Expert: David A. NewMyer - 2/3/2005

Question
Dear David,
my name is Julius Tantoh. I am writing to ask for a professional support.  
I am a graduate of Aerospace Engineering, originally from Cameroon, studied in Moscow-Russian Federation but live in Leipzig-Germany with my German wife who is a student of the University of Leipzig.

I did my graduate study in the Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation, defended and obtained the Degree in June last year (2004) then moved to Germany. For the past five months I have been learning the German language while searching for a job.

But I have understood that to be able to work in Aviation in Germany, I have to be able to express myself in Deutsch as well as in English although the trade language is English. This I know quite well. But for the past months, I have seen a good amount of Jobs offers in the Aerospace industries, with descriptions that are good for me to be a good candidate. But every company ask for many years of experience. My question (1) is which Aviation companies give these many years of experience to graduate? (2) Are there companies who employ graduates?

I have excellent communication interpersonal skills, language skills (English, French, Russian, German soon to be good and many African languages) I am enthusiastic and result oriented. I am highly motivated to make an outstanding career in Aviation and have a strong will to take a chance but no one seems to be ready to employ me. I am even willing to volunteer anywhere from now just to gain practical experience but can not find any openings. Question (3) how can I find my self out of this situation?

Thank you very much for the concern on my situation.
Julius.


Answer
Hi, Julius:

I am sorry to take so long to get back to you with an answer to your questions.

These are difficult questions for me to address as I am not well versed on what opportunities exist for you in Germany.

1.  With regard to your first question, I would say that every company is different about how they apply education "credit" toward experience.  It will, at times, depend on what the particular company thinks of, and values, the university program that you attended.  Some universities have "partnerships" to hire graduates of particular universities....others look for a particular set of courses in aerospace engineering with a specific content.  So, again, it will depend on the company in terms of what credit they will give for education.


2.  Language skills are important and your skills in English, French, Russian and German should help you with almost ANY European company.  You might want to do some focused research, however, to find out which aerospace companies in Germany sell the most to Russia or to the U. S. and then focus your efforts on such companies due to your language skills.  However, I am aware of the fact that ALL aviation companies in Europe and the U. S. have become much more "lean" and efficient lately, which means that many of them have laid off workers and are not necessarily hiring unless someone has a specific skill to assist them with some very specific need.  That is one idea I have for you:  Do some careful research into the aerospace industry in Germany and find out what they ARE looking for in teh aerospace engineering arena and see if there is any way that you can assemble a skillset that will match that need.  Also, I would say that it is absolutely critical for you to be as conversant as possible with the computer hardware and software that current aerospace companies use in the design process.  If you have those skills and knowledge already, make sure that you are "selling" that aspect of your background as companies do not necessarily keep their employees trained up to the current standards as well as some universities are able to do.  

3.  Another idea I have for you to try to move yourself out of this situation is to look for companies that have "internships" (short term employment situations for current college students or recent college graduates).  These internships are prevalent in the U. S. and give a college or university student a chance to gain some valuable experience.  Such internships do not always lead to a full time job, but, they sometimes do.  They are a good way to "get your foot in the door" at an aerospace company.

I hope that this information is of assistance to you.  I wish you the very best.

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale