All the jabbing aside, I find myself addressing a decreasing
number of true airplane geeks. Our numbers are dwindling as a result of the economic environment in the aviation industry that is failing to attract new mechanics. In addition, the very term “mechanic” has a perceived stigma attached to it. Maybe that mystique and allure of aviation isn’t there anymore. This has caused many aviation maintenance schools to shut their doors, exacerbating the situation. Regardless of the reason, the aircraft mechanic shortage that was predicted 15 years ago has gotten worse. Some students are lured by the great opportunity for jobs as aircraft mechanics, but they often lack the passion that we had. We might have had choices of a career path as well, but our destiny was carved in stone at an early age. We had to either be aircraft mechanics and be happy or choose something else and continually think about what it would be like to work on airplanes. One path might have made us wealthy, but we chose aviation maintenance instead. The level of job satisfaction is directly proportionate to the level of passion we have for the job. Those of us whose destiny was ordained are at one end of the job satisfaction scale but most are not. If a person enters the aircraft maintenance field as a means to a job, then the reality of the job itself may be in conflict with their original perception. Their job satisfaction level dwindles with the degree of disparity. Even students who are really excited about aviation maintenance, if their perception of the realities of the job are distorted, will experience job dissatisfaction once they are on the job. It is a form of cognitive dissonance and was a finding of my dissertation. Our level of job satisfaction is related directly to the accuracy of the perception one has of the reality of the job. If we go into aviation maintenance with a clear understanding and vision of what the job entails, we are more satisfied in our career choice overall. Although my research was focused on aircraft mechanics, I would venture to say that it applies to other fields as well. Longevity is not a measure of job satisfaction, as we stick with a job for a number of reasons: security, fear of starting over and money, to name a few. Many years ago I read a study that found that up to 60 percent of medical doctors state that if it weren’t for the money, they would be in another field. There is no passion there. The number is higher for males than females and this gender distinction is not relegated to just the medical profession. A study of college students showed that money was rated high on career choices and altruistic reasons were down the list for males, while altruistic reasons were rated highest on choosing a career for females and money was further down the list. Aside from that gender anomaly, what is the difference
if a person goes into aviation for the passion of it versus some other reason? We need mechanics wherever we can get them, right? We are making progress with a
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