Expert: David A. NewMyer - 2/1/2011

Question
hello sir! I am currently pursuing a degree in aeronautical engineering(3rd year) but i'm not a very technical person. eventually i would not like to work as an aeronautical engineer. i want some information regarding aviation and airport management...what kind of a job is it...what is the salary like..etc. maybe i would want to do some sort of management. i want a job which is interesting. i like interacting with people. so if u could suggest something that would suit me please help. i also wanted to know about the other jobs that an airport offers. which degree do i need for it?

Answer
Dear Deepanjali:

It is nice to hear from you, I will try to assist!

More information about aviation and airport management:

In general, the career field of aviation management generally includes management and supervisory jobs in all aspects of the aviation industry, including Aviation Manufacturing, Airlines, General Aviation (small aircraft flight support  and flying) and government.  Airport management is, in general, a subset of government aviation in that most (not all, but, most) airports globally are owned and operated by public bodies.  Therefore, when you work as an airport manager, in the majority of cases you are working for a national, state, provincial or local government agency that owns and operates the airport.  There are a few instances around the U. S. and the world where airports have been "privatized" and the airports are operated by a private company or corporation that is contracted to operate  the airport.

In any case, the airport management job is many times referred to as a "jack of all trades" kind of job where you have to know a bit about marketing, public relations, politics, public policy, finance, engineering, planning, firefighting, police, law & regulations, and many other disparate topics.  Certainly at the larger airports, there are specialty employees who deal with key issues like law and regulations or public relations or planning of future improvements.

You mention in your question that you like interacting with people--well, the airport management job will certainly provide you with that aspect of work:  You will deal with people all of the time (local citizenry, airport users, pilots, business leaders, airport concessionaires, airline employees and so forth).

As far as other jobs on an airport aside from the airport manager, there are such jobs as:

1. Airport Operations Supervisor--the job that oversees the daily operation of the airport movement area (runways and taxiways, etc) and it is typically an entry-level position in airport management;

2. Airport Ground Transportation Supervisor---another entry level airport job where you are deailing with all of the ground transport providers and making sure that they are following airport rules about where to conduct their business (pick up and delivery of passengers, etc);

3.  Airport marketing specialist:  In this instance, the position is focused on promoting the use of the airport to others (normally in concert with the local chamber of commerce and local tourist development boards, etc);

4.  Airport planner: This position has to do with working on future plans for the airport including development of future forecasts of airport activity (passenger use, aircraft operations, cargo volumes, etc);

5.  Airport engineer:  Working with the airport planner, this position gets into the design aspects of the future development of the airport;

6.  Airport terminal manager:  Oversight of the terminal building or buildings on the airport on a daily basis including the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings as well as the proper management of the flow of people through the buildings; and,

7.  Airport security manager:  This position manages the overall security of the airport and helps to respond to security threats at the airport (working with airport police and local law enforcment agencies).

As far as what degree you need to work in the field, it will depend on the airport or airports where you aspire to work.  Some require a bachelor's degree and some will require a master's degree.  Some will want a degree in business or aviation and others will want an MBA.  You might want to investigate the airport authorities in your home nation and find out what it is that they expect of future employees.

There are a number of universities around the world that prepare individuals to work specifially in the aviation management and airport management field.  In the USA, there are a quite a number of them---check this website for more information on such schools:  www.uaa.aero   This is the website of the University Aviation Association.  Once you get to the main page of this website, click on the "Colleges and Universities" link on the left hand side of the page---that will take you to a series of links to about 100 aviation-oriented university degree programs.  You can look at a sample of some of them to get an idea of what they offer.

Best wishes to you in your search for the right aviation career for you!  Let me know if you have additional questions by asking another question via AllExperts.com

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siuc.edu

Members of the University Aviation Association:  
http://www.uaa.aero