Expert: David A. NewMyer - 8/29/2011

Question
QUESTION: Dear sir
i have completed my bachelor's degree in engineering computer science and want to pursue an MBA in aviation management, what are the career prospects after completion of this degree?? and i have been considering the emirates aviation college for the same, i am very desperate to enter the aviation field, so can u tell what would be good for me?? and also i have to bank loan my education so after completion will it be worth all the troubles??

ANSWER: Hi, Shabaz:

Thank you for your question!

The key quesiton among the several you have asked is:  "...will it be worth all the troubles??"

Your decision to, in a sense, change your career field from engineering computer science to aviation/aviation management is a big one.  Here is my advice:

1.  Make sure that the aviation industry is something that you want to get into.  In India, as in the USA, aviation (including airlines, aviation manufacturing, general aviation and government aviatoin--including airports) is a very competitive field.  Aviation is also back on a path for growth from a global perspective.  So, there ARE opportunities.  Just make sure that you do the research on the career field to get a sense of where YOU fit into it.

2.  Regarding your research, both The Boeing Commercial Airplane Company (on September 16, 2010) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have issued fairly strong, positive predictions about airline growth through 2030.  Check on those predictions and other research to make sure you have as much information about this aspect of the aviation industry and others.  In the case of Boeing, they issued a press release dated Sept. 16, 2010 that predicted that well over a million pilots and aviation mechanics will be needed over the next 20 years by airlines all over the world.  That is an indication of growth beyond where we are today....and that management prospects are also going to grow as well.  Within that press release are numbers related to the Indian sub-continent.

3.  A key aspect of your choice to change from engineering computer science to aviation/aviation management would be to do some research into how the two fields might fit together.  That is, how does the aviation field use someone with an engineering computer science background?  In other words, is there a way to meld the two things that you may soon have in terms of education background?  Perhaps in computer/on-line reservation systems for airlines?  Or, in avionics-aviation electrical repair oversight for airlines?  Or, in the oversight of communications or radar systems for the national government agency that oversees that kind of equipment?  In other words, view engineering computer science as something you can merge with an MBA in Aviation Management to create a marketable package to an aviation company....

As far as Emirates Aviation College, I have heard some good things about them but I do not know many specifics.  Outside of their program, I have heard that there are MBAs in Aviation offered at Hindustan University in Chennai, India and also at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies at Dehradun, India.

Outside of India, there are MBA programs in Aviation in the USA at such universites as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Florida) and others.  

I hope that this answer has been helpful to you.

With all best wishes,

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


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you sir for your time and answer i will surely ponder over it and one last question i wanted to ask is without any relevant experience in the aviation industry will be able to get into it easily?? and what are the options for combining the computer science engineering with aviation industry like you mentioned above??

Answer
Dear Shabaz:

Thank you for your follow-up questions!

First of all, I am not sure that there is any "easy" way to make a transition into the aviation industry from wherever you might be.  I think that the way you must approach it is to try to figure out the best way to combine what you know now with what you will learn in the aviation MBA program that you choose to take.  One of the ways in which I would personally select which aviation MBA program to attend is by comparing the career placement programs that each program has.  Some schools will have extensive programs and will be able to tell you about the aviation job market and how you might fit.  If I were you, I would select that sort of program.  That should make your transition into aviation a bit smoother, but, maybe not easy!

As for options to combine computer science engineering with aviation, as I said in my first reply, the areas that you should look at in aviation that might use someone of your background would be such areas as:

1.  Airline computer reservations systems and support systems;

2.  Air traffic control, radar, and air traffic communications systems (normally run by a government agency involved in Air Traffic Control);

3.  Avionics (aviation electronics) manufacturing, installation and/or maintenance companies;

4.  Airport communications specialty companies; and,

5.  Green airport/sustainable airport companies that are focused on managing energy use (heat storage/energy storage/energy transmission/solar).

I hope that this helps!

With all best wishes,

David A. NewMyer