mommy and daddy also pay for your lap top so that you can post on a forum for maintenance. Pilots are a dime dozen. Now go away and watch "top gun" again. We don't need feed back from a pile of lit, especially from a twenty year old.
I bet I paid twice as much for my licenses than you did for yours.

Arrogant AMEs have been with us forever. :supz:
---------- ADS -----------
 
conehead
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 426
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2004 9:32 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by conehead »

Indanao wrote:
Arrogant AMEs have been with us forever. :supz:
Like this guy; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Taylor
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
oldncold
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1015
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 11:17 am
Location: south of 78N latitude , north of 30'latitude

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by oldncold »

back in the day // every spring in yxl at the bearskin the parking lot would change dramatically. The pilots that left for the majors would leave room in their spots for their fav f/o to park and a few weeks later after the upgrade the shiny new trucks and cars of newly minted captains . replacing the 19 ancient something rust buket with worn out tape decks, (due to driving multiple times across the country looking for that elusive holy grail of turbine job during the latest multi year recession . SOUND FAMILIAR.


In the ame dept the same thing would happen those who wanted 'a life ' would get a chance in tbay
and the newly licensed ame would treat themselves to a bizillon $ snow machine with so many after market go faster than the metro n king air they fixed at night parts. to show them pilots up . OH I FORGOT THE NEW CHEVY FORD ETC to get to their fav lake both to ice fish and test the ballistic properties of their new land based sled. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :mrgreen:


all in all balance was struck and right inb the nwo world the pilots got the girl for the 1 nighter but the ame had the bigger bank balance and he got the gal for the long haul and when its 42 below c in yxl
which is the smart move.? fly safe and keep a cool tool /
---------- ADS -----------
 
Vyper28
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:41 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by Vyper28 »

This is a really daunting thread. I saw an ad awhile back about working for CNC/Heli-One in the lower mainland and thought it looked appealing, they said AME-M for 80,000/year? I was about ready to take the plunge and take the program at BCIT but.. man this is looking scary/bleak. I'm working in I.T. right now, and you guys have mentioned a few things about people in I.T. making good cash ect. ect. but hey.. I've been doing this for 7 years, and I've found that I.T. guys are a dime a dozen and most of the time I feel like some kid will try do what I do for 1/2 the price. He'll likely fail but they'd rather pay him then me and fix it later!

Now I'm starting to feel like maybe AME is not for me... The guy at BCIT said I could look into Gas Turbines instead and that the work outlook was strong in those fields.. something about oil or whatever.. But I haven't seen much in here for suggestions of other paths to take. I guess that's too be expected from an aviation forum though. Am I really better off taking the electrician program or plumbing or HVAC or something rather then fixing choppers :O? To break 80k a year in the I.T. field I'd be looking at a lot more then an 18 month program.. I can tell you that much. MCSE, MCDB, Cisco, Network +, Unix.. 4 years down the road I might be done all the schooling needed for network admin.. Then I might pull 80k/year..

/discouraged.
---------- ADS -----------
 
conehead
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 426
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2004 9:32 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by conehead »

If you can find something that you enjoy doing, and someone will actually pay you to do, then you have found the greatest job in the world. I have a job like that. I am a licensed AME, and I have enjoyed messing around with various airplanes for 30 years now. Along the way, I have earned enough money to pay for a house, a cottage, various cars, and put a couple of kids through school. Life is good. Aviation Maintenance has been a good career for me.

Just my 2% of a dollar worth... :D
---------- ADS -----------
 
RFlyer
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:17 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged - Someone Actually Wrote a Book

Post by RFlyer »

My daily scan through YVR craigslist for aircraft related stuff turned this up - right on topic. Don't know if it's for real, but looks like it...

http://mindflipbooks.ca/

RF
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Pat Richard
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 896
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:36 pm
Location: all over

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by Pat Richard »

My true identity finally revealed..... :lol: He should approach Aviation World for distributorship.

Anyone know if any other similar industry has ever driven somebody to put something like this together, or is aviation unique in that matter?

Too funny...
---------- ADS -----------
 
http://mindflipbooks.ca/
iflyforpie
Top Poster
Top Poster
Posts: 8132
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:25 pm
Location: Winterfell...

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by iflyforpie »

I saw an ad awhile back about working for CNC/Heli-One in the lower mainland and thought it looked appealing, they said AME-M for 80,000/year?
How can you live in Vancouver on $80K/yr?

Are you going to rent an apartment for the rest of your life? Drive two hours a day from the not-much-more-reasonably-priced suburbs?

You could make half of that somewhere else and have a better quality of life...
---------- ADS -----------
 
Geez did I say that....? Or just think it....?
User avatar
Zip Tie
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:00 pm
Location: YYZ

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by Zip Tie »

The reason why AMEs are not getting paid for their worth and are being treated like crap is that we do not stick together.That fact has gone on for decades.

The reason why pilots do well is the opposite.

They (Pilots) realized the problem early and acted and they have formed this =>
http://www.alpa.org/AboutALPA/WhoWeAre/ ... fault.aspx

We have this=>
Infighting, bitching and complaining.

So if you plan to do nothing about it, expect nothing, and you will do fine.
The corporate /business structure knows that we are weak.
---------- ADS -----------
 
The Hammer
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 437
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 6:46 am

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by The Hammer »

Zip Tie wrote:The reason why AMEs are not getting paid for their worth and are being treated like crap is that we do not stick together.That fact has gone on for decades.

The reason why pilots do well is the opposite.

They (Pilots) realized the problem early and acted and they have formed this =>
http://www.alpa.org/AboutALPA/WhoWeAre/ ... fault.aspx

We have this=>
Infighting, bitching and complaining.

So if you plan to do nothing about it, expect nothing, and you will do fine.

The corporate /business structure knows that we are weak.

Don't look to the pilots as an example. Air Canada's pilot union has disintegrated with the pilots firing their leadership and negotiating commitee after the last tentative agreement was negotiated with the company.

ACPA and ALPA keep on underbidding each other for work and airplanes. AC and Jazz both operate 2 types of 75 seat airplane (EMB 175 and CRJ705) and the pilots whore themselves out to get the jobs/flying.

Air Canada pilots recently changed part of their contract to allow other carriers ie Sky Regional, to operate Air Canada flights (operating identical airplanes as Jazz, Q400). It was exclusively done by Jazz for the last 25 years. Guess what, Sky Regional pays less, has no pension plan, and shittier benefits than Jazz. Air Canada pilots did this just before contract negotiations to try and negotiate something better for themselves. What they got was a big thank you from management and then a contract offer so bad that 90% of the pilots turned it down and +90% voter turn out.

ALPA is no better.

The pilot industry in North america is being manipulated badly by management.

Remember that dash 8 crash in Buffalo 3 years ago. The FO was commuting from her parents house in Seattle the night before and worked a 2nd job at starbucks.


Whatever pilots use to have is now gone and we are well on our way down. Don't get me wrong it is still decent but only because it started so high.
---------- ADS -----------
 
vansterdam
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:25 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by vansterdam »

Just got accepted into GT Tech program @ BCIT (Vancouver) but still not sure if it's worth taking. Are there any jobs for GTs around? Are they better off or worse than AMEs? How different is the industry for GTs? Anyone familiar with BCIT's certificate, is it worth anything? Any info is really appreciated
---------- ADS -----------
 
veteran30
Rank 0
Rank 0
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Feb 29, 2012 6:39 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by veteran30 »

As you all know by now, Aveos? Air Canada heavy maintenance is dead. 2600 AME's on the street. Not much future for graduating apprentices.
So try another trade when you are young, no future here.
AC planes going all over the world for maintenance, none left at home.
---------- ADS -----------
 
212wrench
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:14 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by 212wrench »

That's probably why we can't produce enough students for the jobs that are available. More Blah, Blah, Blah. my life sucks.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Fling Wing
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 84
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:58 pm

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by Fling Wing »

veteran30 wrote:As you all know by now, Aveos? Air Canada heavy maintenance is dead. 2600 AME's on the street. Not much future for graduating apprentices.
So try another trade when you are young, no future here.
AC planes going all over the world for maintenance, none left at home.
The part about no future for graduating apprentices is a load of f***ing bull. My entire class of 15 students are working, all but 2 are rotary wing I might add. After reading this thread I don't think I would ever work on fixed wings, sounds like a bunch of whiney pilots with a boring job, get your facts straight before posting stuff like this. It's my personal opinion that someone should decide for themselves if they want to become an AME or not. No one should tell them how rosy it is, and no one should tell them how shitty it is, because it's not a cozy office job, nor is it a job working at the dump, like many here make it seem to be. As long as there are airplanes and helicopters, there will be a need for AMEs, the pilots may be replaced with robots, but things will still break, and you can't train a robot to do our job.
---------- ADS -----------
 
sparky99
Rank 1
Rank 1
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:27 pm
Location: Wet Coast

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by sparky99 »

I don't really know where to start with this one..... You must be pretty new to this industry, that's apparent. When you say your entire class graduated, that sounds like such a great thing... but when you start looking into it, what are the quality of those jobs? I'm not trying to sound like a crusty old man, infact I've only been in this industry for 6 years, but when I look back at my decision to get into this trade, I regret it. When you look around at what's available both to experienced, licensed AME's as well as apprentices, the picture is pretty bleak. The majority of work is low-paying (When compared with other technical trades), has poor hours, poor benefits, requires working in crappy conditions, and ontop of all that there is almost zero stability in terms of job security. It's great that you can sit there and call people whiney because you have a job that you seem to like (and kudos for that) but give it some time, maybe when you have some more time under your belt and start signing your name to an aircraft carrying several hundred people for less money than a guy driving a bus and you'll start to crust over. I think it's perfectly fair for experienced people to share their views on the state of this industy, especially in a thread where someone is looking for such opinions. If someone is set on getting into this trade, so be it, however if I could give my two cents it'd be to steer clear. There are plenty of other trades out there where you're treated better, paid far more, and have far less responsibility/liability. Our industry is in a race to the bottom.... it's not going to get better.
Fling Wing wrote:
veteran30 wrote:As you all know by now, Aveos? Air Canada heavy maintenance is dead. 2600 AME's on the street. Not much future for graduating apprentices.
So try another trade when you are young, no future here.
AC planes going all over the world for maintenance, none left at home.
The part about no future for graduating apprentices is a load of f***ing bull. My entire class of 15 students are working, all but 2 are rotary wing I might add. After reading this thread I don't think I would ever work on fixed wings, sounds like a bunch of whiney pilots with a boring job, get your facts straight before posting stuff like this. It's my personal opinion that someone should decide for themselves if they want to become an AME or not. No one should tell them how rosy it is, and no one should tell them how shitty it is, because it's not a cozy office job, nor is it a job working at the dump, like many here make it seem to be. As long as there are airplanes and helicopters, there will be a need for AMEs, the pilots may be replaced with robots, but things will still break, and you can't train a robot to do our job.
---------- ADS -----------
 
flatface
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 141
Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:43 am

Re: Future AME Discouraged

Post by flatface »

Deleted
---------- ADS -----------
 
Last edited by flatface on Mon Jan 13, 2014 9:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Post Reply

Return to “Maintenance”