Careers

Careers in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering

In terms of employment opportunities, the aircraft maintenance engineering is probably the most promising in the aviation sector. A few years ago there were only two players in the Indian skies – Air India and the Indian Airlines. Now a number of private players like Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Air Deccan and Go Air have joined them. Rich business people have their own fleet of planes too. As more and more aeroplanes enter the skies, the demand for aircraft maintenance engineers is on the rise.

The job

The duty of an aircraft engineer is to ensure that the aeroplanes are in a safe condition before they take off. They inspect the planes and decide whether a plane is fit to fly. No aircraft can take off without clearance from Aircraft maintenance engineers.

Eligibility

Before they can work, aspiring aircraft maintenance engineers need to first obtain a license from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Government of India. At present there are around 37 DGCA approved institutes in the country imparting training in aircraft maintenance. These recognized institutes teach the approved syllabus of DGCA and conduct internal examinations after completion of the course. Students who successfully complete the course can then appear for DGCA license examination. The Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Licenses are issued to those students who successfully pass the exam. Those who have obtained the license can start working with private or public airlines.

Who can apply?

Students who have completed 10 + 2 or its equivalent with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and secured a minimum of 50 per cent marks in Physics and Mathematics are eligible for admission into the Bachelor’s degree programme in aircraft maintenance engineering. This course teaches the fundamentals of propulsion, electronics, and automatic control guidance, theory of aerodynamics, structural analysis, material science, and fluid dynamics.