I am a registered nurse with 2 and 1/2 years post school experience.  Nursing had a great job outlook and that security sounded nice.  I went though school hoping it would be better in the ‘real world’, but it hasn’t.  I would like to leave nursing and pursue a career in a field that has always interested me.  Aircraft has always been a love of mine.  Posters, flight sims, models, books, calendars...I have them all. I do not know why I did not pursue this interest earlier in life.  I was unaware of the opportunities in A & P mechanics until recently. I am currently in the military and have 4 and 1/2 years left of a full time nursing commitment. So I have a good amount of time to look into the field before I decide.

What resources do you suggest to learn more about this field?  I have read job descriptions on websites, but are there books dedicated to the career fields in & outs? It would be helpful to have more personal accounts. Are there any professional or personal websites that would be helpful?  Is it possible to contact an aircraft maintenance company or airport and see if I could be given a tour or talk to a mechanic?  Do you ever hear of an A & P mechanic that can’t find work?  There appears to be a wide range of pay from $12 to $26/hr.  Is this realistic?  After two years of A &P school should I expect about $12/hr.  Does a Bachelors degree in the field help?

All you have to do is ‘Google’ nurse burn-out, short staffing, patients killed each year…. To find reasons why nurses are leaving the job.  Do you find A & P mechanics having similar problems such as burn out or understaffing? What are some reasons an A & P mechanic would leave the field or be unhappy?  I understand that work is work, but if I am to work hard and put in long hours, I would like it to be in something that fascinates me.

It's me again.

I just came from another forum site. There was alot of doom and gloom about the future of aircraft mechanics. Some postings are down right depressing. No one seemed to recomend it. Alot of talk about lay-offs, cut-backs, and maintanence being moved over seas. The Dept. Labor states job outlook should be as fast as average.? Granted I love aircraft, but I understand that work can ruin your interests. Especially if it is in the conditions that some describe this field.

Can one get into a hanger making decent pay with job security or not?

Any links to articles that talk more objectively about the future of A/P mech?

Thanks

Hey Mike,

 Any career is what you make it. Alot of people say their job sucks or its hard, thats because they make it hard on themselves. Mechanics say they always get laid off and so on, thats because they aren't prepared to save their jobs. Don't get a misunderstanding, some lay-offs are inevitable like taxes and death. But you can greatly increase your chances of not getting laid off by:

1. SHOWING UP TO WORK ON TIME,
2. BEING BACK ON TIME FROM BREAK,
3. BEING CAREFUL WHO YOU TALK TO,
4. NOT BEING LAZY,
5. HAVING A GREAT ATTITUDE,
6. MAKING SURE THE BOSSES LIKE YOU, (Do not be a kiss ass)
7. KEEPING COMPLAINING AND BITCHING TO YOURSELF, 
8. NOT ASKING FOR TOO MANY DAYS OFF OR CALLING IN TOO MUCH.
9. NOT TALKING TOO MUCH OR LETTING PEOPLE FIGURE YOU OUT.

The inevitable fact of our job is there is politics involved. STAY AWAY FROM NEGATIVE PEOPLE AND ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR JOB. No one is your friend and be careful who you trust with what you say. My best advice I work and live by is: "What goes around comes around". Don't speak bad about Co-Workers, Bosses, etc. because it will come back to you in some way. These "Doom and Gloom" Mechanics you speak of, these are guys who dont follow these rules and then want to bad mouth the Aviation Industry because they can't keep a job. Dont let that ruin your hopes. Keep a positive mindframe and you'll be just fine and make a whole lot of money along the way.

 Hope this helps,

Marc

I would sugest look at some of the bigger regionals.  I've worked for one for about 10 years now and have not yet seen a single mechanic loose his/her job due to layoffs.  We have had a few base closures but all of the techs had a job at another base if they want it.  Starting pay here is a little over $16 an hour and top out is close to $30 and close to $32 for leads.  Not bad in my book.  We have a few like the previous poster that are all doom and gloom but they don't last long.  Usually they don't make probation.  We do have a few that came from some not-to-be-mentioned major airline that seem to have an atitude that slip through, but we have learned to ignore them.  Majors tend to have more layoffs and are the ones sending work over sees.  Our planes don't have the range.  Pay here isn't quite as good as the majors but pretty good.  Hope this helps

Tim

Throughout the industry, I've come across people that are constantly negative wether its founded or not.
Don't let yourself be misguided by grumpy old mechanics that are complaining about everything.
Try googling what aircraft engineers actually do and u might find that this is great for u.

For me personally I love my job and I wouldn't want to change it anytime soon.
Besides this, the difference between working in a hangar and workin on the line are so tremendous that I think it's fair to say that they are two different jobs alltogether.