Building a Career in Aviation: The Three Pathways.

Building a career in aviation has not had a playbook for as long as I have searched for one, as the pathways differ for many different nations and civil aviation authourities, most of it is passed on from mentor to mentee or from father/mother to daughter/ son and it's hardly documented, this documentation creates an open door and invitation for as many as are interested in aviation to beat time and make the right decisions early enough, it's important to state the basics.?

The basics involve the core values of aviation which I have come to see are Innovation, Grit, Resilience, Collaboration, Accountability, Discipline, and Respect.         

Highlighted below are the three pathways many take to start off and build careers in aviation. I reckon there might be more, but it's safe to keep it simple and straightforward as advancements in aviation have begun to simplify access to flying machines.

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THE JOURNEYMAN WAY

For Technical Roles this requires a start with or without a first degree,but some formal education nonetheless which could be a foundational degree, associate degree or a Bachelor's degree.

It's important to start young, between 16 and 25 years of age, seek and find an entry level role in an aviation institution; Approved Training Organization or a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Organization. Work your way up learning on the job most likely earning peanuts- for this you'll need real mentorship and sponsors, people that see that you imbibe the aviation values and are willing to vouch for you and ensure your growth, they will/might go as far as supplementing the peanuts you'll earn.

You will find out at the start that you might be doing more journeyman tasks (leading to real burn out, that makes it impossible for you to use your time for any other productive task, you might basically be a tool) as opposed to the real learning - this is a test to see if you will do all that it takes to learn what needs to be learnt and that you are bigger than your ego.?

Over time you will build experience and respect and if you apply the pie principle in work.? You could be given the leeway and exposed to tightly closed opportunities for certifications, although you might not get the certification, you will have background knowledge that will help you secure the certification faster than others.

THE POCKET PATHWAY

To follow the pocket pathway you either have to be extremely lucky or you have networks who are interested and willing to invest in your career in aviation, as I have said before and i'll say again, the joke that says that to build a big fortune in aviation you have to start with a small fortune is true, aviation is highly gated and that is so because most times it requires the most accountable and responsible of humans who will have the lives of many others entrusted into theirs.?

In this pathway you simply need two things, One- a sponsor that will invest in you from the start of the race till you are employable and Two - a mentor who has been in the aviation space and is aware of the many ways to skirt around the training organizations who have designed mechanisms to rip folks of their monies. With these two you’ll start happy and end happy - I mean your introduction into the technical aviation role.?

On the flip side to get into this role you could do without sponsorship all you have to do is to be lucky enough to dive into an industry that is in the forefront of human/industrial development: earn, save and invest as much as you can and as long as you have kept that dream alive you can use your money to fund your dream, but also remember for this you must have good mentorship, as if you are seen as a cash cow, you will be sold all sorts of fake packages that will see you in tears and might run you down.

THE WAY OF THE SERVICE MAN

The way of the service men is that in line with law enforcement agencies like the military, customs, police, e.t.c as is common with these roles they equally strive to catch you young, isolate you from the world around you, imbibe in you values common to that arm, invest large sums into trainings, certifications and retraining with a signed contract to serve for a number of years and offering you such an experience that makes it true to you that you are different from all around, a rank and career progression, a cover of your basic needs, and regular health checkups, opportunities to travel and experience several parts of the world or your world, opportunities to interact with people of your kind in LEA’s all over.?

And above all a fat retirement package to keep you with them as long as possible and the needed hours that count in aviation. This pathway in aviation has been refined and improved by a number of pioneer nations in aviation that it's often a sure pathway to break in and break out of aviation whilst using the skills and values obtained from it for a better life. If you are determined and fortunate to come out alive, it’s often a sure pathway. This I reckon requires lesser mentorship.

MORE INFORMATION

For Non- Technical roles which happen to be more than the technical roles, it's important to follow diligently the Civil Aviation Authorities, international Organizations like IATA and ICAO amongst others and keep abreast with developments in these part as its equally carefully guarded, to break in you will have to add a mentor or role model who already does what you seek to do in applying your non technical skill to aviation, you'll need to be an apprentice, more often than not specialists in the non technical roles are masters in the technical roles that sought a better life away from engines, loud noises and fancy ranks but still seek to play their part in the aviation sector.?

And they are often advisors to those politically appointed into mid and senior level non- technical roles in aviation, these non-technical roles often hinge on the business, administration and regulation of aviation. It's safe to say that the core values highlighted above still apply to these roles and they might mean more here.

Sadly, the major difference is there are often multiple covers for those who falter from the adherence to these core values, folks in the non-technical roles indeed get away with a lot.?

I can say that most mishaps in aviation as quoted from multiple air crash investigations can be traced to decisions made by persons in non-technical roles than persons in technical roles and I believe one area that needs to be looked into in the development and improvement in safety in aviation is ensuring a truce in the synergy of decision making between those in technical and non technical roles.

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Kindly share your ideas and comments on pathways to building a career in aviation in the comments section, let's level the playing field together.