Diesel or Aircraftmechanic??

[igotanxj]

If you choose something other than airlines, like transport (fedex/ups) or some of the smaller regional private airports, chances are you'll stay put for a while. The problem is aviation gas is getting just as expensive as car/truck gas. Pretty soon you're going to see smaller companies close their doors and only the wealthy being able to afford to fly commercial.

That makes the job opportunities very small. People will always need something trucked somewhere or driven down the railroad, but many people can "choose" not to fly. It makes the market smaller and the jobs harder to find

I think everybody is feeling the effects of gas prices, not just the aviation industry. People are avoiding trucking because of the higher cost of transporting due to fuel prices. There was just a march in DC done by truckers a few weeks ago about higher fuel prices costing them business. More people are turning to railroad to transport good which is the same price no matter what the cost of fuel is. My brother is a locomotive machinist for Union Pacific and he says they have seen a boost in business because of this.

 

[xjtrailrider]

The railroads that haul coal are booming right now, we are working OT right now rebuilding loco's for Norfolk Southern so they can haul more frieght.

 

[KB2ROCKET]

Please allow me to share 30 years of mechanic experience so far I was born with a wrench in my hands
I started working on outdoor power equipment and tractors then motorcycles then cars then aircraft and now for the last 20 years I have been building rocket engines and components for the space program
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as alot of people have stated aviation jobs are unstable and you are just a number if you happen to be a low number at layoff time then you will be out on your butt
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people tend to be good at things they like so follow your heart and do what interests you
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I personaly hate deisel engines they stink most of them are nasty dirty and even the new ones sound like they are broken right out of the factory HOWEVER if you like them the work is steady
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working on rocket engines is a dream but your future is always uncertain and you could be layed off at any time and there is a LOT of stress politics & rules just like working on airplanes
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pick a direction you like and stay with it and in time you will be great

 

[XbajajeepX]

ok so you can go to the community college and get certified as an A&P and have the option to transfer to a university, but what can you do with a B.S. in Aviation? Besides wrenching on planes? Would you have a more stable position?

 

[Ray H]

ok so you can go to the community college and get certified as an A&P and have the option to transfer to a university, but what can you do with a B.S. in Aviation? Besides wrenching on planes? Would you have a more stable position?

You do the same thing with a BS in aviation as you would do with a BS in any other career field, you move into supervisory then a management position. I doubt your job would be considerably more stable but if you did lose your job, you would have better opportunities in other fields.

 

[Ecomike]

If you go for the aircraft mechanic training and get good experience / education on turbines and hydraulics, there a lot of other places that expience could be used, like stationary turbine generator repairs, i.e things that do not fall out of the sky.

On the other hand, all new the pollution equipment they just slapped on the new diesels nationwide, is a guaranteed to increase the need for diesel mechanics.