About David A. NewMyer Expertise Can advise people thinking about beginning and aviation career and espcially those thinking about an aviation university program. Can also help with aviation scholarship questions. I am particularly strong in questions related to starting a flight career, choosing a university flight or aviation management program, aviation internships and aviation scholarships. Also, I can assist with questions about airport management and planning careers and oveall aviation industry employment questions.
Experience
Past/Present Clients Prepared In addition to aviation education, I work at a major university, I have worked as an airport planner preparing airport system plans, airport master plan and environmental assessment reports for the Chicago area in general and for several
individual Illinois airports.
Im Sara Id like to find out what to do next to try and start my career in Aviation.
Im a born and raised British girl who loves all things planes!
I have just completed my two year FDSc in Aviation Management Operations at London Metropolitan university.
Over here it is an optional step to 'top up' and get a Full BSc so I just wondered in which situation it would be enough to just have a foundation degree and what type of job I could get with it.I would love to work in Airport planning and expansion!
Im less excited about working for and airline unless it is an established one i.e Virgin,BA etc.
Hope all of this makes sence,please fell free to ask me any other information you may require in order to answer my inquiry!
Thank You
Sara
Answer Hi, Sara:
Thank you for your questions---I will try to assist!
Like you, I love all things airplanes....and, in addition, I am an airport planner!
I would definitely recommend to you to go on and get your BSc in Aviation Management Operations, especially if it includes any sort of an internship or practicum work at an airport (or an airport planning company or agency). Some university aviation programs offer that option for university credit and, for me, it made all the difference to do a summer internship as a way to gain my first work experience with airport planning while I was still an undergraduate student.
In addition, I would also consider some sort of master's degree, especially if you can find one where you can specialize in airport or aviation planning. Here in the USA there are several universities that offer graduate degrees in aviation and some which offer a program with some sort of emphasis on airports, including:
Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech)
Middle Tennessee State University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (where I work)
University of Nebraska at Omaha
A graduate degree can give you additional, advanced coursework and experience with areas of the curriculum that would make you more competitive in the aviation industry (especially related to airports and airport planning).
If you must go to school in the UK, you can probably find a very good graduate program in geography or transport economics, etc, that would relate well to this area of study.
I wish you the best in your academic endeavors. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance (ask a follow up question via AllExperts if you wish).
Take care,
David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale http://www.aviation.siu.edu
