Trade Schools
They can unlock the door to success in the civilian marketplace, particularly for those interested in the transportation industries.
by Marty Levine
Shawn Pratt’s projection for air industry jobs is sky high — and he doesn’t have his head in the clouds unless he’s actually airborne.
Pratt is Northwest Aviation College’s chief flight instructor and assistant director of education. The college — in Auburn, Washington, just a few miles from Seattle — was founded in 1969 and today offers two-year associate of applied science degrees in Aviation Flight Science — and, of course, all levels of flight certification and ratings.
Jobs are Definitely There
“For veterans just getting out, it’s an excellent opportunity,” Pratt says. “The jobs are definitely there.” From general aviation companies to major airlines, he says, “they like the veterans because they are more disciplined.”
“The biggest challenge?” he adds: “We’re working closely with the regional and national airline associations to advertise that there are jobs.”In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects an average annual passenger growth of 3 percent over the next 11 years. That may not sound like much until you realize that means a near doubling of the number of passengers for national and international carriers. In that same time period, the FAA projects major airlines will be acquiring 600 new planes. The air industry should also see a near tripling of the number of large wide-body cargo jet aircraft needed, to about 1,000. Regional carriers are projected to grow at an even greater rate than national carriers, and the government expects the same strong growth for general aviation needs, from air taxis to commercial pipeline inspection.
Industry Needs Pilots Soon
There’s another reason the industry will see a need for pilots soon, Pratt adds: the Vietnam War. In the 1970s, Vietnam pilots went straight to the airlines. Now they are hitting 60 – the current mandatory retirement age. The airlines will soon be facing a pilot shortage, he says.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) projects an average annual passenger growth of 3 percent the next 11 years. The air industry should also see a near tripling of the number of large wide-body cargo jet aircraft needed. And what the airlines need affects the entire industry. When major national and international carriers are hiring, they pull pilots from regional airlines, who in turn grab their new pilots from flight school instructors and charter and corporate jet services.
That makes pilot training all the more attractive, Pratt says.
Northwest offers the full spectrum of flight certifications and ratings: Certification I, to become a private pilot; II, to fly commercial craft; and III, the Airline Transport Pilot certificate, allowing command of airlines and other large aircraft. Northwest also trains for multiple engine and instrument ratings.
Full Spectrum of Flight Certifications
Northwest offers Certified Flight Instructor training, too. Flight time is crucial for taking a pilot up the career ladder.
“A thousand hours is the magic number” to become eligible for the major airlines as well as regionals, Pratt says. After their training is complete, students at most any flight school will have about 270 hours in the air. The easiest path to accumulate the necessary remaining flight time is to become a flight instructor.
Convert Military Authorizations
Military authorizations to fly specific aircraft can be converted to civilian certifications and ratings with a timely visit to your local FAA office after leaving the service, Pratt says. But not everyone who wants to fly in the military gets that chance.
Pratt spent a decade in the Navy, ending in 1993 as an Operations Specialist First Class (E-6). But he had the wrong undergrad degree – music – to fly the aircraft he wanted. Then he turned 26, and age became a hurdle as well. He took a Clinton-era “early out” and used the money to pay for flight training.
What military background is right for flight school? “Just the fact that it is a military background” is helpful, no matter the service branch, he says. “The military background is huge. It gives you a stronger leg up and gets you more quickly through the system.”
Plus, he says, “The student can go through at their own rate” — as quickly as one and a half years for the associate’s degree. Northwest has an articulation agreement with Embry-Riddle and a local university allowing students to complete four-year degrees if desired.
Veterans Benefits Accepted
There are currently 60 flight students and 20 more that are just finishing up their academics at Northwest’s single campus with its FAA-approved curriculum. Going for every certificate and rating costs $60-65,000 at the school, Pratt says, but G.I. Bill benefits are a huge help. Chapter 30 of the educational benefits can provide a monthly benefit or 60 percent of flight training reimbursement. Northwest has seen more than 20 students taking advantage of Chapter 30 since 2002.
Chapter 31, for disabled veterans, offers 100 percent reimbursement for tuition and books for those who meet with a vocational rehabilitation counselor and pursue the degree. There have been five Northwest students using this benefit since 2002, but Pratt can recall only one of them actually needing to finish his degree: “The other guys got hired on before they finished,” he says. “Our completion rate is fairly low compared to our job placement rate, because the airlines industry is sucking up our pilots before they can get their degrees.”
Their location near famously rainy Seattle is one of the reasons students choose Northwest, Pratt says: “In the northwest, the weather is very variable. You get used to flying real-world environments” — and the industry values such experience.
“The industry needs pilots,” he concludes, “and I can’t think of a better place to pull them from than the military.”
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology
Damon Bowling of Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology certainly agrees with that assessment — for every job in the industry.
Spartan, with 1,000 students on three campuses in Tulsa, Oklahoma, offers diplomas, associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in Flight Training as well as three other areas crucial to air travel and transport businesses: Aviation Maintenance Technology; Avionics (sometimes known as Aviation Electronics Technology); and Quality Control and Non-Destructive Testing.
Wide Range of Possibilities
Spartan, begun in 1928, has a history of military involvement. In earlier days, the college trained Army and Air Corps pilots. In 1996, Spartan began a five-year contract with the Coast Guard for maintenance and avionics technicians.
Bowling, Spartan’s vice president of admissions and marketing, says about 30 percent of its current students are veterans, most commonly with a military background in electronics or mechanical training. “They take that and build on it to get what they need to work in the civilian world,” Bowling says. But there are a wide range of possible jobs for Spartan graduates, he notes, in manufacturing, aerospace, the railroads, shipping, oil and gas, construction, even with x-ray companies. Avionics technicians can also go places where more general electronics techs would be employed, from such companies as Caterpillar to jobs in auto racing.
Get Straight to Flying
“Spartan is known as a leader in aviation training,” Bowling says — and it’s centrally located in the U.S., in Oklahoma’s green country. “Not so much here going on to distract you from your education,” Bowling adds. Students choose Spartan because their maintenance program is at least half hands-on. Prospective pilots “choose Spartan because they want to fly now,” he adds. “We get straight to the flying,” allowing for completion of the desired degree program as the last step.
Spartan offers pilot certifications I and II as well as the following ratings: instrument, flight instructor, flight instructor instrument rating, multi-engine, and multi-engine instructor rating.
“It’s an 8- to 10-year process to get to the major airlines from start to finish,” Bowling notes, and “the veterans here do very well. The discipline they’ve learned in the military transfers pretty nicely into our programs.”
Spartan programs last 18-30 months for diplomas and associate’s degrees, with 17 months more needed for the bachelor of science degree. Classes run straight through the year.
“We’re not just about getting you the training, getting you the diploma, shaking your hand and being done,” Bowling emphasizes. “Our job is not done until you’ve started your career.” In fact, besides a graduate placement service for current students, Spartan offers “continuous placement for their career. We’re taking people from zero flight hours to where they’ll be marketable as a professional pilot.”
Hit the Open Road in as Little as Eight Weeks
Another transportation business that doesn’t lack for opportunities is the trucking industry. Cape Fear Community College’s Truck Driver Training program in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, is one program that welcomes veterans, and where veterans do well.
Veterans Top the Class
“They’re usually top of the class,” says instructor Libby Vance. The program recruits military personnel from nearby Camp Lejeune as well as bases in Jacksonville, Florida. Vance has seen students from the Marine Corps to the Navy, “with 20-24 years in ... from captain to every other rank.” Military experience has varied also, everything from a helicopter mechanic to a medic, Vance says.
“At some point in service they’ve had truck driving,” she notes, but most likely straight trucks, not combination rigs. “Most of the time it is starting over with them” in the Cape Fear program, Vance adds.
The program began in 1995. The 384 course hours — 304 of them on the road (or at least in the parking lot) — can be completed in as few as eight or as many as 16 weeks — the average is 10. Trucking companies that have hired Cape Fear grads include many companies from U.S. Xpress to Schneider National. The program has a 98 percent placement rate.
VA Benefits Accepted
The Truck Driver Training program takes VA benefits and has a financial aid specialist who can work with veterans to address personal needs.