How to be the most marketable for a major

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Doolittle

Well-Known Member
Hey all,

I feel kind of bad for starting so many noob threads begging for information but I am sure this is what I want to do and I like learning all I can about the industry.

I'm on track to graduate in a few semesters with an AS in Aerospace/Aviation technology with a dispatch license. I anticipate starting with a regional somewhere and paying my dues. I'm wondering what I can do to become more marketable to the majors. Would a bachelor's degree be helpful? I'm looking into getting my bachelor's in aviation administration online while I am at a regional. How many dispatchers have degrees?

Any advice on what I can do now to help me later?

Thanks.
 
Doolittle said:
Hey all,

I feel kind of bad for starting so many noob threads begging for information but I am sure this is what I want to do and I like learning all I can about the industry.

I'm on track to graduate in a few semesters with an AS in Aerospace/Aviation technology with a dispatch license. I anticipate starting with a regional somewhere and paying my dues. I'm wondering what I can do to become more marketable to the majors. Would a bachelor's degree be helpful? I'm looking into getting my bachelor's in aviation administration online while I am at a regional. How many dispatchers have degrees?

Any advice on what I can do now to help me later?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

A BS degree isn't going to hurt your chances, but there are plenty of us at majors that don't have degrees at all.

The key is in networking. The lock is luck.
 
In general terms, a degree never hurts. It also more easily opens the door to management type positions should you wish to take your career in that direction. To get in the door I would recommend what I do to all prospects: Be knowledgeable, be presentable and interested. Network as much as you can.

Good luck!
 
pljenkins said:
In general terms, a degree never hurts. It also more easily opens the door to management type positions should you wish to take your career in that direction. To get in the door I would recommend what I do to all prospects: Be knowledgeable, be presentable and interested. Network as much as you can.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I certainly have the last 2 down, it's just a matter of being knowledgeable. This is my first semester of some pretty advanced aviation courses and I am a little overwhelmed with all of the regulations, aerodynamics, aircraft systems, etc. Even though this is what I want I sometimes wonder how I am going to learn all this stuff.
 
Doolittle said:
Hey all,

I feel kind of bad for starting so many noob threads begging for information but I am sure this is what I want to do and I like learning all I can about the industry.

I'm on track to graduate in a few semesters with an AS in Aerospace/Aviation technology with a dispatch license. I anticipate starting with a regional somewhere and paying my dues. I'm wondering what I can do to become more marketable to the majors. Would a bachelor's degree be helpful? I'm looking into getting my bachelor's in aviation administration online while I am at a regional. How many dispatchers have degrees?

Any advice on what I can do now to help me later?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

On top of having two degrees, what (I think) helped me was genuine interest in the position. Before I interviewed, or even applied, I sat down with someone at a desk and job-shadowed multiple times. You have to differentiate yourself from someone who sees just dollar signs when a major position opens up. Unfortunately, you'll have to get to the interview stage before that bonus can be applied, unless you can creatively work it into the application.
 
Doolittle said:
Hey all,

I feel kind of bad for starting so many noob threads begging for information but I am sure this is what I want to do and I like learning all I can about the industry.

I'm on track to graduate in a few semesters with an AS in Aerospace/Aviation technology with a dispatch license. I anticipate starting with a regional somewhere and paying my dues. I'm wondering what I can do to become more marketable to the majors. Would a bachelor's degree be helpful? I'm looking into getting my bachelor's in aviation administration online while I am at a regional. How many dispatchers have degrees?

Any advice on what I can do now to help me later?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
From my perspective having a bachelors cuts down on your time at a regional by a few years. If it is more applicable to the field you will more than likely get called up quicker for obvious reasons which your pursuits appear to be so. In my opinion having that bachelors gets you the interview quicker, but not necessarily the job. The job is acquired from your success in the interview.
 
There are many aviation jobs that have nothing to do with ops or dispatching. These days there are so many titles at the airlines it's hard to follow what's going on.
Also, try just looking at job descriptions for airport ops jobs. That can be a nice alternative to working for the airlines. Many of those jobs have great salaries.
But having a BS or BA will help get those jobs. But still, something not related to "aerodynamics [and] aircraft systems etc.".....
 
A BS in something remotely related to aviation, meteorology or business will make you stand out at a major. Military service will also make you stand out, perhaps more so than a BS, at my airline. Obviously a master-of-something-useful looks good. Above all else, attitude and aptitude will probably seal the deal.
 
If I were young and could live and work anywhere, I'd be at SpaceX in SoCal. They look for dispatchers for their corporate flight dept from time to time. Who wouldn't want to be part of this?

 
Aeroscout840 said:
If I were young and could live and work anywhere, I'd be at SpaceX in SoCal. They look for dispatchers for their corporate flight dept from time to time. Who wouldn't want to be part of this?
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Sounds like a cool company, but I have heard corporate flight department dispatching deals a lot with crew scheduling...and I really hate crew scheduling.
 
manniax said:
Sounds like a cool company, but I have heard corporate flight department dispatching deals a lot with crew scheduling...and I really hate crew scheduling.
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Yes most bigger companies like this have flight support services do the more dispatch type work- arinc direct, rockwell, universal, etc. I got to work with the Disney flight department which was cool but like manniax says they were more of a travel agent for g550s than dispatchers. Pay not all that good, no flight benefits and no cass.
 
Honestly the corporate flight department "dispatchers" are really just the fall guy for when the limo is late or their blacked out Denali got rented to someone else and they end up with an Elantra instead. The majority of my time in aviation has been in corporate aviation/general aviation unfortunately. It served its purpose... But I used to answer the frantic calls from these "dispatchers" at the front desk making sure that the car/limo/hotel room/conference room they reserved was the correct one. It sounds more like the equivalent of a business administration job (receptionist) for aviation. 121 is the way to go in my humble opinion. But hey, some people love working for corporate flight departments. I will say NCR takes care of their one dispatcher. But if people thought regionals don't offer good job security, corporate flight departments are the very first thing to shut down when the company isn't doing well.
 
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