Jobs at Airports!!

Im a passenger service agent for a handling company here in DUB.
Despite the early starts and the horrible finishing times I couldnt imagine myself doing anything else.

My 3 months working at check in and 9 months in baggage tracing have thought me alot. The most important skill Ive picked up is my confidence. I was a shy person with a negative attitiude.
Now Im not afraid to do anything and Ive been called Mr. Bright side of life.
Even if you try it and it fails at least you have tried but the fact that your talking on here suggets youll love it.

You get the oppurtunity to meet some of the most amazing people both as passengers and as colleuges and of course you meet the lazy sh*ts.

As regard promotion I wasnt succesful this year but that was because their was more expeirenced people ahead of me but since then Ive proved what Im able to do.

I might be going on a bit but my point is you will have the oppurtunity to learn alot and meet some amazing people.

After doing my degree i too was offered a job based at manchester airport. If you enjoy aviation and don’t mind the early starts (my shifts were 6am – 6pm) then go for it. I worked there for 3 months before going travelling around europe for 6 months. However if money is an issue then you must realise that minus overtime you’ll be earning around £100 a week, plus the expenses of getting to and from the airport!! Also you may find that the novelty of working at an airport wears off somewhat, particularly when you get angry passengers and the like. In my opinion why not try it out over the summer and then you can assess the job and the company a bit more to see how you like it and what the opportunities for promotion are!!

yer i see your point but deano raised some excellent points before about staying in a job which will be able to support your livelyhood and your pilot training so its a really tough descion that i have to make by monday!!

Regards

The reason I am not sure is because I am currently training to be an AutoCAD draughtsman which shows a bright future in terms of money, but I am really not enjoying the job.

To be honest, you have almost answered your own question.

Surely if you are not enjoying the job you are currently doing, why not leave and take the new position, and see where it leads, money is not everything because you can always earn more through gaining promotion throughtout a company.

And if there is the opportunity for overtime, make sure you always take it up as soon as possible.

Hope this helps…

No mate I work as a shift manager at a print company, soon to be made redundant at the end of the year, I’m currently about to start my CPL/IR, I wish I could afford to work at an airport, but with a hefty mortgage & a wife & 2 kids to support this is not an option, if you are to persue a career in aviation then stay put, don’t even think about getting on the housing ladder because you will not be able to afford the training unless you earn a serious amount of money, if you are indeed serious about flying then stay where the money is, earn as much as possible and spend as little as possible, there will come a time when you will possibly have to give up work to further your training in aviation. Take what you read at other aviation forums with a pinch of salt, start attending some professional pilot seminars, Pilot magazine hold one in London twice a year, Aeros flight training holds them twice a year, and PPRuNe has one in September, these will help you along the way and make you more determined.

Dean

Deano, thanks for the reply, you raised some very useful points there matey, I have always aspired to be an airline pilot and will go down the private tuition route a.s.a.p. but I know it will be probablY always be just a dream of flying for an airline, having read things off other forums etc.
I am only 18 so still with the old folks but in a way suppose its a good time to go into the aviation industry as it is poorly paid and right now is probably the only time off my life that i could afford to do it?
But as you said CAD will bring me those vital peenies to pay for flying tuition so its a tough one!
Do you work at an airport?

Regards Lee@LPL

Lee, depends what you want out of life, is it your ultimate goal to be a pilot? or are you happy just being interested in planes etc? if you want to be a pilot then being in and around the airport environment is a great opportunity to network, on the other hand you need a good job to be able to afford the training, also if your airline career does not take off (pardon the pun) then you will need something to fall back on, personally I would continue down the draughtsman route, and further your career in this field, you can always change at a later date, it also depends on your own personal situation, are you living at home with the olds? if so then it opens up your options a tad, (no mortgage pressures etc), again personally I get bored easy, so I have to keep active, I want to go as far as I can as quickly as I can career wise, but whatever people write on here it has to be right for you.

Good luck

D.

My boss (if i was to take the job) said that i would be offered at least 9/10 hours overtime per week, which is believable as the company are quite short staffed so ive heard!!

So you rekon its worth taking?

Regards Lee@LPL

You presumably want full time and this job is offering just 20 hours with the possibility of overtime. That sounds familiar with my last job, but there never was any overtime available.

I’d try and negotiate a full-time contract first.