By Captain Sentamu Aziz (ATPL)
Aviation is one of the unique fields left to be defined by imagination by a reasonable percentage of the world population.
Despite the known global shortage of aviation professionals, there remains very low awareness to the general population about aviation and most times the few would be future aviators who have picked interest out of a google search or after an airport visit to pick up or drop off a loved one, are discouraged by the high costs of training involved .
Unlike most professions, aviation is somehow isolated with not so much known to detail about it and when one is asked about aviation, the first thing that crosses the mind is flying aeroplanes or an aeroplane they have once seen in the sky .
However, aviation is one field that offers several options for career choice depending on one’s interest and the existing labour market demands.
At the sharp end of aviation, flying is one of the careers one can pursue. This however, is somehow similar to ACCA for those who understand the levels of the accounting profession.
Flying has stages and for each stage, there is ground school which in aviation we call theory and then flight training and experience accumulation which in standardisation is measured in reference to the flown aircrafts and flight hours someone logs when they fly.
Passion is key for anyone who wants a career in aviation.
Often times, people draw inspiration from movies , an air force airshow, family friend or relative they have seen make it as a pilot . These actually count a lot to lay foundation for one but like any other dream, aviation is one venture that involves a lot led by passion for one to make it out not just as qualified but an accomplished aviator .
Fast forward, as long as one is 17 years of age, assessed to be medically fit to fly with good command of the English language, international laws permit him to enroll for a private pilot’s license which also known as PPL to the airmen.
In the developed world where owning an aircraft is common, people opt to do a PPL to do away with the cost of hiring a pilot to fly them. International figures like Clint Eastwood, John Travolta, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie are some Private Pilot’s License holders .
After attaining a PPL, one can choose to go on and do a Commercial Pilot’s License famously abbreviated as CPL.
This is most common when one is looking at a career as a pilot . With a CPL, one can get hired or employed as a flight instructor once the required training and a certain level of competence is proved.
With more knowledge and experience accumulated with a CPL, most people often embark on a flying career in an airline, corporate jet or regional general aviation turbo propelled twin engine aircraft initially as a co-pilot.
Career progress is something pilots pursue as they gain more flight time.
Different opportunities in flying have requirements depending on the nature of work the operator has chosen to invest and venture in. Aside from scheduled flights by airlines and some general aviation companies, flying jobs could involve flying for: an individual, private company, a non-governmental organisation, ferrying aircraft to owners, crop spraying, surveillance, aerobatics or sports flying etc .
For most well paying jobs as a captain, one needs to obtain the highest license which is the Airline Transport Pilots’ License (ATPL) . Prior to the issue of this license, one’s experience is analyzed before the License is issued as it comes along with so much responsibility. This too has the ground school or theory part which most people do at their own pace.
This license is normally a key requirement for one to become a captain on any airliner.
All these briefly described licenses come with privileges and one is required to attain and exhibit a certain level of knowledge and flying skills before that particular license is issued by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.
These licenses also double as academic documents that qualify one for a job other than flying and some are a key requirement for aviation managerial positions or trainings.
Each part of the world has its different aviation labour demands.
In Uganda, once one has fully qualified as a pilot, the most common job options are: Flying as a co-pilot for a general aviation company, joining the police, airforce, flight instruction or working for the Civil Aviation Authority.
With some good active flying years as a pilot in general aviation, one can easily get an airline job if the required experience is met and an interview is passed .
A career in aviation can be joined at several stages of formal education. In Uganda, most aviators enroll for aviation training just after completing High School or Secondary education.
Whereas some people opt to join the industry after attaining a University degree and working to raise the required tuition, most pilots choose the easier route of enrolling after high school. Whereas there is no written international law on the subjects a person should have excelled in at high school to take on flight training, flying in nature is easier for a candidate with a science back ground and some approved training schools often lay this out as one of their key requirements for one to enroll as a student pilot .
Aside from flying , a candidate can choose a career in Engineering . This too has fields of concentration such as: Design, Aerospace, Mechanical and Avionics all pf which have theory classes, supervised hands on experience after which one one sits for written and oral exams before getting licensed as an engineer that can carry out routine aircraft maintenance and certify an aircraft as airworthy or fit to be flown, be employed as a flight engineer, line maintenance engineer, engineering instructor or a Civil Aviation Authority surveyor.
Enrollment can also be after university or just after completion of secondary school .
A career in flight operations, dispatch or a ground school instructor is another good option for one to achieve a dream in aviation . Dispatchers play the role of pre- flight preparation which includes flight planning, weight and balance and crew pre-flight route briefing.
It’s common to hear a dispatcher being called a desk pilot due to the nature of their training which in ground school is similar to that of the pilots.
Most people who fail to raise the tuition for flight training often opt to begin as flight dispatchers as they raise money for flight training .
Like any other industry, there is also an option for one to attain an office job with a career in aviation management, as an aviation auditor, accident investigator, aviation writer or an aviation inspector working with the civil aviation authority.
A university graduate can choose to do a Masters degree in Aviation management, Airline management, Aviation Safety, Aviation Security, Unmanned Air systems, Aviation Science, Aviation Auditing, Aircraft Accident Investigation or Aerospace Engineering . However, most these programs are available online or under a distance learning arrangement as they are not yet available in Ugandan Universities.
A person with a background in law can Master in Aviation Law just like some Medical Doctors choose to specialise in Aviation medicine.
Popularly known to be the safest means of transportation, aviation is a very highly regulated industry especially in the technical departments.
Aviation brings simplicity to many fields but this comes at a heavy cost that is distributed all the way down from innovation, testing, training , maintenance and operational costs.
As an industry, aviation growth isn’t limited to the sky which is known to be home for the pilots.
The demand for more talented innovators (professionals) both in technical and managerial departments will never end, so a choice to join aviation isn’t a bad one .
The author is a Pilot/Senior Flying Instructor, President – Uganda Professional Pilots’ Association, Uganda CAA Designated Flight Examiner, Aircraft Accident Investigator & Masters student – International Development
