6 AVIATION FOR Girls 2016
Aircraft
Mechanic
"Just about every facet of aviation is in
demand, but what we're seeing as part of
the outreach programs at WMU is that the
demand in maintenance is huge. We're
having a hard time meeting the demand
for workers in the manufacturing and
skilled labor industry. With the increase
in sophistication in aircraft systems, we'll
continue to see more specialized trades,
such as working with composite materi-
als and advanced avionics."
—Tom Thinnes, Recruitment and
Outreach Manager, Western Michigan
University
E
ver see an A&P; mechanic sitting
around doing nothing? Yeah, me
neither. Most aviation mechan-
ics are working overtime, serving mul-
tiple clients, and juggling a variety of
airplanes. It's a segment of the indus-
try that's widely underrepresented by
women, and often overlooked. But air-
planes wouldn't fly without mechanics,
and the number of airplanes out there
today vastly outnumbers the mechanics
available to fix them. This is particu-
larly true in the general aviation world.
The aging sector of the fleet requires
by Sarina Houston
The 5 Most In-Demand Jobs in Aviation
1
A pilot shortage is upon us, and the airlines are hiring pilots
like crazy. But if you are just starting out on the road to be-
coming a professional airline pilot, it remains a fairly long
climb to the left seat at a major air-
line. But pilots aren't the only job the aviation industry is
short on—many other aviation careers are in high demand,
either because of a shortage of workers or because the field
is experiencing rapid growth, and in certain cases as a by-
product of the pilot shortage.
I did some research to come up with five of the most in-
demand jobs in aviation. If an aviation career is in your fu-
ture or you're looking to expand your horizons, you might
want to take a close look at the opportunities in these fields.
BONNIE
KRATZ