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AFMech

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I am currently an F-16 crew chief in the Air Force for 6 years. I'm 2 classes short of my CCAF (AAS in Aviation Maintenance Technology) and am getting ready to start testing for my A&P. I already have the 8610-2 signed, I just need to actually take the tests. Even after my time in the Air Force is done, I plan on staying in the aviation business.

My plan now is to start working on my bachelor's degree. I've decided to go for an aviation-related degree, especially because I'm planning on pursuing an MBA degree after my bachelor's is done. So, here's my situation. I'm debating on which degree to go after. I've narrowed it down to:

1) B.S. Pro Aero from ERAU
2) B.S. Aviation Maintenance (Didn't this use to be Aviation Maintenance Management?) from ERAU
3) B.S. Aviation Maintenance from Vaughn
4) B.S. Aviation Maintenance Management from Vaughn.

For me, the big pro for the Pro Aero is the opportunity for a wide diversity of classes I can take, including a minor in safety (which I am very interested in...I would like, very much, to be involved in accident investigations) and classes in Air Traffic Management, Airport Management, Commuter Airline Management (it's a dream to one day start up my own charter), among other things. I like the opportunity of getting a wide variety of education, especially because I'm working with someone on the possibility of starting our own charter a little bit down the road. There's a good chance I'll stay in maintenance, but there's also a chance I'll end up working as a pilot one day (I'll be getting my PPL, at a minimum). All I know is I'm definitely going to try and stay in aviation.

A strong plus for the Aviation Maintenance from Vaughn are the classes they have, such as Avionics Circuits, Advance Gas Turbine, Avionics Line Maintenance I, II and III, among others. This is the link for the plan of study http://www.vaughn.edu/pdf/AU- Vaug...lanket R.pdf

I'm pretty good with electronics, and enjoy it, so I think I would enjoy avionics classes, not to mention I'd like to work in avionics. ERAU has a couple avionics classes I can take as electives, but not as in-depth as Vaughn.

Finally, Aviation Maintenance Management from Vaughn. I'm not sure if a "management" degree is really needed, since I'm planning on having an MBA before I get out (just re-enlisted...I have some time), but I thought I should at least consider it.

Anyway, I just wanted to throw this out there and get some feedback from those in the civilian side of the house. I hope this was the right forum. I'm already an aircraft mechanic, but this is the only place that it seemed appropriate. Thanks.
 
AFMech said:
I am currently an F-16 crew chief in the Air Force for 6 years. I'm 2 classes short of my CCAF (AAS in Aviation Maintenance Technology) and am getting ready to start testing for my A&P. I already have the 8610-2 signed, I just need to actually take the tests. Even after my time in the Air Force is done, I plan on staying in the aviation business.

My plan now is to start working on my bachelor's degree. I've decided to go for an aviation-related degree, especially because I'm planning on pursuing an MBA degree after my bachelor's is done. So, here's my situation. I'm debating on which degree to go after. I've narrowed it down to:

1) B.S. Pro Aero from ERAU
2) B.S. Aviation Maintenance (Didn't this use to be Aviation Maintenance Management?) from ERAU
3) B.S. Aviation Maintenance from Vaughn
4) B.S. Aviation Maintenance Management from Vaughn.

For me, the big pro for the Pro Aero is the opportunity for a wide diversity of classes I can take, including a minor in safety (which I am very interested in...I would like, very much, to be involved in accident investigations) and classes in Air Traffic Management, Airport Management, Commuter Airline Management (it's a dream to one day start up my own charter), among other things. I like the opportunity of getting a wide variety of education, especially because I'm working with someone on the possibility of starting our own charter a little bit down the road. There's a good chance I'll stay in maintenance, but there's also a chance I'll end up working as a pilot one day (I'll be getting my PPL, at a minimum). All I know is I'm definitely going to try and stay in aviation.

A strong plus for the Aviation Maintenance from Vaughn are the classes they have, such as Avionics Circuits, Advance Gas Turbine, Avionics Line Maintenance I, II and III, among others. This is the link for the plan of study http://www.vaughn.edu/pdf/AU- Vaug...lanket R.pdf

I'm pretty good with electronics, and enjoy it, so I think I would enjoy avionics classes, not to mention I'd like to work in avionics. ERAU has a couple avionics classes I can take as electives, but not as in-depth as Vaughn.

Finally, Aviation Maintenance Management from Vaughn. I'm not sure if a "management" degree is really needed, since I'm planning on having an MBA before I get out (just re-enlisted...I have some time), but I thought I should at least consider it.

Anyway, I just wanted to throw this out there and get some feedback from those in the civilian side of the house. I hope this was the right forum. I'm already an aircraft mechanic, but this is the only place that it seemed appropriate. Thanks.
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I commend you for persuing your degrees. Much like the pilot side I really do not think a particular dicipline will get you one job over another. If you are planning to pursue an A@P job first, companies look for your overall experience first and if you have a degree that will always seperate you from the pack. I am sure my degree helped me when I was hired at FedEx in Maintenance Control. Although I did have 20+ yrs of heavy jet experience also. Just out of curiousity why ERAU? I know they are not cheap. I don't know where you ultimately want to wind up but most jobs in maintenance will not net you much of a return on your investment. However, if it's a choice out of the ones you mentioned I like your first choice Pro Aero. I think it would be interesting to take some of the courses outside of maintenance. Good luck in your pursuits.
 
I've got my B.S. in Management and plan to supplement that with my MBA in a year or so. I would probably steer you away from an aviation degree as I really don't think it will help you out in the event you can't stay in aviation.
 
FXMXC said:
I commend you for persuing your degrees. Much like the pilot side I really do not think a particular dicipline will get you one job over another. If you are planning to pursue an A@P job first, companies look for your overall experience first and if you have a degree that will always seperate you from the pack. I am sure my degree helped me when I was hired at FedEx in Maintenance Control. Although I did have 20+ yrs of heavy jet experience also. Just out of curiousity why ERAU? I know they are not cheap. I don't know where you ultimately want to wind up but most jobs in maintenance will not net you much of a return on your investment. However, if it's a choice out of the ones you mentioned I like your first choice Pro Aero. I think it would be interesting to take some of the courses outside of maintenance. Good luck in your pursuits.
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For me cost isn't as big of a deal. I'm still in the Air Force, so I get tuition assistance. As long as I stay under a certain amount. I think the Pro Aero is a good choice. As I stated, I’ll be getting an MBA and I don’t really feel like taking 7 years of business classes.

The big thing about the Pro Aero is that I will be able to study different areas of aviation, which is something I like. It seems that a lot of jobs that fall into the areas I’m interested in just call for a bachelor’s degree (maintenance and operations side). The MBA will give me another boost. I think it’s a pretty good path for me.
 
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