Your Path Forward

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am Tim McGraw. I’m a retired seaplane mechanic. I have a still current Airframe and Powerplant license from the Federal Aviation Administration, and for a few years I also was issued an Inspection Authorization license from the FAA.

I earned my Airframe & Powerplant license by going to night school for two years in Seattle, Washington in the mid 1970’s when I was in my twenties. Us students had to punch in to a time clock five nights a week for five hours a night for four semesters a year. It was like going to a job.

After earning my licenses I went to work at Kenmore Air Harbor which is the largest seaplane base in the world and located at the north end of Lake Washington north of Seattle. While working there I also self studied to pass the exams to get my Inspector Authorization license.

After working at KAH I went on to work as a freelance aircraft mechanic for fifteen years.

These are my credentials.

Now, let’s talk about you.

What do you want out of being a mechanic? Do you want money enough for a decent living? Do you want the satisfaction of working with your hands? Do you want a skilled job that gives you respect? Do you just like working with machines?

Or all of the above?

It is possible now for you to have all of the above. Mechanics like myself are retiring in droves and most youth don’t want to become mechanics, welders, electricians, plumbers,… Mike Rowe of the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs” would tell you of the shortage of up and coming skilled blue collar workers. He’d also tell you that a welder in the oil fields of North Dakota can make over $150,000 per year working freelance.

So how do you attain that situation and income?

First you have to get the mechanical skills to do the job right and efficiently.

#1: You have to be in shape physically and mentally to do the job right and quickly.

#2: You have to learn how to do the job. This isn’t easy. Mechanics and other skilled laborers are not going to hand you the keys and wisdom to their jobs. They don’t want the youthful competition.

You have to keep your eyes and ears open. Observe constantly what the masters of your craft are doing. They won’t tell you voluntarily. You will have to pay for that by going to craft schools or doing an apprenticeship.

#3: Improve on what you’ve learned. I found that if I practiced the job in my head as I bicycled or drove to work, I was much more efficient. I also kept myself in great physical shape. My job involved a lot of going up and down ladders on seaplanes in the hangar. But mostly it was getting the order of the job down to the minute and motion; the tools and the parts.

Now you have your skills, what will you do with them?

1: You can work for a small business outfit like I did at Kenmore Air Harbor.

2: You can freelance which I also did for years.

3: You can work for a government agency.

4: You can work for a big company like Boeing or Ford etc..

Let’s take them one by one:

1: You work for a small business. It’s local & the commute probably isn’t too bad. You know all of the folks you work with. It’s like a family in the right place. If you find a loyal boss who appreciates loyal employees this may work for you. Don’t expect a lot of money and benefits, though. It is interesting.

2: You work freelance. This works if you can get paid. In the case of the small business you have the boss and office workers getting you customers and getting the bills paid and you paid. If you freelance you have to do all of that yourself. But all of the profits are yours. And of course all of the freedom to decide when you work and where and for whom. It is as interesting as you want to make it.

3: Working for the government. This would of course be the gravy train way to go. It would be great pay and benefits and boring as hell I imagine. Not interesting, but stable. I personally do not know any government mechanics.

4: Working for a big company like Boeing or Ford. A bit less stable and gravy train than the government job, but you get to work on the big stuff and the new stuff. Your hands will be cleaner and your back will thank you in your old age. You will also be well paid with benefits and can raise a family easily. As for interesting… depends. There are adventurous jobs in the big companies with lots of travel if you want it.

So that’s my take on it.

Being a mechanic has been very satisfying to me. I’ve led an interesting life because of the mechanical skills I learned and practiced.

Thank you for listening.

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