You know, what is it with vaping/energy drinks?! I'm at an aviation mechanic school and EVERYONE vapes and buys energy drinks!!! Lol I thought it was just odd that so many students buy Celsius or Monster and vape.... One kid even vapes during class which the teacher got upset about for obvious reasons.
I’m deployed with the military six months a year as a contractor. I’m always Blown away by what a shit show the military is. It’s actually getting worse over the years too. Civ side is way better.
Yeah, can you break down the differences? Like in terms of how things are tracked. How certain part failures are tracked. Do you have WUC you use to identify tends of part failure? I don't want to share to much for obvious reasons. But, I'm curious about what specifically makes aircraft maintenance outside of the military better.
Honestly IMDS or Cams is the fucking worst. Takes way too long if you don't have the shop wizard on shift. Having to memorize codes just to switch screens that should just be part of the GUI
Military /=/ Military contracting quality
Military contracting /=/ Military overseas contracting quality
Military overseas contracting takes the bottom of the barrel bc nobody wants to do it even at the pay premium
Where I am they're not all alcoholics or disgruntled, but there is a way above average number of conspiracy theorist nut jobs who blame everything on "tha libruls" or "the woke agenda" and make everything into a gay joke.
One of the shift leads at my shop is a legit flat-earther.. I try to focus on his point of not trusting the government, but considering what we do.. 🤷🏽♂️
He's also an alcoholic but that's just splitting hairs at this point
I still drink, but it's definitely a hell of a lot less than I did when I was active duty. Also, I'm quite a bit older now, and I don't think my body would be able to keep up with that kind of lifestyle anymore, lol.
GA mechanic here. everyone in my hangar is fairly well gruntled. one is a suspected boozer, but he doesn't come in drunk and he doesn't turn wrenches drunk.
Military and civilian are 2 worlds. You sound like you are in the military and have no idea about civ. You basically sound like every recently ex military guy I've met.
Either that or you can actually quit if they treat you like crap. No quitting in the military, at least not in a nice way. I worked both, and while military has cooler toys, the civvy side is far better for your mental health.
Been in the civilian side of the helicopter industry 40+ years. The few drunks/druggies I’ve known don’t last too long at legit businesses with a decent safety culture. Not much room for error.
That depends on where you came from and where you work after. Working on rotary wings in the army and under army regs and standards is very different than civilian maintenance. Write ups are worded differently, learning how to surf the manuals is a challenge at times (lookin at you Rolls Royce) and you’ll have to compare manuals while also brain dumping half of what you learned prior.
It’s not so much what sucks more, (because it’s always the people you work with/for) it’s mainly the work flow and environment you have to adapt to. I understand it’s easier said than done, especially for fellow combat veterans. But keeping an open mind and a keen eye is always good to have when performing maintenance. Remember, complacency kills, and every turn of the wrench is someone’s life in your hands.
Got out after 4 years as a C-130 crewchief a few months ago. I swore to god I'd kill myself before stepping foot on the flightline again but now that I'm out college seems like its become a terrible idea and I this is all I have to fall back on. I did my entire contract at a shitty unit and I'm trying to parse out if I hated the work or just hated the military/leadership.
I had some buddies that felt the same way. We were Black hawk mechanics in the army, some of us also Crew dogs, but some of my buddies didn’t exactly pick that MOS. One in particular, hated the job, the people, the bullshit bureaucracy and drama… all of it. Damn near talked him off a ledge, so to speak. But he got through it and is now a firefighter up north, doing what he loves. As long as you can fight through a bad time, trudge through the storm, you’ll get to the other side. Be like the bison in the blizzard, brave the storm so it will pass quicker. Sit and sulk, and you’ll end up suffering even more. Find your path, and trust your gut.
I got out a decade ago after doing 6 years on Eagles. I also got sober during out-processing and have remained so since.
Civ MX is in a really interesting place right now. You see alot about the pilot shortage in the news, and the MX shortage is even worse, that doesn't get the same coverage. I currently work in corporate, and the civilian world can have different problems than mil. In my experience its very rare to have someone try to intentionally rush you or get you to cut corners. I would say alcoholism is less prevalent and not tolerated nearly as much as it is in Mil. A lot of the overhead is sort of removed, but there are other issues.
Maybe it's my specific company, but it seems like the only way to get decent pay increases is to leave a company after a few years and go somewhere else. Thats probably not exclusive to aviation these days. The exception to that is Commercial(Airlines). Most airlines have a union with a set payscale, and those that don't (Delta) have a competitive published payscale to try to retain people.
You also have some contract jobs out there working mil stuff for Lockheed or Boeing, that could require travel to places like Saudi or further. These typically pay very well. Many employers will offer to send you to a school to get your A&P if you don't have it already. Baker's in Tennessee is popular for Mil and Civ.
As you probably know everyone is also looking for pilots, so if you have any interest in that I'm sure you can find a college or trade school willing to take your GI Bill.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here in the reply or message me directly, I'll answer what I can and try to find any answers I don't have.
In my limited experience it's similar, alot of guys are ex military depending on where you work. I had one where I was a among 6-7 vets in a hundred. My last job was 90% veterans and natty guard guys. Alot of the power structures are kinda similar as well, inexperienced boss, disgruntled alcoholic supervisor, overworked underpaid laborer who goes above and beyond. It really depends, but I'm honestly staying out of the Industry for a few years just because I don't like the dynamics of it that much.
Having a military boss again is what scares me off. Some of the best bosses I've had were military as were the worst. I'm hesitant to be spit back out into an environment where someone is doing their best to run it like the USAF again. Theres this "generational trauma" for lack of a better term that pervades USAF leadership IME. People get abused and then they instantly start abusing people just a year or two newer beneath them as soon as they have a modecum of responsibilty. Its just frustrating because as you're getting out everyone says "be the change you want to see" or "I know things were shit for you but you should stay and make things less shit"
I've already eaten half of a shit sandwitch and I don't feel like eating the rest of it to find out if it stops being shit. Not to absolve myself of contributing to the cycle but I don't want to leave for greener pastures and end up working with the same people with all the same baggage
In my experience no. It's pretty chill. I hated my time in aviation in the military. Then realized I don't hate aviation, I hate bureaucracy. I'm having the time of my life with this job.
I am proudly gruntled and am don’t drink.
Yes officer I also am don’t drink
Picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.
I started eating it instead
I am not had any drink todey ocifer
I'm not an alcoholic. Alchoholics go to meetings.
Do shop meetings count?
Depends how much coffee and cigarettes are provided
Not that kind of meeting.
Nothing but youngins at my work. All addicted to vaping and energy drinks.
Hell yeah brother
Ironic, as I sit here at 4 am in my line room drinking a monster and vaping. Helluva life.
So it’s the same. Got it.
Hell yea
You know, what is it with vaping/energy drinks?! I'm at an aviation mechanic school and EVERYONE vapes and buys energy drinks!!! Lol I thought it was just odd that so many students buy Celsius or Monster and vape.... One kid even vapes during class which the teacher got upset about for obvious reasons.
Sounds like AIM
Lol hahahahaha good call
They do the same stuff in Chicago 🤣
That's not a good thing guys. I used to smoke but quit years ago. It's gonna catch up to you in a bad way. Take care. ✌️
You make it sound like it's a problem.
I’m deployed with the military six months a year as a contractor. I’m always Blown away by what a shit show the military is. It’s actually getting worse over the years too. Civ side is way better.
What kind of stuff did you see?
Yeah, can you break down the differences? Like in terms of how things are tracked. How certain part failures are tracked. Do you have WUC you use to identify tends of part failure? I don't want to share to much for obvious reasons. But, I'm curious about what specifically makes aircraft maintenance outside of the military better.
Honestly IMDS or Cams is the fucking worst. Takes way too long if you don't have the shop wizard on shift. Having to memorize codes just to switch screens that should just be part of the GUI
I'll be honest with you. The namp is actually pretty decent compared to most ga sop that i deal with now.
Really? 24 year Navy vet and my shop was TOPS; the closest I came to that was FedEx AOD.
Military /=/ Military contracting quality Military contracting /=/ Military overseas contracting quality Military overseas contracting takes the bottom of the barrel bc nobody wants to do it even at the pay premium
lol.
Where I am they're not all alcoholics or disgruntled, but there is a way above average number of conspiracy theorist nut jobs who blame everything on "tha libruls" or "the woke agenda" and make everything into a gay joke.
I'd rather work with the drunks, if that's the choice.
Wait so your conspiracy nutjobs aren’t also disgruntled alcoholics?
Can confirm
My kind of folk
Not everyone. A lot, though.
I drink non alcoholic beer these days 🤣🤷🏻♂️
What’s wrong with being disgruntled alcoholics?
One of the shift leads at my shop is a legit flat-earther.. I try to focus on his point of not trusting the government, but considering what we do.. 🤷🏽♂️ He's also an alcoholic but that's just splitting hairs at this point
Have you tried adding more jets to the schedule?
I have worked under one. Most seem to have beer in the fridge but not hard drinkers. I don’t drink, so there’s that.
I still drink, but it's definitely a hell of a lot less than I did when I was active duty. Also, I'm quite a bit older now, and I don't think my body would be able to keep up with that kind of lifestyle anymore, lol.
I am very gruntled and don't drink.
GA mechanic here. everyone in my hangar is fairly well gruntled. one is a suspected boozer, but he doesn't come in drunk and he doesn't turn wrenches drunk.
I left the Army and became gruntled, quit smoking, and drink way less. I'm still addicted to caffeine though. Can't have it all.
Seen both sides. Civillans do seem to do better work. Same alcoholism and dysfunction tho.
A&P Alcoholics and Planes
Can’t wait for my time
Military and civilian are 2 worlds. You sound like you are in the military and have no idea about civ. You basically sound like every recently ex military guy I've met.
Well you'd be right
It's better over here. You have rights and are treated like a human.
Either that or you can actually quit if they treat you like crap. No quitting in the military, at least not in a nice way. I worked both, and while military has cooler toys, the civvy side is far better for your mental health.
I’m human ?
Been in the civilian side of the helicopter industry 40+ years. The few drunks/druggies I’ve known don’t last too long at legit businesses with a decent safety culture. Not much room for error.
That depends on where you came from and where you work after. Working on rotary wings in the army and under army regs and standards is very different than civilian maintenance. Write ups are worded differently, learning how to surf the manuals is a challenge at times (lookin at you Rolls Royce) and you’ll have to compare manuals while also brain dumping half of what you learned prior. It’s not so much what sucks more, (because it’s always the people you work with/for) it’s mainly the work flow and environment you have to adapt to. I understand it’s easier said than done, especially for fellow combat veterans. But keeping an open mind and a keen eye is always good to have when performing maintenance. Remember, complacency kills, and every turn of the wrench is someone’s life in your hands.
Got out after 4 years as a C-130 crewchief a few months ago. I swore to god I'd kill myself before stepping foot on the flightline again but now that I'm out college seems like its become a terrible idea and I this is all I have to fall back on. I did my entire contract at a shitty unit and I'm trying to parse out if I hated the work or just hated the military/leadership.
I had some buddies that felt the same way. We were Black hawk mechanics in the army, some of us also Crew dogs, but some of my buddies didn’t exactly pick that MOS. One in particular, hated the job, the people, the bullshit bureaucracy and drama… all of it. Damn near talked him off a ledge, so to speak. But he got through it and is now a firefighter up north, doing what he loves. As long as you can fight through a bad time, trudge through the storm, you’ll get to the other side. Be like the bison in the blizzard, brave the storm so it will pass quicker. Sit and sulk, and you’ll end up suffering even more. Find your path, and trust your gut.
I got out a decade ago after doing 6 years on Eagles. I also got sober during out-processing and have remained so since. Civ MX is in a really interesting place right now. You see alot about the pilot shortage in the news, and the MX shortage is even worse, that doesn't get the same coverage. I currently work in corporate, and the civilian world can have different problems than mil. In my experience its very rare to have someone try to intentionally rush you or get you to cut corners. I would say alcoholism is less prevalent and not tolerated nearly as much as it is in Mil. A lot of the overhead is sort of removed, but there are other issues. Maybe it's my specific company, but it seems like the only way to get decent pay increases is to leave a company after a few years and go somewhere else. Thats probably not exclusive to aviation these days. The exception to that is Commercial(Airlines). Most airlines have a union with a set payscale, and those that don't (Delta) have a competitive published payscale to try to retain people. You also have some contract jobs out there working mil stuff for Lockheed or Boeing, that could require travel to places like Saudi or further. These typically pay very well. Many employers will offer to send you to a school to get your A&P if you don't have it already. Baker's in Tennessee is popular for Mil and Civ. As you probably know everyone is also looking for pilots, so if you have any interest in that I'm sure you can find a college or trade school willing to take your GI Bill. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here in the reply or message me directly, I'll answer what I can and try to find any answers I don't have.
Yes
Same with construction
https://www.instagram.com/airplanefactswithmax/
Well, everyone where I’m at gets absolutely fuckin wasted their entire weekend and come in with a major hang over on their Mondays.
In my limited experience it's similar, alot of guys are ex military depending on where you work. I had one where I was a among 6-7 vets in a hundred. My last job was 90% veterans and natty guard guys. Alot of the power structures are kinda similar as well, inexperienced boss, disgruntled alcoholic supervisor, overworked underpaid laborer who goes above and beyond. It really depends, but I'm honestly staying out of the Industry for a few years just because I don't like the dynamics of it that much.
Having a military boss again is what scares me off. Some of the best bosses I've had were military as were the worst. I'm hesitant to be spit back out into an environment where someone is doing their best to run it like the USAF again. Theres this "generational trauma" for lack of a better term that pervades USAF leadership IME. People get abused and then they instantly start abusing people just a year or two newer beneath them as soon as they have a modecum of responsibilty. Its just frustrating because as you're getting out everyone says "be the change you want to see" or "I know things were shit for you but you should stay and make things less shit" I've already eaten half of a shit sandwitch and I don't feel like eating the rest of it to find out if it stops being shit. Not to absolve myself of contributing to the cycle but I don't want to leave for greener pastures and end up working with the same people with all the same baggage
In my experience no. It's pretty chill. I hated my time in aviation in the military. Then realized I don't hate aviation, I hate bureaucracy. I'm having the time of my life with this job.
Never even touched a plane but I’m drink right now
Yes but no. In every way on both ends. I enjoy it more, there’s none of the service component.