Education — the act or process of acquiring general knowledge and developing the powers of reasoning and judgment.
Training — the instruction or discipline of a person that is being trained: They are in training to become aircraft maintenance technicians.
School — an institution where instruction is given for training in a particular skill or field: They are attending an aircraft maintenance school.
Career — an occupation or profession, one requiring special training, followed as one’s lifework: They sought careers as aircraft maintenance professionals.
No, this is not an English lesson, it’s our annual Maximizing Your Career Choice issue, with focus on education, training, schools, and careers. Contained in this month’s issue you will find several interesting articles relating to aircraft maintenance education. One article recalls the near closing of a rural community college’s aviation program a couple years ago, how it saw an opportunity to expand into something new, and today is developing a curriculum for training maintenance technicians for unmanned aircraft systems. Another story was written by an A&P student who thought so highly of his instructor, he felt compelled to write AMT and tell us his story.
This month’s issue also provides a list of aircraft maintenance software providers, and an article that highlights how one aviation school uses new 3-D simulation technology in its classrooms to teach aircraft maintenance students. We have also included the annual aircraft maintenance technician salary review by Avjobs.com, a web site designed for employers and job seekers in the aviation industry.
New students as well as current aircraft technicians may look for ways to finance their ongoing or higher education. One way to assist with tuition, books, and material costs is to seek out the numerous scholarship programs available. A search of the Internet will provide you with many scholarship opportunities. The FAA web site lists several aviation scholarship programs under Aviation and Space Education or AVSED, and most of the aviation organizations such as NBAA, WAI, EAA, and AMTSociety also have scholarships available. The scholarship application process does require some work on the part of the applicant, with forms and essays to explain why they are the best candidate for a given scholarship. If you are interested, spend the time and take advantage of these programs; many are designed for you.
AMTSociety offers three scholarships; the Charles E. Taylor Scholarship, the William “Bill” F. O’Brien Scholarship, and the Thomas “Tom” E. Hendershot Scholarship, all providing $1,500 each for aircraft maintenance technician students or current technicians wishing to continue their education. The AMTSociety scholarships have a deadline for application of Dec. 15 and winners are announced the following year at the Aviation Industry Expo. For more information on the application process for these scholarships please visit www.amtsociety.org.
I hope you enjoy the issue. Happy learning and thanks for reading AMT, Ron
