Diesel or Aircraftmechanic??

[XbajajeepX]

Which would you go to school for and make a career out of and why?

[5-90]

For me? Probably a Diesel wrench. Unless you stick to G/A, getting your A&P might become obsolescent, I think a lot of the major players are shifting their work offshore to cut costs. You can't ship a Diesel overseas - while you might save on labour, you'll get killed in the round trip (making it not cost effective.)

That's just my line of thinking.

[alex22]

I'm an automotive machinist, and everybody at the shop I work at hates diesel stuff. Its twice as heavy, 3x as dirty and stinks like diesel suit blow by. In my area diesel fleet mechanics are in high demand and companies are giveing out very large incentives to get employees. Do you have any experience in either field? One other thing to do would be to check around and see what the pay scale and chances to move up the chain are.

But what do I know. I work at a machine shop durring the week and for a carpenter on weekends, and going to school to be an electrical engineer.

~Alex

[Ray H]

Ive got my A&P. I went to school for two years about 14 years ago and I havent touched an aircraft since.
My experience is that the problem with being an aircraft mechanic is that there just isnt (wasnt in my case) much call for it unless you are willing to relocate to a job. When I finished A&P school 14 years ago, I was in a position that I couldnt leave where I was and I made the decision to not commute 4 hours every day so I never did find an A&P job and have since given up on it.

Diesel mechanic. I drive trucks now so I have contact with a few mechanics. They are always greasy, they dont make ALOT (not bad wages but not A&P wages). they usually work fairly long hours, but as a diesel mechanic, you should never be out of a job. Thats something that cant be said about any job in aviation.
At this point, having the experiences I have, if I had to choose either diesel or A&P, I would go with diesel for the job security. 16 years ago, I had the same decision and went the other way because I heard about all the money A&Ps make and I found aviation interesting, but I never considered that in most of the country, you have to wait till someone retires or dies before theres a job opening.

EDIT: You know what, I changed my mind. If you want to work on aircraft, thats the one you should choose. The reason I didnt follow through with it is my fault and to this day I regret giving up on it. So, I will give this advice, do what you want to do and if you have trouble landing a job out of school, dont give up and dont settle for anything less.

[Darky]

One big thing for diesel mechanics is that I really believe diesels will be the next big thing. More and more are showing up. I mean for passenger vehicles not necessarily just big trucks. Ford, GM, Toyota, Dodge and Nissan are all coming out with light duty diesels for the 1/2 ton trucks and full size SUVs. Mercedes and BMW are starting to bring over more of their European diesel inventory in the E-Class and 3-Series. Jeep is looking to get more diesels into their American fleet. As prices go higher on fuel, economy will become even more important and the mpg of diesel will IMO make it a very attractive option.
Right now airlines are hurting for money but there's also a big emphasis on safety right now so they could either be cutting pay and/or jobs to save money or really looking for good aircraft mechanics to keep the planes safe.

[FordGuy]

My diesel Tech makes 125K a year, But he is very good with 20 years experience and over 100k in tools. He will never run out of work and could get a job anywhere.

[XbajajeepX]

Thanks for all the input and advice guys... I will most likely go for the diesel option. I am interested in working on heavy equipment more than cars/trucks..

This is a long shot but, has anyone here attended Golden west college in Huntington Beach??

[IslanderOffRoad]

Diesel

Theres alot more liability involved when working on things that fall out of the sky.

[rag]

I'm a technician for a fairly large Ford dealer, been there for about 15 months.

Am I an amazing prodigee with cars? NO, but I know enough to do most services that do not involve rears, automatic trans and engine overhaul.

my shop has 30 bays total. 4 are heavy duty lifts and we have one massive inground post lift. we have 22 guys as of now.

the 3 diesel techs regurlarly flag 40-60 hours, while all us other techs are flaggin 5-30 (few get near 40). times are slow and we feel the pain.

i am diesel certified in some topics but i chose not to get myself involved. like already stated. everything is twice as heavy, twice as powerful and can be a pain to get to as engine bays get cramped.

work is nice and steady in ford diesel. but the abuse these guys go through is sad, with the proper tools and shop the physical strain is not so apparent.

they take no bullshit from management, they get their way and they know how much they are worth. if a diesel tech is productive he can leave on a friday and by next friday have another job lined up.

the demand is there. question is... if you are willing to do the job.

[xjtrailrider]

Diesel, I'm a 85' grad of Nashville Auto Diesel College. I have never been out of a job and make descent wages. I work on diesel-electric locomotives and their components now and really like it. I recommend the heavy equipement or railroad fields. Trucks are nasty to work on, light truck/car diesels are just about the same as just being a car mechanic now.

Being a aviation mechanic has to have a good deal of liability with it, no room for error and a bunch of check lists.

[Gerr]

I work on diesels day in and day out have for quite some time now it is good work pays ok and you can pick up and move just about anywhere and get a job in short order.

DO NOT hold your self in to a specialty get familiar with everything you can if you can do air systems and hydrolics your way more valuable than the standard diesel tech

Tools are gona be a huge expense for the first few years just remember to buy what will pay for it self and youll be ok

[Boatwrench]

Aircraft.

Why? The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

[XbajajeepX]

sorry to bring up and old thread but, what can you do with a B.S. in aviation??

[poorboy_616]

Diesel Tech...

I was one.....

[igotanxj]

Aircraft. I'm an auto mechanic and I used to work at a diesel shop. The guys there go home absolutely FILTHY from head to toe. Everything is heavy, greasy, and stinky. On a positive side, the diesel industry tends to be pretty steady year round.

I've never worked on an airplane but I'm assuming its not as filthy as an over the road truck. My ex-girlfriend's father was an airplane mechanic for america west and he loved it. THey supplied all of the tools too, so you save about, oh, 50 grand in tools.

[chzbrgr]

If you are leaning towards heavy equipment, welding skills are a big plus. Not sure about your coast but here most all equipment dealers are short on mechanics. With a few good years experience stepping out on your own with a truck for field service is a relatively easy start up. You'll already have the tools. Our mehanic started in aviation and did the switch. Wish you luck.

[RedHeep]

Aviation mechs go where the jobs are.

5 major airlines have closed their doors recently. That means you pack up the family and move somewhere else. Then you get to start at the low end of the totem pole at a new company and hope/pray that you last long enough to not be the new guy at layoff time

If you choose something other than airlines, like transport (fedex/ups) or some of the smaller regional private airports, chances are you'll stay put for a while. The problem is aviation gas is getting just as expensive as car/truck gas. Pretty soon you're going to see smaller companies close their doors and only the wealthy being able to afford to fly commercial.

That makes the job opportunities very small. People will always need something trucked somewhere or driven down the railroad, but many people can "choose" not to fly. It makes the market smaller and the jobs harder to find.

I really considered getting out of the Corps this time around, but aviation jobs are just too volatile right now.

[Darky]

I really considered getting out of the Corps this time around, but aviation jobs are just too volatile right now.
I didn't know you're in the Corps...Semper Fi! :patriot:

I still wish at times I had stayed in.

[RedHeep]

I didn't know you're in the Corps...Semper Fi! :patriot:

I still wish at times I had stayed in.

This one was the clincher. If I stayed at 12, I was signing up to finish it off.

[poorboy_616]

I should have put in my origional post:

Detroit Diesel/Allison Corp.

8.2L "Fuel Pincher" engine reman plant.

Started as a teardown tech, ended (the big lay-off years ago) as Small parts assembly, Night shift supervisor.

Great pay, great benni's, but crappy deal with the UAW lay-off's.....

[igotanxj]

If you choose something other than airlines, like transport (fedex/ups) or some of the smaller regional private airports, chances are you'll stay put for a while. The problem is aviation gas is getting just as expensive as car/truck gas. Pretty soon you're going to see smaller companies close their doors and only the wealthy being able to afford to fly commercial.

That makes the job opportunities very small. People will always need something trucked somewhere or driven down the railroad, but many people can "choose" not to fly. It makes the market smaller and the jobs harder to find

I think everybody is feeling the effects of gas prices, not just the aviation industry. People are avoiding trucking because of the higher cost of transporting due to fuel prices. There was just a march in DC done by truckers a few weeks ago about higher fuel prices costing them business. More people are turning to railroad to transport good which is the same price no matter what the cost of fuel is. My brother is a locomotive machinist for Union Pacific and he says they have seen a boost in business because of this.

[xjtrailrider]

The railroads that haul coal are booming right now, we are working OT right now rebuilding loco's for Norfolk Southern so they can haul more frieght.

[KB2ROCKET]

Please allow me to share 30 years of mechanic experience so far I was born with a wrench in my hands
I started working on outdoor power equipment and tractors then motorcycles then cars then aircraft and now for the last 20 years I have been building rocket engines and components for the space program
.
as alot of people have stated aviation jobs are unstable and you are just a number if you happen to be a low number at layoff time then you will be out on your butt
.
people tend to be good at things they like so follow your heart and do what interests you
.
I personaly hate deisel engines they stink most of them are nasty dirty and even the new ones sound like they are broken right out of the factory HOWEVER if you like them the work is steady
.
working on rocket engines is a dream but your future is always uncertain and you could be layed off at any time and there is a LOT of stress politics & rules just like working on airplanes
.
pick a direction you like and stay with it and in time you will be great

[XbajajeepX]

ok so you can go to the community college and get certified as an A&P and have the option to transfer to a university, but what can you do with a B.S. in Aviation? Besides wrenching on planes? Would you have a more stable position?

[Ray H]

ok so you can go to the community college and get certified as an A&P and have the option to transfer to a university, but what can you do with a B.S. in Aviation? Besides wrenching on planes? Would you have a more stable position?

You do the same thing with a BS in aviation as you would do with a BS in any other career field, you move into supervisory then a management position. I doubt your job would be considerably more stable but if you did lose your job, you would have better opportunities in other fields.

[Ecomike]

If you go for the aircraft mechanic training and get good experience / education on turbines and hydraulics, there a lot of other places that expience could be used, like stationary turbine generator repairs, i.e things that do not fall out of the sky.

On the other hand, all new the pollution equipment they just slapped on the new diesels nationwide, is a guaranteed to increase the need for diesel mechanics.