Out of Aviation, on to Auto

[FreightDogs]

anyone out there switch to auto maintenance from aircraft?

I am trying to get to autos, been an A&P for ten years.

 

[sbn340mech]

I live in SBN and used to work with Chicago Express, until ATA closed us. I wanted to stay in the area so I interviewed at a Ford dealership.

The service manager seemed really impressed with my resume and background, but it was really difficult to try and relate aircraft to auto. They just don't understand what we really do. Plus not having any liscenses or certs.

I never got a call back, but it seened like a cool job. Excellent benefits, and pay is based on how hard you bust your a$$. Auto makers have fixed rates on how long a job should take (flat rate) If a water pump change is 3 hours flat rate and you do it in one, you get paid for the three hours while you pull the next car in the bay and start a new job. So some of these guys are getting paid up to 100 flat rate hours in a 40 hour week. and at 15-28/hr...well you do the math.

thats quite a motovator in my mind. BTW I ended up taking a job in MKE with Skyway Airlines

 

[FreightDogs]

sbn340mech- Congratulations on finding continued employment! And thanks for sharing your experience at the dealership. I'll keep sending out the resumes. I have a feeling I am going to have to take a job that makes 6 bucks an hour until I get "their experience".

I had a phone interview today with a guy from Pepboys. I spent a minute or two giving him an overview of some of the bigger jobs I have done. ( fuel control swaps on tpe-331's , primary control cable replacements on metros, engine swaps, re-bushing landing gear trunnions, windscreens, windows, cargo mods, 5 years on gulfstreams, hsi's on ge 610's and pt-6's, Flap and elevator repairs, wet wing sheetmetal repairs, ndt inspection out the ass...)

At the end of it he asks -
" So do you have any mechanical experience?"

I hung up.

 

[sbn340mech]

yeah I hear ya. The automotivwe world really has no idea what type of work we do, therefore they have little understanding of out actual mechanical skills and abilites. Now on the other hand I'm sure at one time or another any A&P has wrenched on his or her car/truck boat, whatever.

Keep trying man, don't sell sell yourself short. Sounds like you have way more experience than I do. I guess its all how you interview.

Best of luck in the job search

 

[30MK]

Yeah 30MK here

Our last instructor left for a job to Boeing, at the Everett plant. They gave him $25 for a start as a avionics trouble shooter. Thats pretty good pay. I guess it all depends on time, and luck. Sad to hear you guys go somewhere else. Good luck, and thanks for the help on my thread.

30MK

 

[avbug]

Lots of guys have gone automotive from aviation...don't try to impress them with aviation jargon and stories about the specifics of what you've done. They don't know, they don't care. Tell them you've done engines, tires, body work. Tell them you can do fiberglass, fuel systems, electrical. You have your own tools...that's the biggest thing right there. If you've ever been called on to service ground equipment, include that as automotive experience

If you're looking for work outside the industry, then your two biggest selling points are how long you've been a mechanic, and weather you have your own tools.

Remember that your full box of quarter inch SAE won't get you very far in an automotive shop...3/8 or larger and metric, plenty of box end equipment, and nothing fancy. Automotive maintenance is like performing surgery with a jackhammer, but it pays better, is a lot more consistant, and like working in a mortuary, is the essence of job security. It's plentiful, you'll always have more work than you want.

If you're going from aircraft to automotive, you'll feel like you've been banished to soviet block cold war equipment in comparison to aircraft standard and quality, but shoot...a car isn't an airplane.

If you're going to go automotive, the best money is in diesel maintenance, large equipment. That's a whole different set of tooling and equipment not to mention experience...but you can get some training at the local community college if someone won't pick you up for OJT...and the pay is better.

There's a lot more to maintenance out there than the airlines...if you want to stay in aviation, the airlines are just a sliver of what's available. If you've mostly done only airlines, your overall experience may be quite limited (same if coming from an airforce background)...keep that in mind, don't describe too much of your past experience, and learn as you go. Lots of others have done it, too.

 

[UnAnswerd]

I've always wondered if, because of the nature of what you're working on, aviation techs are left the hell alone and can work in peace. As opposed to the auto tech who is often times plagued with "how much longer"....

In my opinion, one of the worst aspects of the auto service industry is flat-rate pay. This is nothing more than getting paid for each individual job, regardless of how long it actually took. Some guys love it, often times turning 10 or 12 hours when they actually worked less than 8. Of course, you could also work 12 hours, but only have turned 8 hours or less. Therein lies the problem. You are rushed, and the quality and safety of your work goes way down, whether or not you will admit it.

 

[qmaster3]

sbn340mech- Congratulations on finding continued employment! And thanks for sharing your experience at the dealership. I'll keep sending out the resumes. I have a feeling I am going to have to take a job that makes 6 bucks an hour until I get "their experience".

NO NO NO not 6 bucks an hour, and don't apply at pep boys. Get in with the dealerships work for at least $12, until you get your factory certs, not ASE. You probably already know more about cars than the average ASE certified grad.

Resume- throw the aircraft sh!t out the door. List jobs you have done on CARS. IE. Change motor, struts, and brakes, familiar with GM tech two scanner, Fordstar. Familiar with alignment, A/C recover/charging, etc, machine operations. Buy some books for review so you don't look like a dumbass at the interview. Get to know some Techs. Buy them plenty of beer, and ask to sit in on a few jobs to get some experience. You don't need to go back to school. BTW the guys making the most money are the ones at dealerships. Guarantee ya more than 29$/hr. You'll be there in no time, better get used to turning wrenches fast though.

 

[avbug]

Flat rate is usually for the shop, not always for the mechanic. I had an ex-brother-in-law making eighty dollars an hour on the clock for his time, at a car dealership.

Deadlines are a very big deal in avaition. A simple phase inspection can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases, and every day the aircraft is down can cost a company megabucks. The pressure to push aircraft out the door is no different than pressure in other industries to accomplish the same thing. The aircraft isn't making money sitting in the shop.

I was once assigned to get an airplane out of a shop. My particular job was to inspect all four engines prior to being closed and pushed out the door. I was instructed specifically to find nothing wrong, endorse them and turn in my paperwork. I found about fifteen grounding items that still remained before I stopped and returned to a shop foreman. I was reminded in strong terms that my assignment was to find nothing wrong. I folded up my notes and put them in the breast pocket of the foreman. I told him I was going to go find a different project.

Next thing I was sitting in front of the foreman, Director of Maintenance, and Chief Inspector, and was questioned as to why I'd taken notes of discrepancies. I was told that they were suspicious, and they wanted to know if I'd made copies of the notes. They asked if perhaps I wasn't making a file to give to the FAA. I told them I'd made some notes as I did my inspection on a note pad, that was all, and that when told to not find the problems I'd found, I gave the notes to the shop foreman and told him to do what he would with them. The chief inspector informed me that I had best be telling the truth, and that the company could make themselves look very good and make me "look very bad," if they so desired, and sent me back to the shop floor.

Pressure and accountability?

In aviation, I don't rush. I don't bow to pressure, and I don't compromise. The moment you give that inch, others will take a mile and it will come back on you. I've quit jobs because of a refusal to yield to lesser craftsmanship; that's far preferrable to compromising one's position or principle. I would take great offense if someone were to suggest that pay or pressure made the quality of my work suffer. I give my best without regard to the paycheck or the employer. If that's not good enough, I'm quick to invite the employer to find someone else, because for certain I can do better with someone who won't ask me to compromise.

 

[UnAnswerd]

I was reminded in strong terms that my assignment was to find nothing wrong....

I'm sure ever-trusting pax would have loved to hear that one. I believe we can relate to some extent. I work for a man who constantly feels it necessary to bend over for customers, apparently in some lame attempt to establish good relations. But he goes too far, and pushes into areas his mentality doesn't belong. I can tell you that I've issued inspection stickers to cars with very low brake pedals AND the brake warning light staring you in the face. I had little choice, as I was instructed to do so. It's one thing to blow off an inoperative horn, but when you start getting into brake problems, blowing such issues off is totally inappropriate and is a MAJOR liability. For the life of me, I cannot understand why he takes these unnecessary risks. More so, I am likely taking just as much risk by issuing the sticker.........