Watching My Son Find a Career Path in Life as an Aircraft Mechanic

By Colonel Mark C. Vlahos, (USAF-Ret)

Do you like working with your hands? Like the thrill of jet noise? Like the thought of working outside and not sitting behind a desk all day? How about starting wages of $25-$29 an hour without attending a traditional 4-year college? And finally, want to be part of a something bigger than yourself and have others trust you with their life? Sounds pretty exciting to me, but those are just a few of the tangibles that come with working as an aircraft mechanic. Better yet, these type jobs are in demand all over the world right now and demand is expected to grow. According to Boeings Technician Outlook 2018-2037 report, the global demand for aerospace technicians could reach as much as 754,000 over the next 20 years. In the United States, there are currently 132,000 aircraft mechanics. The aircraft mechanic job market is expected to grow by 5% between 2016 and 2026.

Like any “Baby Boomer” and the son of a World War II Veteran, I grew up thinking the best path to launch my children into life was for them to attend a traditional four-year university. This thought process was based on my father, who attended college after World War II and my own success having a 29-year flying career in the USAF. I was commissioned through Air Force ROTC at a traditional four-year university. However, neither one of my children desired to follow me into a life of military service; probably because I forced them to move and leave friends every 2-3 years.

However, after watching both of my children grow up, and listening to a lot of their friends’ stories, my views on attending a four-year university have changed. The traditional college route is not for everybody and so many kids are now graduating college with very large amounts of debt and are no closer to a good paying job than before they even started college. There are many reasons for this, technology has erased jobs and simply many kids earn a degree in a field that has no job market. In my day, high schools in Virginia offered vocational technical training; everything from auto mechanics, welding, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning to home economics and hairstyling. Personally, I did not partake in any of these courses and geared my course load towards attending college - I did take a typing class. Today, it’s very rare to see these types of courses offered in public high schools anymore.

Now for my son Ben’s story. After struggling and biting off more than he could chew attending a traditional four-year university, Ben dropped out after two years. For the next three years I watched him bounce from one minimum wage job to another, in the un-skilled labor force. To be specific, he worked entry-level Walmart, Target and landscaping jobs. On more than one occasion, my message to Ben was “you can go back and finish college anytime and get somebody else to pay for it … but you need to move out of the unskilled labor force. Learn a skill and get started out on a career that not only can support you, but also a family as well.” It took a while to convince my son that there were many career paths to consider, electrician, plumbing, air-conditioning and heating … all good paying jobs. Finally, one day I showed him an advertisement for Hallmark University in San Antonio which showcased their Applied Science in Airframe & Powerplant program. The school is actually located on the San Antonio International Airport property. The very next day, on his own initiative Ben drove to the school, applied for, interviewed, and was accepted into their 2-year program. From the onset, I noticed a new spark of excitement and commitment in my son. He looked forward to going to school every day and talked about how much he loved it. He entered the program in 2017 and graduated in the spring of 2019.

After graduation, Ben immediately was offered and started a job with ST Engineering located on the San Antonio International Airport. This company does heavy back shop maintenance and inspections for commercial aircraft;

Ben was supporting the United Airlines contract the company had. While this was a good starter job, Ben knew it was not a long-term solution and he continued to look for other opportunities. However, this job provided valuable experience and funded Ben’s hobby of participating in the Society for Creative Anachronism or SCA. Ben keeps his hair long as part of his SCA impression and yes, it needs to be tied up to work around aircraft as some of you might be thinking.

I then assisted Ben with developing a Resume and applying for Government jobs (these jobs are available on USAJobs.gov). Nearly all of the aircraft maintenance jobs in the U.S. Air Force’s Air Education & Training Command are civilian government jobs - not military. Ben’s timing was very good, as a large number of the folks working these type jobs were nearing retirement and the USAF must bring in younger, skilled folks to replace them. Ben was then selected to start as an Assistant T-38 Crew Chief, Wage Grade 8 (WG-8) employee for the 12th Flying Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio - Randolph (previously known to most as Randolph Air Force Base) with a starting salary of about $25/an hour. He started this job in the summer of 2019.

In his job as an Assistant AT-38 Crew Chief, Ben is responsible for all aspects of sortie generation and recovery in the 435th Fighter Training Squadron. This includes preflight inspection checks, launch, and recovery to include refueling and post flight inspection checks. He maintains aircraft forms and now, after two and a half years, has his name as the Crew Chief painted on three jets. The fighter pilots gave him the name of “Goldilocks” for his long hair. The mission of his squadron is to train over 130 U.S. Air Force and international pilots and weapon systems operators annually in the introduction to fighter fundamentals. This important mission directly supports fighter pilot production for the U.S. Air Force. Ben works on the flight line, around jet noise every day and loves it. More importantly, Ben is trusted and accepted by the instructor and student pilots to maintain their jets. There is a great working relationship between the operators and maintainers in his squadron. As a parent, I very much enjoy listening to Ben tell my brother, sisters, and family friends how much he loves his work.

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Colonel Mark “Plug” Vlahos retired from the United States Air Force in 2011. During his 29-year career, he served in a wide-range of operational flying and staff assignments including command of a C-130 squadron in combat and Vice Wing Commander of the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base. He now spends his time as a World War II Airborne Troop Carrier and Glider Operations Historian, Author and Keynote Speaker. Visit his website at markcvlahos.com