Meet Juan Ruano a JetBlue Airlines Administrative Supervisor at JFK in New York. Juan has quickly worked his way up from ground ops to management. To learn more about this and other careers in the aviation industry, go to: www.YoungEagles.org

 

A List of the Best & Most Rewarding Aviation Jobs in the UK

While there is an abundance of aviation jobs in the UK, they also require extensive training and specializations. Most aviation jobs are highly specialized and one has to start early to plan the right career path. Management or senior management positions are obviously subject to the experience of a professional but the scope of growth and where eventually one would end up will depend on the niche that one signs up for.

Here is a list of the best and most rewarding aviation jobs in the UK.

• A director of aerospace program management makes around 100,000 GBP. To aspire for such a position, one needs to have a degree in engineering followed up with an MBA or similar degree in business administration. From forming the business strategy of an airline to contract negotiations and planning projects to increase profitability, a director of aerospace project management is one of the more coveted aviation jobs in the UK.
• Pilot or copilot and flight engineer are also extremely desirable aviation jobs in the UK. One can easily earn more than 75,000 GBP in a year. Pilots usually start as copilots and require the flying hours to become the captain of a flight. There are numerous flight training schools in the UK where one can get a degree to fly commercial airplanes.
• An aerospace project engineer typically makes more than 52,000 GBP. The job requires a degree in aerospace engineering and the profile would include handling projects, managing the budgets, training the staff and all association administrative duties.
• The ground crew plays a vital role in the aviation industry. Hence, they aren’t seen as any less important and they are not any less rewarded than the more decorated captains or pilots. An aircraft maintenance manager typically earns more than 50,000 GBP. There are many commercial aviation jobs in the UK where such managers earn much more.
• An air traffic controller makes more than 40,000 GBP a year. The biggest advantage of this job is that it doesn’t require degrees in engineering or any master in business administration. Such aviation jobs in the UK are available to those who have an associate degree or equivalent.
• The next job we are going to talk about is not one of the typical aviations jobs in the UK but it is quite rewarding. Not much is publicly known about such jobs because they are rather secretive. The Metropolitan Police Service Aviation Security Operational Command Unit is responsible for security of air passengers. This the equivalent of air or sky marshals in the United States. It is not clearly known if domestic flights have any armed officer onboard and if all flights taking off from the UK have any such armed officer. But there is certainly a unit catering to protection of flight passengers and such roles fall within the ambit of aviation jobs, although it is not in the payroll of any airline or aviation authority. Such armed officers are estimated to earn more than 35,000 GBP in a year.
• An airplane inspector is not what you would think. They are not law enforcement officers. They are mechanics who would inspect if the airplanes are well maintained, in a condition to fly and if there is any threat to safety of the passengers and the plane. Such a job pays around 35,000 GBP.
• An aircraft mechanic earns around 30,000 GBP. This job is practically a step before one becomes an airplane inspector. An inspector pretty much leads a team of aircraft mechanics.

Some other rewarding aviations jobs in the UK are avionics technician that pays around 30,000 GBP and aircraft loadmaster that also pays similarly. Other aviation jobs paying up to 35,000 GBP a year are that of flight attendants, flight dispatcher, air export agent, air freight agent and airline or aviation ground attendant. Aviation jobs in the UK paying up to 20,000 GBP include airline security screener, aviation or airline baggage handler and airline ticket reservation agent.

Aviation or aerospace program mangers typically make more than 70,000 GBP. Aerospace engineers make more than 50,000 GBP, aircraft engine mechanic supervisors earn more than 40,000 GBP, aerospace engineering and operations technician earn up to 40,000 GBP and an aircraft electrician earns up to 35,000 GBP.

Pilots and flight attendants are the more aspired for jobs in the aviation sector and they are very rewarding but the availability of such jobs is a concern. There are very few vacancies in such aviation jobs. To the contrary, it is the support functions and the various other aviation jobs listed here that would have better prospects and more vacancies. Domestic commercial pilots and flight attendants make much less than international pilots and crew and the latter is not a segment that witnesses rapid churn or rampant attrition.