Delta vs Southwest mechanics positions...

jcobb

jcobb

New Member
Hey guys,
I'm considering a career in aviation maintenance and I need some advice.
Delta vs Southwest, what do you think?

Are there any Southwest mechanics out there that can tell me what shifts are available?
I would like to be located in Georgia or Texas.
I think SW pays more, but Delta offers a work schedule of 4, 10 hour days which is very tempting to me.
Of course that's after I build some seniority. Does SW offer the same?

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks
 
Nights till you die.

And worry about getting your ticket and some experience before you go trying to decide between DAL/SWA.
 
I posed your question to an aircraft mechanics group.


Don’t shoot the messenger.

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I'm guessing this is on the same level as a student pilot pondering what major to fly for? Maybe the OP is not aware of the totem pole that is aviation, idk if one even exists on the mech side as I only turned wrenches in the military.

If anyone could post the average career progression of a mechanic that may be helpful..
 
JDean3204 said:
I'm guessing this is on the same level as a student pilot pondering what major to fly for? Maybe the OP is not aware of the totem pole that is aviation
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I’m sure that’s it, but ask a bunch of crusty airline mechs and, well, you see what you get.
 
Roger Roger said:
He’ll never be Joe if we don’t break him down first.
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We had a broken bird at one of our other air unit locations. Old head mech and young mech were working the issue and trying to figure it out. I mentioned something to the effect of what Joe Patroni would do and the kid mech asks "who's Joe Patroni?"

The grizzled old mech smacked him upside the head.
 
jcobb said:
Hey guys,
I'm considering a career in aviation maintenance and I need some advice.
Delta vs Southwest, what do you think?

Are there any Southwest mechanics out there that can tell me what shifts are available?
I would like to be located in Georgia or Texas.
I think SW pays more, but Delta offers a work schedule of 4, 10 hour days which is very tempting to me.
Of course that's after I build some seniority. Does SW offer the same?

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks
Click to expand...
It's okay to do your research before jumping in. Most of the AMTs we've hired lately, have come from regional airlines, Part 135 operators and we had a few in LAX that came from FedEx and a few ex Northwest AMTs that have been out of the game for a bit. Go get your licences, get some experience, then find out who's hiring and pick the one that works best for you.
 
Cool, thanks for the advice guys. I probably should have been more specific, it seems I have an opportunity with both companies in an apprenticeship program so that's why I was trying to get specifics on those two companies. I know as a rookie I'll be working the undesirable shifts for the first 3-5 years, not afraid to pay my dues.
 
jcobb said:
Cool, thanks for the advice guys. I probably should have been more specific, it seems I have an opportunity with both companies in an apprenticeship program so that's why I was trying to get specifics on those two companies. I know as a rookie I'll be working the undesirable shifts for the first 3-5 years, not afraid to pay my dues.
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Rock on. If you really want to be an airline mechanic, I don’t think you’ll find a better opportunity to start than as an apprentice for one of those shops. Personally, I would worry more about things like fleet mix and retirement benefits when starting out than shift mix because by the time you have your cert the exact shift layouts are going to change, and it doesn’t matter because you’ll be on nights anyway. Just go in humble, with a thick skin, and listen to what the old grumpy bastards try to teach you.
 
H46Bubba said:
It's okay to do your research before jumping in. Most of the AMTs we've hired lately, have come from regional airlines, Part 135 operators and we had a few in LAX that came from FedEx and a few ex Northwest AMTs that have been out of the game for a bit. Go get your licences, get some experience, then find out who's hiring and pick the one that works best for you.
Click to expand...
I’m not in touch with the airline mx sphere, but if DAL and SWA are both offering apprenticeships it truly is a brave new world for aircraft met.
 
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