Schools

[Puddle Jumper]

With plans on entering into Aircraft Maintenance I was wondering which schools training would look better on a resume later on down the road. The 2 schools that I am considering are Confederation College in Thunder Bay or Canadore College in North Bay Ontario. I am fammilliar with Canadore College as I completed my flight training there and I know many engineers that are Canadore grads. The big issue is that Thunder Bay is closer to home and I also have family in there making it a easier transition financially. Keep in mind that I wish to specialize in helicopters.

 

[jetbox]

Which AME school you go to doesn't matter for us when we hire apprentices however I don't remenber the last time I came accross anybody that had trained at Confederation College.
Canadore used to be the #1 school to go to for helicopter training but I think those days are long gone.
Which AME school is better is as debatable as which flight school is better.

The number 1 thing we look for when hiring a new employee is good references, preferably from someone in the industry when at all possible.

Also, always include the name and address/phone number of your past employers so we can call them to see what kind of an employee you were.
Nothing more frustrating than getting a resume with no employment history or with "references available upon request" on it.
I know this is contrary to what the scholars teach us in resume class but let's face it, we literally receive 100's of resumes every year; the resume that has all the information I'm looking for on it has a better chance of staying on my desk than the resume that will require some reserch on my part
We also could give a sh-t about your marks or any scholarships you received.
Just because you have a 4.0 grade point average doesn't mean you have any kind of "street smarts" and will be good at trouble shooting and figuring things out!

Anyways, good luck!

 

[Blackmac]

PuddleJumper:

Not knowing your background, I would say the following.

1. If you are a low time pilot, you will also be an inexperienced engineer.

2. Also remember when you become a pilot/engineer you will stay on aircraft and contracts that can utilize both licenses.

3. Very few P/E utilize or get paid for both endorsements when transferring to twins.

4. When I was with Viking and was working with a 204/205 or 212, I always took the opportunity to take along another engineer to gain experience or get him endorsed on the machines. I supervised and signed the machine out.

5. Times are a changing and as you are already a pilot I would go for a avionics
license.

Just my thoughts.

Cheers Don

 

[donnybrook]

Becoming a pilot/apprentice engineer was an excellent move for me. The engineering got my foot in the door and paid the bills when there was no flying job on the horizon. I went to Confed and saw no difference as far as getting a job was concerned. I was making $3000/month 10 years ago but that was seasonal contract type of stuff with no benefits etc. The only advice I have is not to mislead anyone with your intentions. That is to say, if you're going to want to fly instead of turning a wrench after a year or so, you might want to let the DOM know. It's a small biz and you don't want to burn that bridge. However it might make getting a job a bit rougher. I suggest finding companies that still look for the P/E types and schmoozing them, although the P/E combo seems less desirable than it was 10 years ago. There are threads about the topic on this site...

 

[frenchwrench]

I went through SAIT,and went to Northern Lights for a couple of type courses,Sait has an ex Transport Canada guy there now teaching the helicopter/Regs courses.and I found Northern Lights better as far as helicopters were concerned,and you get a discount on type courses.Everyone there had UIC paying there way through also...
SAIT is geared toward Airlines mainly.I had to teach myself alot of the electronics using a radio shack kit,as there wasn't the practical to go with the theory...The main thing, is you putting alot af additional effort in studying and making sure you can put the theory to use,not just recalling it on the test.My class had one other person in 26 that knew the inch pound system,none would spend any additional time reading the letters,SB's AD's etc that had been out on the aircraft for the last 20 years,My apprentices now won't even take the books home at night to study

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Blackmac

You kinda blindsided me with the comment on entering into avionics. I will be honest and tell you that I still want to fly....never plan on giving up the license! However if flying won't pay the bills I need some way of staying in aviation, keeping my license current and still staying involved with what I enjoy. So how will avionics bring me closer to aviation? And more importantly will entering into avionics allow me to keep pilots license? To be honest I am extremely familiar with electricity and systems having a father that is a electonic technologist. And through him I have met many many avionics people that couldn't find work in their field and now they are working for the telephone company.

 

[Blackmac]

Puddle Jumper, We are confused ( you and I ), do you have a commercial license????

If you have one and are low time and proceed to get an AME ticket, you will be as I previously stated.

Any firm I worked for always needed avionic tech and very few are licensed. A good "E" tech is worth his weight in gold.

Take a look at what the RCMP offer on the other job site.

Which ever way you go is up to you, one way or the other, will not stop you from flying.

Again good luck.

Don

PS: If you are in the T Bay area, go to the airport and talk to some of the guys or better still go to Confed and get it first hand. Good School.

 

[MagSeal]

if you go the maintenance route, you will be in tune with your aircraft more, and will likley analyse every creak, groan and vibration. If you go the avionics route, you will analyse every screech, static noise and every radio knob.

Your choice, both second careers can be rewarding depending on what you want out of life.

Personally, since you still want to stay on the pilot route, I would choose the alternate career that keeps me closer to the action, and that would be the maintenance. I doubt there are many field assignments out there for an avionics guy to at least remain slightly hands on in your first chosen field.

I went to Canadore, it was good then, but I think many others have caught up.

 

[407 Driver]

I heard that you went through that ICS Correspondence program for Aircraft Maintenance MAG?

 

[MagSeal]

yeah, the first time, and then a second. but the third time i wised up and found that drinking alot really did help my memory.
So off to Canadore I went...a young lad, still wet behind the ears, not knowing what the real world was like..... :wacko:

 

[graunch1]

Today there are a larger number of avionics jobs than ever before; particularily for the companies that carry out the lease-return refurbishments such as Field, Avmax etc.Also there are more overseas trips and jobs available as the rest of the 3rd world catches up with the need for more avionics.

Obviously the M license guy has a wider choice of locations and companies as not all AMOs have a sparky on staff.. The avionics bod has the more intellectually challenging job vs the more hand-skill aspect of the M license.

As an avionics AME I have worked all over Canada and the world, as an M1 M2 I 've done turns at major airports, 100 hour inspections on C177s and corp a/c maintenance, mostly just in YYC.
The avionics was always more interesting. even when working on B205's and B47s in the rain at Ft. Smith

 

[amodao]

I would really rethink spending four years of your life getting an AME license if you really want to fly and you view it as a way of getting your foot in the door. We look at apprentices in the long term and it doesn't make much sense to invest 30 months of the company's resources in a person that isn't going to wrench in a full time capacity. On the positive side we have hired a few licensed AME's that have gone on to get their pilots licenses. They have worked out well on remote low to medium flying jobs where they basically take care of themselves. If the flying requirements do increase we usually send out an apprentice to give them a hand.

 

[frenchwrench]

I have a friend doing the ICS route as he is aroung 50 and is aware that he could be earning a licence as he is doing the work anyway..One bad medical and no job,as a piloto..

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Just to clear up any confusion I do hold a commercial license. I do enjoy flying but would consider a career twisting wrenches just to keep near helicopters. And I would hope that if I did choose this root it would allow me to still dabble in flying....flight tests, relocating to jobs etc. Having made the mistake of wrecking my personal credit with taking flight training money is a major issue. Part of the problem is that all of this will be coming directly out of my pocket with no borrowed money.....I don't want to go back into debt. So I am weighing the pros and cons pretty heavily. Afterall once I get out of school I will be back at 10 dollar per hour job twisting wrenches....a wage that I made in high school!! Will a company be interested in hiring a apprentice with a little flight experience? Or will this be to my disadvantage? Just don't know and have very little time to decide!

 

[picapart]

I was in your shoes once puddle jumper . Pilot liscense before a AME liscense. I did get my foot in the door once but the company went broke later that year. The chief engineer pulled a favor and got me in Northern Lights College almost immediatly. I never really bothered going back to the flying as I found being an ame was in my blood. Must be from growing up on a farm or something.
But if i ever wanted to do some flying, there would never be a problem in finding some work as i get calls every year to get some stick time.
But as far as schools go , I recomend Northern lights. If you want , you'll come out of there with alot of 206 and 350 experiance as a 1st year apprentice.
The 2nd reason is that there is a nudy bar within crawling distance but thats something I look at as far as schools go.
I'll personally . not go flying as a career again cause all these years as an ame has made me a nervious pilot. I find I concentrate on what I hear behind me as what I should be doing thats in front of me.
good luck in your furure though puddle jumper