Mechanics Pay??

[sbn340mech]

You about hit the nail right on the head with that post. Unfortunatly I don't see the industry getting any better. I've decided to give it one more try with an airline in MKE. If that dosen't work out I'm going to take that as "it was never meant to be"

Maybe when enough of us quit or retire or move on elsewhere they will begin to realize just how valuable we are. The number of new A&P's entering the field has grown smaller over the years as people realize those same skills can earn them 3-5 times as much.

I know when the regional I worked for got shut down, there were about a dozen experienced A&P's who were getting out for good.

 

[Vector4fun]

Guys,

If you don't mind my asking;

My Son-in-law is working for Duncan making about $18/hr I believe, doing airframe work on corporate jets. Been at it for about 3 years now. Does he have any better options (realisticly) now, or is that about the "top" of the pay band for Westwind/Challanger/Gulfstream work nowadays? I know he's sending out a few resumes.

 

[Painkiller]

Good luck to ya. Seriously, I hope it works out for you.

I wonder though...God must love aviation. Those planes never fall out of the sky due to shoddy maintenance, well...hardly ever.

I'm glad! Really don't want a bunch of dead, innocent passengers but, just sitting here thinking about it, I remember when I was brand new at Delta. I used to work in the hangars in atlanta. When I'd fly out of town, I'd park in the employee lot by the flight line. All those poor employees from Eastern were out there walking the picket line. Pilots and mechanics.

Scab pilots flying the planes and some scab mechanics fixing them. You and I both know that those planes at Eastern, at that time, were flying pieces of junk! There was tons of stuff getting "pencil whipped", and not being worked on at all. I'd be willing to bet that quite a few of those things were flat out unsafe to fly in. No passengers cared. It was a cheap flight. That's all that mattered.

Not a single incident of aircraft safety being compromised ever happened.

Just seems bizarre...

On a side note, I've read more than a few places where amusement parks are big on our skill set. It certainly would be alot more fun "testing" the equipment we just worked on!!! Hey, even the same lousy hours and, working outside!! Woo hoo!!! *L*

Still, I have to admit, it probably would be pretty cool to work with all the animatronics, and stuff like that at say, Disneyworld.

I'd quit Delta for that. Guaranteed.

 

[mazbaird]

Anyone know of any companies that hire A&P's over-seas without any prior military experience?
Seems like thats the only way you can make any money anymore in this business.

 

[Gatorman]

Anyone know of any companies that hire A&P's over-seas without any prior military experience?
Seems like thats the only way you can make any money anymore in this business.

You can check on www.climbto350.com board, there are hundreds of Saudi jobs. I just hope you can adapt to the lifestyle change.

I've been with Delta for almost 17 years now. Almost all of that time has been spent out here on the flightline. Currently, I'm working international aircraft, and have been for the past 5 years.

I have a new resume written up and, I'm getting a cover letter made.

There is no way I'm taking another paycut and staying in this job.

Dude, I have been bending my wrenches on corporates as long as you have been with Delta and I know several guys that would die to have your job with your pay. Including myself.
At my best, I was a planner/scheduler making $25/hour and I loved it. Then 9/11 happened and I wound up dumping oil out of the bottoms on catapillers til I found a contract job as a 135 inspector for $30/hour.
Now I am at a new repair station as a senior tech making $21/hour.

Yea, it always sucks where you are at and never as good as where you have been.

I was told one time by a maintenance director when I was not happy about a current situation....he said "Go and do what ever will make you happy"
As I left his office I passed another manager that was heading into his office who just had more that half of his office team leave to another company and took one of their places.....I was happy.

If you are not happy with your job, move out of the way of someone else's happy.

(man, that was good!)

 

[FreightDogs]

Pay, poems and a wise man

Weasel Keeper- thanks for the poem, it's a good one. Thats going on my toolbox.

I toured a Delta flightline at Orlando Airport when I was in school (empty diddle). ~1993. The Lead came up to our tour group, it was plain he was close to retirement. He told us all to quit school and go fix cars, or goto manufacturing jobs. I wrote him off as a burn out at the time. I was young and stupid, headstrong and filled with grandiose dreams.

He was right.....but it was fun finding out on my own.

The best I was even paid as a mech was 17.50 hr. BUT the overtime was sliding scale, and I was on call 24/7/365. I took care of three aircraft in three different states. My brother in law was in field service at the time , traveling around the same area fixing stuff in factories. - he made 35 hr plus a car allowance. - and he never had to sign anything off other than his paycheck.

 

[FreightDogs]

son in law $ top out at repair station

Friend of mine got a gig with nationwide in their flight department making 30 an hour, he had 5 years on challengers. they had just bought one. Seems like if you get at least 5 years on a derisable airframe you can get jobs with rich companies like nationwide. My buddy says it was cake - wash the plane and call the service center with warranty issues. Then he moved over to a desk as a maintenance coordinator at a fractional ownership company for more cash and less responsibility. - (NxxxQS).

So my opinion is if your son-in-law leaves the repair station, he will be paid more BUT he won't be doing in depth maintenance - just wipe and dipe',

If you don't mind my asking;

My Son-in-law is working for Duncan making about $18/hr I believe, doing airframe work on corporate jets. Been at it for about 3 years now.

 

[30MK]

Man guys, you are getting me nervous a bit. I realy like aviation, and some say that money are good, but others dont. Most of the guys here at my college, get jobs in the Seattle area, and most get starting pay at over $20 dollars per hour. So thats ok, I just hope that I can support my family.


30MK

 

[Gatorman]

Seattle!!!

Dude, you wana make money in Seattle?
Forget about aviation, open up a daycare. There is a waiting list for kids to get into daycare facilities up there.

Mega $$$$

 

[Painkiller]

Gatorman - I can't move out of the way of someone else's happy. There is no "way" to move out of since it's a ticking clock waiting to expire. We're going out of business.

Not that big a deal since I figure I have about a year or so to find another job and find my happy again.

30MK...you're getting "a little bit nervous". !?!!? Please tell me that you at least looked into this industry before jumping into college for it???? This isn't the very 1st place, and time, that you've asked anyone about the outlook for this industry, have you? Please tell me it's not so.

You should be more than a little bit nervous. There are tons of out of work aircraft mechanics, all with experience, that are going to be trying for the same jobs you are going to be, if they haven't bailed completely on this career.

Just the facts, brother. While you have a chance, I'd seriously look into another career UNLESS, you just HAVE to fix airplanes.

Then, I truly wish you the best of luck!

 

[30MK]

30MK...you're getting "a little bit nervous". !?!!? Please tell me that you at least looked into this industry before jumping into college for it???? This isn't the very 1st place, and time, that you've asked anyone about the outlook for this industry, have you? Please tell me it's not so.

I actually did talk to other guys, most of them said that its a great job. Why not believe them. Even PAMA showed pretty good figures salary wise. And here many guys arent happy. Personally I would be fine with making 35K a year.

What are the conditions like at youre workplace?

30MK

 

[sbn340mech]

When your young and single 35K a year might be just fine. But if your like most other people out there, you have hopes and dreams, and 35K a year isn't going to work very well.

Last year I made just over 33K going off my W2, and between the house pmt, insurance, car pmt, utilites, taxes, well you get the idea. 33K dosen't go very far.

 

[Weasel Keeper]

If you're planning on making beacoup cash from the get-go then you may need to worry. Some people do the job because they have a love for aviation, and it's nice to be able to do a job you like.

I was raised as an Air Force "brat" in the late 60s and then joined the Air Force myself, so i've been around aircraft all my life. I like planes and I like working on them. I've been with our little regional for three years and still haven't broken the $16.00hr mark, but I still enjoy my work. I could go back to work for warehouses making around $20.00hr but it's just not a "fun" job to me. Of course I'm in a position where I own my vehicles, have a small house payment, live where the cost of living isn't so bad, and have a wife who works.

There are a lot of laid off technicians, but there are also tons of A&P jobs at Climbto350.com and Planemechs.com. It all depends on your priorities I guess. I'm using my current job to build experience (since my employer doesn't count military time ) to eventually move on to bigger brighter things.

Best of luck to you.

 

[IndyGTP]

Painkiller:

You are correct with the industry has made a turn for the bad. High paying jobs are a thing of the past. If you have indeed been doing this 17 years, consider yourself lucky. You have been with the rest of the airlines in leading the industry in wages at Delta. Like I said before, there are plenty of jobs, and there are plenty of techs (newbies) willing to take one for $10/hr just to get the experience.

Five years ago when I started school it wasn't bad. United had an agreement included in the loan the city gave them to hire 200 mechanics a year. By 2006 they were to have 2,500 aviation professionals. Not to mention ATA had/has line and hanger maintenance in Indy. ATA was on a hiring spree as well. Chautauqua the number one regional airline also operated out of Indy.

When I started this wonderful career, things were looking good. I had some insides at ATA (who are now laid off) that guranteed me, they could get me a job. Kinda sucks to see all your dreams crumble in one year. (9/11).

But hey I can't really complain. I'm living the American dream. Got a house, car, wife, and enough money to put food on the table. It could have been better but I'm satisfied with what I got and love what I do.

 

[IndyGTP]

When your young and single 35K a year might be just fine. But if your like most other people out there, you have hopes and dreams, and 35K a year isn't going to work very well.

Last year I made just over 33K going off my W2, and between the house pmt, insurance, car pmt, utilites, taxes, well you get the idea. 33K dosen't go very far.

Your right SBN340! I made right around 35k this year, but my wife was working and still is, which helps out alot! But now that I got a little one on the way the wife won't be able to work and I'll have to adjust my finances to what already is low to even lower.

30MK, they don't tell you in school about how stressful, unstable, and how the pay really is in this industry. They will sugar-coat everything to make it sound like the industry is the place to be. The reason I know this is because I went to visit my instructor last year. His attendance was down to 10 students. He printed up this brand new (hot off the press) information pamphlet about the AMT profession and I kid you not... Had a story from a former student employed at Delta. The only thing was, the story was written back in 2000. In no way did his pamphlet reflect how the industry really is.

 

[30MK]

Hey thanks guys. Keep on postin'. I just hope that the industry gets better soon, and IndyGTP wish you luck with youre on the way kid. Stay cool

30Mk

 

[avbug]

I've never understood how folks in maintenance can believe that it's hard to find work turning wrenches. It isn't. Not too long ago, I found myself unexpectedly out of work, and within a day had an offer to come aboard a growing ag operation as a director of maintenance.

I fly and turn wrenches, and responded to an add for learjet pilots. As soon as they saw my resume, they told me the pilot position was filled, but they needed a DOM right away. I told them I'd rather fly, they said take it or leave it. Lear qualified pilots a dime a dozen, but folks to fill that DOM position...hard to get. And so on.

Even for a small department as DOM, typically a salary of about 50,000 is a starting point...that was my first DOM corporate salary, which also included some flying duties. Another such position was slightly less to start, at 47,500. That's equivilent to about twenty three bucks an hour based on a 40 hour work week, but I didn't see very many weeks that were less than eighty hours...often more. The pay isn't great, never has been.

But then a lot of professions are entered knowing that the cap isn't high. Aviation maintenance is no different. If it makes you feel any better, I've worked at quite a few companies where mechanics made more than the pilots. That only makes you feel better if you're a mechanic, not a pilot. Most places I've worked, I've flown and turned wrenches.

A lot of folks seem to think that the airlines should be the be-all and end-all of the job, and that ain't so. Get into restoration or repair station work, and you may find, especially if it's your own shop, that you're doing much better. How much better is up to you and the type of work you elect to do...but I certainly wouldn't discourage anyone who wants to get into aircraft maintenance. Look at it seriously and consider it in the light of day, but it's an enjoyable, honorable profession.

I do auto maintenance though I'm no auto mechanic...and I don't like doing it. I enjoy working on airplanes. I know a lot of folks that don't enjoy their work, but make more money. It's a personal decision, but I've been working on airplanes and flying them since I was a kid, and it's what I know. Working outside the industry, the money can certainly be better, but I feel as though I'm wasting talent and time, and making a big mistake. I've worked outside the industry many times when downturns left me jobless or I needed outside work to supplement my income...every time I felt strongly that I was in the wrong place, that I belonged in a hangar or a cockpit.

I still do. You must go where you're called.

 

[mattfish42]

If you stay flexible and avoid airline jobs, there are lots of good opportunities. In a little under three years I've gone from $18k to just about $50k, counting overtime. I know a couple guys who left the shop I'm working at now and went to $70k jobs.

 

[CHQ Mx]

I don't thing it's quite as bleak as some make it out to be. Yes, you can still find jobs in the airlines. Albiet it will most likely be with a regional (as if that is the end of the world). In fact, more regionals than not are hiring from their websites. I had 5 offers within two weeks of getting notice that ATA was giving ChiEx a dry ramming. I kept with it because I personally love knowing that when I walk off that airplane, it's going to make it to point B. If money is the only reason for becoming a A/P then good luck you'll need it. For me when it's time to call it a career, I'll be going back to school and not for some auto mechanics or construction job but rather some high end white collar profession. For now though I still enjoy my job and it pays the bills. If it's money your after, try financial planner it pays a whole lot more than an auto dealership.

 

[sbn340mech]

Hey CHQ. did you work for ChiEx in MDW or SBN? I'm pretty sure know you since we probably worked together at one time