Having an undergraduate degree in aviation is often considered as first step towards entry into air travel industry. Majoring in aviation prepares person for variety of employment whether a person would like to fly onboard or employment in air travel industry at ground level. Now a days many top business schools in the world including west, Europe and even India offers courses in Aerospace management courses, a popular choice among youngsters.
A degree in aviation frequently includes courses on economics, airport planning, aviation law, safety and so on. So, it would be unfair to assume that if a person earns a degree in Aviation as a major, he or she is entitled to become a pilot. Not true! In fact, you are eligible for a number of career options in different sectors of air travel industry and with aviation as a major you potentially may be more attractive to employers. If a person want to be a pilot then definitely an aviation degree will, of course be of extreme benefit. Here are some of the most important employment/jobs a person can opt after attaining a degree with aviation major. In general, Aviation jobs require knowledge from all specialization of aviation sector.
If a person want to be a pilot then definitely an aviation degree will, of course be of extreme benefit.
1. If you want to become a pilot, you have to essentially attend a pilot training institute approved by the Govt. statutory bodies. Having a degree in aviation before entering ensures that you will learn more than just how to fly.
2. Air traffic controller is yet another career in front of you but is very stressful and potentially exhausting job. If you are considering this as your career option then the best way is to study the aviation program, which is affiliated to a national or international authority so that you can bypass some of their requirement for air traffic controller training.
3. This one is the job in airline operations in air transportation industry. Being an airline manager is a challenging but interesting career for which you should consider aviation management as a major. It may also be airport administrator or industry analyst.
4. This one is similar to a pilot but flight instructors are required to meet all the requirements for becoming a commercial pilot and thereafter shall acquire flight instructor certification which is a license issued by the statutory authorities. Degree in aviation major often offers this license as part of its curriculum thereby giving ease to the aspiring candidate for license.
Career options in India
Indian government is providing various aviation career opportunity through public sector units like NAL, HAL, ISRO, VSSC, DRDO, ADA, ADE etc. Apart from all these public sectors, lot of private industries (TATA, Reliance, Mahindra etc) have started stepping into the race and started giving more opportunities to show and perform talents and advancement in aviation career. Several start-ups are being initiated to give a boost in aviation career including drone development, aviation spare parts designing, software developments, Aviation management and training, Airport design and management, Aircraft maintenance engineering are few names among these. Many western countries and few powerful countries in Asia are developing drones for defense and commercial purposes. For example, Amazon has started using drones for parcel deliveries. Very soon, these companies naturally require a huge man power to control the drones. Airlines industries are other options, which require a huge workforce of engineers, pilots, mangers working under one umbrella. Several research organizations are actively working on alternative fuels, electric propulsion, more reliable fast mass transportation and so on.
As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics notes most pilots do hold an aviation degree which is not mandatory, pilot has 5 percent growth if we look at job outlook from 2014-2024 whereas air traffic controller, there is 9 percent decrease. It is really challenging!!
Prof. Satish Shenoy
Prof. Satish Shenoy is HoD of the Department of Aeronautical & Automobile Engineering at the prestigious Manipal Institute of Technology. A B.Tech graduate in Mechanical Engineering, Prof. Shenoy took M.Tech from P.E.S.T and holds Ph.D in Tribology. At present, he also holds the responsibility of Director Research (Technical) at the Manipal University and guides PhD scholars in multi-disciplinary domains. His areas of interest include Tribology, FSI for bearings and seals, Medical devices, Composite Materials and Biomechanics.
.png){kind=logo}