The aviation maintenance industry houses a diverse variety of job opportunities, but people who may thrive in aircraft maintenance often don’t even know certain roles exist.

Alfredo Garcia is a certified A&P who started his aviation career as a parts washer in 1994 and moved up the ladder to eventually reach his current role: Director of Sales and Business Development at ACI Jet.

Garcia listed some aviation maintenance jobs that aren’t as well-known as AMT roles, such as:

• NDT technician
• Composite technician
• Composite repair technician
• Interior specialist
• Aircraft record specialist
• Maintenance sales representative
• Director of Aviation
• Director of Maintenance
• Aircraft Manager

He advised, “The list could be endless. It just depends on what you want to do, what exposure you have and, more importantly, that you follow your passion.”

How to find your passion in aviation maintenance

When asked about the start of his aviation career path, Garcia answered, “I was a parts washer at Garrett Aviation. I had my A&P certificate, and I was wondering when I was going to start working on airplanes or engines.”

He continued, “Little did I know that my manager back then had a plan for me—and not just for me, but for everyone that was new to the industry.”

“They wanted me to master my hand-eye coordination, holding parts, being very confident but delicate with what I was doing,” added Garcia.

Garcia said, “Once I mastered washing parts, I went into tearing down the 731 engine. I mastered that and went into a sub-assembly and then went to assembly, engine runs, all that great stuff. Six years into it, I'm thinking, what else can I do in this industry?”

Garcia shared an anecdote involving a request from his superior during this time to go and help a Spanish-speaking customer about his airframe, as Garcia was the only team member who spoke Spanish.

He explained, “When I went out there and started talking to him, he really didn't understand what I was saying…He flat-out told me Alfredo, I appreciate you, but I really don't understand what you're saying…You're speaking Spanglish.”

“I was embarrassed, but I asked him how I could better my Spanish. He told me, hey, immerse yourself in Spanish and you'll get better. So, I did that, and it took me a while to really master my Spanish,” noted Garcia.

He continued, “But I fell in love with the customer service side of the of the industry, using my technical background while bettering my Spanish and even my business English.”

After working as an A&P mechanic for six years in an engine shop, Garcia took on the role of inspection administrator, revising maintenance manuals and completing logbook entries.

He reflected on an instance when his mentor Ray Hartley—and boss at the time—taught him to do logbook research on 135 conformities and noticed some errors in Garcia’s entries. 

Garcia shared, “He took a calm approach, and we uncovered my discrepancies and fixed them together.”

Garcia transitioned through roles like graveyard inspector and return-to-service inspector until eventually landing in a customer service manager job and, later, a sales supervisor for maintenance services.

“I did that for nine years and found my calling,” said Garcia.

How active mentorship informs a better aviation workforce

A massive part of Garcia’s advocacy in the industry surrounds mentorship—both for new and veteran AMTs.

Garcia explained, “I feel the veteran AMT really needs to embrace the younger generation. I get a lot of pushback sometimes from our older AMTs because we see the younger generation [and think], oh, they're younger, they're softer, they're less experienced.”

He continues, “But guess what? We started that way, right? And at the end of the day, my generation created that younger generation.”

“We need to embrace that younger generation. We need them. We need to make this industry more passionate for them too,” stressed Garcia.

He emphasized, “But it starts with us, so my biggest advice is to find a younger technician or even a student to mentor the veteran AMT to understand where they want to be in 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now.”

Garcia advised, “Join local and national business aviation associations. Share your story, engage with the younger generation, but more importantly, listen to them and guide them.”

“I want to encourage the veteran AMT, the veteran sales representative out there to engage with the industry’s BizAv associations, specifically local. If there isn’t one in your area, create one,” he added.

Highlighting the idea of reverse mentorship, wherein an older mentee works with a younger person as mentor, Garcia noted, “My passion is still here, and I just love listening. It’s important to listen to folks and help this industry get better.”

How does ACI Jet foster career development for AMTs?

“We're incredibly proud of the AMT program we built with Cuesta College in town. We've already seen two cohorts graduate, with two more currently in the pipeline,” said Garcia.

He continued, “We've even pushed that further by helping introduce the general portion of the curriculum into local high schools, which has given juniors and seniors a head start before they even hit the A&P program.”

“Internally we've mirrored that support with formal mentor programs as well,” added Garcia, “Every new hire is paired with an experienced tech who wants who acts as their go-to for everything from company policy to our specific culture.”

“Then, you have that guy or gal that's new to the industry, new to the town,” Garcia explained, “They might feel uncomfortable, so we want to want to bring them in and give them that hey, I got you experience.”

Garcia shared, “The goal is to get them comfortable and trained up so QC can grant their signatory authority within those first 90 days. From there, it's all about growth. We have a very clear path through tech levels one, two and three, and we even offer tuition reimbursement for anyone looking to keep their education going.”

He noted, “With every single employee we have one-on-ones, and one of the things we do is discuss building a career development plan that's unique to them or to us.”

Providing an example, Garcia said, “Say there’s a Level 1 technician that might want to get into QC. Okay, these are the steps to get us there. As leaders, it's our responsibility to get him to that career path. The last thing we want is a technician or employee to be bored. We want them to get where they want to be.”

“Aviation is so wonderful, and it has so many opportunities, so career development plans are key to keeping new talent here and growing this industry,” concluded Garcia.