What can an aircraft engineer do after redundancy?

theringding

Hi everyone just wondering if anyone had any advice!

I am a 27 year old aircraft engineer working for an airline at Gatwick Airport. The aviation/travel industry is in bits at the moment and although we have been told redundancy is unlikely, I feel like I need to have some sort of backup plan. Airlines are not recruiting so it looks like I’d have to go elsewhere, but I have no idea where I would be qualified to work whilst earning a similar sort of salary?

My qualifications are:
EASA Cat A aircraft maintenance license
Level 3 NVQ in Aeronautical Engineering
Level 3 Diploma in On-Air Maintenance Category A1 - Aeroplanes (Turbine)
Functional Skills Qualification in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at Level
2
2 A Levels
10 A* - C GCSEs

I currently get paid £44,000 PA. I know it’s unlikely I will be able to find a job paying the same but due to mortgage, kids & other financial commitments, I need to be able to earn somewhere in that region.

Does anyone know any jobs that I would be able get in this current climate? I’m feeling really anxious and would love to have some sort of backup plan in place!

Thank you

Sandtree

"engineers" can cover a mechanic who can maintain/fix an engine to a guy who can take a blank sheet of paper and design an engine to increase fuel efficiency by 2%... are you the practical or theoretical type?

Alter_ego

Join the RAF , engineering officers are well paid.

moneysavinghero

You are on good pay at the moment. Put some aside each month during lockdown where there is nothing to spend it on anyway. Even if you do get made redundant the airlines industry will pick up again once things are back to normal and with your skills you would probably be able to secure another job fairly easy.

AskAsk

i don't think this problem will last for too long.  i think we will be flying again in a couple of years so it is a temporary issue.  i wouldn't get too worried and jump ship just yet.  i would wait it out and worry looking for another job when you do get made redundant.

as an aviation engineer, moving to other engineering areas will be affected by covid just as much, like the car and shipping industry and you would need to retrain, which won't be easy.

as someone had said, save up that emergency fund in case. 

theringding

Thanks for the replies! Im not looking to jump ship, just trying to explore my options just in case. I'd rather have a backup plan than be stuck with no options!

coffeehound

Have you looked at the bizjet operators and MROs -- there are a few down your way at Biggin, Farnborough, etc.  They don't pay as well as the airlines, but the business is less affected by economic downturns.  As said above, things must recover to some extent in time, like they did after 9/11, albeit with fewer players than before.

TELLIT01

I don't know if there are any aircraft dismantlers in your area but it's another option to investigate.  In the current climate the number of aircraft being scrapped is definitely increasing.

Lomast

To give you an idea in my industry (food production) there are engineering jobs but with your skills and experience you would probably drop 10k. If you have pharmaceutical manufacturing near you you might get close to what you are on now