New Grad in Ontario needing some advice

[CanMaintGrad]

I will be graduating in the springtime from an Ontario college and I am trying to figure out how to go about finding a good mentor in the aviation industry. I'm looking to get opinions from some adventuring AME's, guys who have worked in some extreme places or conditions and really love doing so.
I am looking for career advice on how to work towards a career like yours, working in remote locations. Maybe you work on bush planes up north or in the mountains or on big vessels out at sea. If your career is or has taken you to some really cool places let me know how you got there. Do you have any advice for me?
As for me I am in a good situation, I'm an adventurous guy and that's what I make for my life. I am finishing school with almost no debt and excited to get into aviation. What I really want is to be a good AME, skilled and knowledgeable, someone people can rely on when they are in the air.

[kilpicki]

Be sure to read all the posts on this site about happy and not so happy AME's.
For sure there are good jobs and people enjoying this field of work but remember a few things, you may work night shift, you will get laid off more than once, you may work for lower than average salary.

[Heliian]

If you want steady employment, adventure, travel and aren't afraid to actually work for a living instead of expecting to have the world given to you, then join the helicopter world. As an apprentice in the north you can start around 35-40k a year, after 10 years licensed you should be making over 100k a year, which by my calculation is pretty fing good. Of course, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER JOB, you may have to work nights, you may get laid off and you may think you are being underpaid. But, I'm pretty sure that most of the AME's in Canada are living comfortably. For a better insight into the heli world, talk to Wade when you go back to class.

DON'T join the airlines

DON'T take peoples word for it, go and experience it for yourself

DO be positive and courteous, start building a good reputation now and it'll pay dividends in the future.

I've been in the aviation industry for only a decade now but I've never had a hard time finding work and I've been to places and done things that most people only dream of from behind their computer screens. The country always needs more engineers, don't let killjoy or buzz killington or any of the other trolls here bring you down.

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES AND CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY.

[NeverBlue]

For sure there are good jobs and people enjoying this field of work but remember a few things, you will work night shift, you will get laid off more than once, you will work for lower than average salary.

...that sentence within itself is a contradiction.

Like a broken record..."I have never worked night shift, never been laid off, never worked for lower than average salary"

Now of course "average salary" is very subjective but I have never been below average in Canada or in the Aviation Industry but I have been below average in the MD field and Lawyer field...does that count?

Of course, JUST LIKE ANY OTHER JOB, you may have to work nights, you may get laid off and you may think you are being underpaid. But, I'm pretty sure that most of the AME's in Canada are living comfortably.

...much better...

DON'T take peoples word for it, go and experience it for yourself

DO be positive and courteous, start building a good reputation now and it'll pay dividends in the future.

YOU MUST MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICES AND CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY.

+1

[NeverBlue]

I see the school has you brainwased already.

...I'm sure you meant "Brainwashed" ( most of us were "brainwashed" in elementary school to spell)

maybe you should explain what a school is supposed to do then?

I've heard them refered to many times here as "puppy mills" but I'm not sure I've ever got this comparison. It's not like people are forced to go to these schools.


anyways...I've been brainwashed to eat dinner at this time during the day so...see ya!

[Troubleshot]

Here we go again...

Anywho...get out there and see if you like it. NeverBlue likes his job and has never had a bad experience in aviation, so there's that. Others feel they are in to deep to 'get out' (bills, kids, to old to start again,etc...) I think there are pro's and con's to every job and every industry, but speaking from experience my view is aviation is stuck in the dark ages. Personally, I put in 14 years as an AME and then got out of aviation. I just didn't like the way the industry was heading so I made a personal choice to leave. During my time as an AME my family life suffered because of night shifts, trust me man 90% of aircraft maintenance is performed at night and don't let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise. I worked a rotational shift most places 4 on/ 4 off night shift, so you lose touch with your friends and family basically because when you are off they are at work, or simply because when they get off work at the end of the day, you are just starting work. Every industry has shift work (and nights) I am just telling you how it is out there.

I was laid off 3 times due to folding airlines, staff reduction, etc...It can happen in any industry, just happens a lot in aviation. You have already paid for school so get out there and try and get a decent job, form your own opinions, and let us know how you like it after a year. You may love it, who knows. Read this site and take the good and bad into consideration, at least you'll be somewhat informed on what people like and what the dislike.

Good luck!

[dashx]

Do you have any advice for me

Start looking for a job right now (unless, of course, you have started doing that already).

Knocking on doors is tough but from what I have read you should have no trouble presenting yourself.

After you get that first job and experience (good or bad it will always be useful to you) it's only 18 months, CAR's and then you'll have your license.

Hard work and honesty never hurt anybody. How's that for mentoring?

[CanMaintGrad]

Thanks for the info, I intend to avoid the airlines that's for sure, I don't see the adventure value in it. I do appreciate the standard warnings and making a destiny thing. I appreciate it, I really do and I don't want to sound ungrateful but its not really what I was looking for.
I want to know why the company you worked for decided to send you to travel for work. Maybe there is a certain skill set or experience that made you the best person for the job. Maybe you are fluent in another language or have another qualification which is highly desirable when chasing those dream jobs. Maybe you are a savant with a certain aircraft or a specialist and focusing on it took you into the wilderness. Or Maybe you missed out on great opportunities because you didn't have a certain skill.
I have read the arguments on other threads, that information exists on this site on so many threads, its pretty tough to avoid. Needless to say I have enough information on topics like night shifts, low pay, high levels of responsibility, lay offs, and how driving or being a pilot is better. That is not the information I'm looking for, anyone can find that on this site on there own. I apologize for not being clearer in my initial post. I appreciate your time and opinions.

[longjon]

Sounds like you want some adventure, travel and work in different locations? For sure there are lots of cool and interesting places in Canada but its a big world and lots of aviation. I did read the stats and we in Canada do something like 10% of the total worldwide aviation so looking elsewhere is always an option.
Look to getting your EASA B1 and maybe B2 and this will open a lot more doors, not in the airline world but the"utility" market as its called. Not so easy to do right out of school but make it a future goal. Some say the EASA level of qualification is the future so you may see this if you stay in the biz for a while.

[robertw]

One of the biggest factors in getting sent to exotic locations is whether or not the company you're working for sends aircraft to exotic locations to make money, so do your homework when searching for prospective employers. The company I work for gets contracts all over the world. South America, Africa, China, Russia, the Arctic just to name a few. The crews that go with the aircraft are type rated engineers and apprentices. I think that the best thing that you can do is get on with a company (helicopter with heavy lift capability is probably best for the type of work you seem to be interested in as helicopters are the most widely used for seismic, mining, hydro / energy projects in remote locations) and prove that you love to work, are very good at what you do, will take on ANY task without griping and are willing to go anywhere with minimal notice. Things like second languages can help (the most common ones I guess would be French, Spanish, Portuguese), but are not really too much of a deciding factor. Special skills/licenses may be deciding factors for persons signing out aircraft or being crew chief, but it takes a number of years experience to get there. Hope this might help a bit.

[NeverBlue]

NeverBlue likes his job and has never had a bad experience in aviation

Not true at all...I'd be an idiot to think like that.

Of course there've been times I've hated my job (every job I've ever had in my life). I've just dealt with it instead of complaining about it...I mean I have to have a job right?

Of course I've had bad experiences in aviation. Seen people fly off to never return, seen businesses go bankrupt, seen massive layoffs...I've just dealt with them instead of blaming the industry as if it has some sort of control over everything.

I try to live my life with a good positive attitude, I have always tried to make the right decisions based on the information I've had and I have no regrets.

[Greg87]

Realize this is a slightly out of date topic, sorry, little late to the party. Guessing by your name you're at Canadore? Take a trip over to Voyageur and apply for an overseas position. Every company has it's downsides but I'm quite happy working with them, been to the DRC and South Sudan in the 1.5 years I've worked with them, worked on Dash 7's and 8's. I came here licensed, but if you managed to get on the 7 as a fresh apprentice, you'd have no problem getting that log book filled up pdq.

I did 3 years at Jazz before this, 1 year in heavy and 2 in line. My experience with that environment was that you get out of it what you put into it. I didn't care for heavy maintenance on RJ's, far to monotonous and quite a poisoned work environment. I applied for a transfer to line and got it, gave me the chance to move to Vancouver, work with some very experienced AME's and it made me a better fixer.

My theory when graduating college was to apply to every job I found (2009 there weren't all that many postings for apprentices), which was a lot of work since I researched every company before applying and wrote a cover letter tailored to each one. I interviewed with Jazz and Voyageur, Jazz offered me the job about 3 days before Voy, so I went with them. Three years later when I wanted a change and some new experiences, I applied, interviewed and got hired with Voyageur. Big circle haha.

So, my advice as a fairly recent grad, is send out as many resumes as you can, even to airlines, you can easily turn down a job offer, though going to an interview may be helpful experience. I know people I went to college with who never got jobs in aviation, or struggled for a long time, because they only sent resumes to a few places and never got called. If you get a job you don't like, at least you have a source of income, and experience (say you get hired at an airline, get as many log book sign offs as you can, at the next place you work it may be much more difficult to get those, etc etc). Oh... also... read everything people say here, but form your own opinions. I've been an aviation enthusiast since I was about 10, I still love planes, but many (or most it seems sometime) in the industry are bitter, resentful, hate aviation, hate planes, despise people who like planes.

[NeverBlue]

+1

...very well said

[helicopterray]

I'm looking to get opinions from some adventuring AME's, guys who have worked in some extreme places or conditions and really love doing so.

Coming up on 30 years in the helicopter side of things.

Been to almost every small town and remote camp in the north. Worked outdoors waiting for it to 'warm up to -40' so we could get to work.

Met some great people along the way, saw some sights that most people will never see. Enjoyed almost all of it.
(Troubleshooting and repairing electrical snags at -40 was not fun.)

At a point now where I get to choose who I want to work for. Money is pretty good.

If you want the adventure and the big paycheques, go the helicopter route. Go north. Or overseas with an outfit like Heli-One.