Civilian jobs for F-16 Avionics technicians

[shotti101@hotmail.com]

I'm new to the site and just want to say hello to everyone...

My question(s) is are there any civilian jobs for F-16 Avionics technicians overseas. Im currently working on Block 50 C and D model aircraft, A B & C shop areas. I also want to know what would be a good technical certification to recieve the highest pay jobs, and make myself that much more valuable/marketable. I saw a few opening for those with A&P license but in my carreer field 2A352 it would be rather difficult to obtain one. I am in the 2nd year of my 4 year enlistment and doubt that i would opt to re-enlist, therefore it would be impossible to recieve my 7 level. I do however plan to recieve my CCAF in Avionics Technology.

I do enjoy my job as well as being overseas but, I would much more appreciate it as a civilian.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[curries103]

http://www.aviationrecruiting.net/index.htm

Good luck

[JoeSambor]

Four years of Avionics experience (and let's not forget that at least one of those four years, or a great portion of it, was taken up with BMT and tech schools) does not really make a strong resume. CCAF degree doesn't hurt, and might get you ahead of somebody that doesn't have one, but not very impressive to a recruiter. The airlines generally like guys who have worked with airplanes, because they know they are not afraid of them.

I had a Career Advisor ask me once why I wasn't pursuing a CCAF degree; I told him I wasn't interested in a degree from Air Force Pretend University. He never asked me about it again. Don't mean to denigrate those of you who have them, it just wasn't the way I wanted to go.

If I had to do it all over again, I would get that BS before I got out. Would have made a world of difference. You can argue all you want that a college degree doesn't matter if you know what you are doing, but that is just not true.

Best advice I can give is get involved in as much maintenance as you can (not just Avionics, get overall F-16 experience), take every opportunity for training that you can, and get that BS, regardless of the amount of personal sacrifice that you have to make. It will be worth it in the end.

Best Regards,

[shotti101@hotmail.com]

Thanks a lot for your info. I now have a associates degree in Mulitmedia, and near a completion of a BA in Graphic Design. That is part of my reason to join the military in the first place. I don't want to do that anymore!!! I do like avionics and would not mind staying in this carreer. I do know I need a BS and can use my some credits to transfer but in the mean time I've been getting all types of advice as to what certifications you need to work avionics as a civillian. I've heard A&P, Fibre Optics, FCC radio, Radar Technology, and something called a ICAO Type II. As you probrably know the AF only pays for one certification and I want that one to be the most valuable plus the most expensive (up to 9,000). The rest I don't mind paying out of pocket for. I just don't know what to get it to. I've heard the UAE pays pretty good (no one ever talks about how good thought) and would not mind traveling or even staying in Japan, I might even try to extend my time in the military for the benifits but it seems like civilian jobs are scarce at best on the outside world and this is making me nervous. Do I have a really good thing now and just dont know it? Can any of you shed some light on me?

[LJDAUER]

With avionics experience you can always get a job. A lot of companiesseem to want the avionics with an A&P and a security clearance. I have an FCC and associates a bachelors and avionics experience. I am never out of work unless I want to be. There are lots of short term contracts that pay good money and get you associated with a mainline company that will usually offer you a direct Job. Right now if you want to go to coatesville PA and work there as a temp,(lots of overtime), the main co will offer you a job after a couple months.

There are lots of bulletin boards you can go a register with to find the contracts and contractors to work for. JSFirm is one. AeroTech seems to have a lot of contract jobs. Also HQAERO, STROM AVIATION, ETC.

Good luck! You won't really need it because there is lots of work...

LJD

[LJDAUER]

IF YOU ARE AVIONICS, ORHAVE AN ELECTRONICS OR ENGINEERING BACKGROUND,GO TO THE L-3 WEBSITELOAD YOUR RESUME, AND APPLY FOR JOBS. I LOVE WORKING FOR THIS COMPANY, THE cs WEST DIVISION IS WHERE i WORK AND IT IS GREAT !!!!!
L-3 VERTEX HAS A LOT OF AVIATION MODS AND REWORK. iT WAS AN OK PLACE TO WORK, BUT i REALLY LOVE IT HERE AT COMM SYSTEMS WEST. OF COURSE IF YOU GET A JOB HERE YOU WOULD HAVE TO MOVE TO SALT LAKE CITY UTAH.....LJD

[louie.manogue]

Hey what's up I thought i'd reply as I am a 4 year F-16 avionics technician who just left the air force. It really sux but I think we have it alot harder than the 6 year guys to get a job. I have sent my resume and applied to over 10 companies and havn't had a single reply yet. I figured it would be easy to get out and get a job especially as I got FCC license, and fibre optics, and electronics technician certified before I got out. I don't have a degree though, and I am living outside United States right now, but still I figured I would get offered something. I think it really is all about who you know, make sure you line up a solid job way before you get out.

[Lurch]

You really need that college degree to get a good job anymore. Most large companies receive so many resumes, that they are filtered to look for "Key Words" and if the resume doesn't have them, the resume is not reviewed. "College, Degree, B.S. etc.....) will always be key words.

As JoeSambor said, get that degree regardless of the amount of personal sacrifice that you have to make. It will be worth it in the end.

Best degree to pursue to get a good job at places like Boeing, Lockheed, Northrop would be an engineering degree.

[MakoWes]

If you like your job. And living overseas. Your best bet is to stay where your at. It would be difficult to have both again as a brand new civilian employee.

Continue to go to school. If you don’t want to be in maintenance. Try and get some experience in what you do like. Even if it pays nothing.

Start searching the web. And make contacts with other people who do the job you want. Keep a book with all of the contact information. As you will find out Human Resource Offices are worthless. It’s personal contacts that will get you a job.

Good Luck

[darklen14]

Hey what's up I thought i'd reply as I am a 4 year F-16 avionics technician who just left the air force. It really sux but I think we have it alot harder than the 6 year guys to get a job. I have sent my resume and applied to over 10 companies and havn't had a single reply yet. I figured it would be easy to get out and get a job especially as I got FCC license, and fibre optics, and electronics technician certified before I got out. I don't have a degree though, and I am living outside United States right now, but still I figured I would get offered something. I think it really is all about who you know, make sure you line up a solid job way before you get out.

Hey I got exactly all those certificates and training - I was an AH-64D Apache electrician in the army - when I got out I couldn't get companies to stop recruiting me - The only other certificate I got was Radar endorsement - I also did 10 years active duty- I had to choose who I wanted to work for. The only company that didn't ask and I didnt get a reply was boeing.

[asiatrails]

Thanks a lot for your info. I now have a associates degree in Mulitmedia, and near a completion of a BA in Graphic Design. That is part of my reason to join the military in the first place. I don't want to do that anymore!!! I do like avionics and would not mind staying in this carreer. I do know I need a BS and can use my some credits to transfer but in the mean time I've been getting all types of advice as to what certifications you need to work avionics as a civillian. I've heard A&P, Fibre Optics, FCC radio, Radar Technology, and something called a ICAO Type II. As you probrably know the AF only pays for one certification and I want that one to be the most valuable plus the most expensive (up to 9,000). The rest I don't mind paying out of pocket for. I just don't know what to get it to. I've heard the UAE pays pretty good (no one ever talks about how good thought) and would not mind traveling or even staying in Japan, I might even try to extend my time in the military for the benifits but it seems like civilian jobs are scarce at best on the outside world and this is making me nervous. Do I have a really good thing now and just dont know it? Can any of you shed some light on me?

As Joe said, get the paper from a well respected college. Take a look at the University of New Mexico, they have an A&P to BS upgrade program that can be done over the internet. If ERAU or SIUC are near you they can help you do the same thing.

Make sure that you get the degree in something related to your career goal, to me four years of avionics backshop experience and an associates in Multimedia design is not a very strong set of credentials to distinguish you from anyone with the same credentials.

Now the same experience with some flightline experience thrown in and a BS in Electronics or Aerospace Engineering tells me that this individual has the drive to dig in and get done what has to be done.

The ICAO license is the subject of a lot of argument it is being generally replaced by JAR 66 licensing requirements, an ICAO Type II License means an aircraft maintenance engineer's license as described in section 4.2. of Chapter 4, of Annex 1 to the Chicago Convention, take a search of the ICAO website for more information.

What this means in the real world is a maintenance license with a type rating, the basic ICAO Type II license specifically excludes EFIS or glass cockpits unless the feature was basic to the airframe on which you have the type rating. A JAR 66 type rating includes airframe, powerplant and avionics licenses.

[OtisA]

Joe is completely correct. Working on your degree should be your number one concern. If you are really interested in staying in fighter aviation, then I would suggest pursuing flight test experience. I was fortunate enough to get into the F-22 program while on active duty, and found flight test to be incredibly rewarding. It offers challenges that you can't even conceive of in the operational world. Sadly, there are no longer any active duty slots at Edwards for F-16, but I bet you might find something elsewhere. Maybe you could look into other programs. For example, I know that f-16 guys have worked on the CV-22 and Global Hawk. One thing I can tell you from speaking with guys who have worked for the airlines is that military contracts tend to pay more and offer a bit more stability. Either way, the best advice anyone could give is that education opens more doors than anything else and that you are building your resume now, so don't turn down any opportunity to broaden your skills.

Otis Allen
F-16 Avionics Cannon AFB, Spangdahlem AB, Edwards AFB
F-22A Avionics Flight Test Edwards AFB
LM AERO(F-16) Overseas Military Sales Flight Test Avionics, Edwards CA