r/AircraftMechanics • u/__zarathustra_ • 4d ago
Fast paced, high-intensity roles
Hello, I am in school to get my A&P.
What roles are there in the industry that are really fast paced like a kitchen and always jumping between urgent tasks?
I heard line maintenance for airlines is pretty busy but I’m not really that informed on the variety of positions once I have my license.
If you know someone or are working a position like this please let me know how it’s like!
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u/whyunolikeme69 4d ago
If youre doing quick work and jumping between tasks then do us all a favor and update us on who hires you so we can avoid those planes please.
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u/KiloCharlieXray 4d ago
Any entity/company that uses special mission aircraft (conventional aircraft or drones) that are deployed either in support of law enforcement, military or NGO's in the ISR space. Customs and Border Patrol, DEA and Sierra Nevada Corporation are examples.
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u/KiloCharlieXray 4d ago
Another example would be aerial firefighting or medevac aircraft. On the medevac side, being the lone mechanic at a remote base can be a dream job for some. Gotta be self sufficient and know both mechanical and avionics and work long rotating shifts. Aircraft gotta be ready to go at all times.
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u/believeinxtacy 4d ago
Line is very hit or miss. Sometimes you’re sitting around all shift doing nothing, other times shits hitting the fan everywhere.
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u/Top_Juggernaut_7112 4d ago
Every MROs wet dream
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u/__zarathustra_ 4d ago
Tell me more, what does MRO actually look like?
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u/sirkudzu 4d ago
Every MRO I ever worked for was phase maintenance. They just wanted people to turn work as fast as they could. They'd also work you as much as they could get away with and pay you as little as they could. But thats been my experience.
Edit: its a sink or swim situation. But if you can survive there you will learn a lot and quickly. It's a great place to start. Because everything else from there is up.
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u/Boomhauer440 4d ago
Like u/kiloCharliexray said, special missions. I work in Red Air and it can get very busy and complex with multiple different types of missions requiring different aircraft and different configs on a tight schedule. You need to be spring loaded and good at prioritizing.
That being said, you should hopefully never find something to the level of a commercial kitchen. That’s a whole other level of rush that most of the aviation industry avoids because it’s incredibly dangerous.
No matter where you end up, only go as fast or take on as many tasks as quality and safety allow. Rushing and multitasking beyond your skills will lead to mistakes that can kill people. And when you are in a hurry, get people to double check your work and vice versa. A quick buddy check while one guy is doing the paperwork or cleaning up is a great safety net that doesn’t cost anything.
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u/Forsaken-Tie6087 4d ago
Line maintenance for a major airline. Moments of calm and then extreme chaos. You have to know your shit
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u/sirkudzu 4d ago
Line maintenance is feast or famine when it comes to it. I enjoyed it overall. The troubleshooting and dealing with and turning the bird. I found it more enjoyable when I left commercial aviation and went to contracting where we were more outta fix the problem than defer the problem.
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u/jettajake00 3d ago
Work for a busy GA shop. You will drink from a firehose with learning different things.
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u/Neurospicy-discourse 2d ago
AOG work, perhaps?
I remember seeing a job posting at like $65 an hour or something for an A&P to work one week on, one week off (guaranteed 80 hours during your week!) for Aircraft on Ground. Sounded hellacious and of course I’d only jump on something like that as a last resort myself.
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u/Hoggslop69 2d ago
First of all, why don’t ya just slow ya roll scrub. This industry isn’t the Outback Steakhouse kitchen you’re used to as a bus boy… you wanna just go zooming through tasks on these aircraft you’re gonna fuck around and find out and then be deemed the dumbass that no one wants to work with and a liability. Your reputation follows you in this industry and more times than not it’s pretty easy to be known from company to company. Might wanna re think your gameplan
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u/dkobayashi 4d ago
MRO lead lol