Aviation Mechanics, or, Brandon’s New Adventure

By now I imagine you’ve gotten sick of the recent changes I’ve shared in my life. Yes, we all get it’s been quite the year for you. You finished your PhD, started a new job, and moved to Norfolk. You’ve been in a reflective mood because of said changes. But we’ve heard enough! Don’t you have anything else to talk about? And the answer is yes, I most certainly do. Today I’m sharing Brandon’s new adventure: going back to school to study aviation mechanics. Let’s take a look!

Quick Recap: Brandon’s Career So Far

Before delving into Brandon’s new career trajectory, let’s review where he’s been so far. For the past eight years, Brandon has been working in museums as an art handler/preparator. He started at the Roswell Museum, where he got promoted from Security Guard to Preparator and learned on the job. After we moved to Virginia, he became the Senior Art Handler at Colonial Williamsburg.

Since then, he’s been working in that role, moving objects both within CW and between different museums and related institutions. But as I’ll explain below, he never envisioned his position at Colonial Williamsburg as a forever job.

The Need for Change

Like every decision we’ve made as life partners, Brandon did not decide to change careers suddenly. As early as 2019, we discussed his interest in doing something different. Those reasons can be distilled into the following:

• Job scarcity: As a couple employed in the museum sector, Brandon and I have been lucky. We’ve both been able to find work in the same area at the same time. But we both know expecting such luck to continue is a precarious supposition at best. With this in mind, Brandon wanted a job with more consistent demand regardless of locale.
• Limited income: The museum sector is not known for its generous salaries. This is particularly true for any positions outside of administrative and senior curatorial roles.
• Limited opportunities: Some of Brandon’s frustrations were more specific to Colonial Williamsburg. Compared to Roswell, CW is a much larger organization, and its jobs more specialized. Unfortunately for Brandon, this often produced an uneven workflow. His days were either crammed full of object moves, usually in conjunction with an exhibition, or were empty because he had nothing to move. And because his role only encompassed moving objects, he didn’t get many opportunities to exercise his other preparator skills.

As far as art-handling jobs go, Brandon’s position was a good one. It had reasonable hours, good benefits, and a consistent paycheck. But it was ultimately limiting. Although it was the safest option, Brandon knew he didn’t want to spend the rest of his career in a job that lacked professional growth opportunities and income advancement.

Why Aviation Mechanics?

While Brandon knew that he’d eventually change careers, we agreed to wait until I’d finished my PhD and was working full-time before he made the switch. In the meantime, he started researching different career fields. While he considered a variety of trades, he settled on aviation mechanics for the following reasons:

• Job demand: regardless of how you feel about flying, people do it everywhere. Whether your town is home to a major international hub or a tiny local airport, there are always planes in need of maintenance. If anything, demand has grown since the pandemic.
• Income: In a starting position Brandon will make at least 50% more than he did after spending nearly a decade in the museum field. And that’s just the entry-level positions.
• Professional growth: whereas Brandon felt confined in his role at CW, aviation mechanics offers more professional opportunities. Whether it’s specializing in a specific subfield, taking on a management position, or even turning to teaching, he’ll be able to challenge himself and grow professionally.

Beyond Practicality: Love of the Plane

Practicality isn’t the only factor informing his career change though. While art handling has shown Brandon that he likes working with his hands as well as his mind, he never planned on becoming a preparator. He took the job in Roswell because he liked museums, the role was available, and he figured it’d be more interesting than security work. And while has enjoyed the work, he’s never regarded it as a passion or calling.

What he has experienced, however, is a lifelong fascination with planes and infrastructure. His dad was a fuels specialist in the Air Force, so Brandon grew up around planes. Airports and the complex logistics needed to operate them, including plane repair, fascinate him. Some of his favorite computer games entail running airports or fixing different types of machines.

Ultimately, Brandon looks at it this way. If creative problem-solving is what he enjoys most about art handling, why not apply those skills to a field that offers greater financial, professional, and personal benefits?

Why the College of the Albermarle for Aviation Mechanics?

Okay, now a little bit about the program. Brandon is studying at the College of the Albemarle, a community college located in North Carolina. It’s a two-year program, and by the time he graduates, he’ll be ready to take the exam for his A&P certificate.

Initially, we looked at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, which has a branch in Norfolk. While that location is more convenient, the program itself is much more costly. Additionally, we learned from graduates that its classes are often so big that many students get few opportunities to do hands-on work. We also looked at Blue Ridge Community College, which offered low, in-state tuition. Unfortunately, the commute was about four hours one-way from Norfolk, so that wasn’t feasible either.

In the end, Brandon picked the College of the Albemarle because it was the Goldilocks option. It’s still an hour’s drive, but it’s more doable than the Blue Ridge commute. And while Brandon does have to pay out-of-state tuition, it’s still less than half of what AIM would have cost. Additionally, the College of the Albemarle program has the advantage of being located next door to an airport, so there are lots of opportunities for hands-on work.

My Thoughts

I’m very proud of Brandon. It takes courage to change careers, and to see him start over in a new field rather than settle into job stagnation is inspiring. I haven’t seen him this energized about his professional life in a long time.

Not that it will be easy, mind you. Community colleges may have shorter programs, but they can be as rigorous as any university. The next two years will be intense for Brandon, but I know he can do it. And like everything he does, he’ll do a great job.