Airport Job for 16 year old

[sjcpilot]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums and hope I get some questions answered

Let me start off by saying that I am 16 and in highschool looking for my first job, part time that is. I have been interested and intrigued by aviation since as long as I can remember and I want a job to raise the 5 to 8 grand to get my Private Pilots Certificate and eventually become a professional airline pilot for Southwest, but that is another story.

Anyways, I did some research and looked for jobs online at my local Airport (KRDU) and havent found anything for my age and my lack of experience.

I contacted my local FBOs (3 of them) and one has replyed thus far by email. The lady was very nice and said basically you need to be 18 to work most jobs for safety reasons but she did say that there could be a position open for cleaning the FBO facility or aircraft and that she would check around.

Does anyone know, and I probably already answered this but, can I work as a Ramp Agent for the GA aviation and marshall the GA planes in?

Also is working at TACAir (the FBO) cleaning the place a good idea, bad idea, the only option?

I am open to all suggestions, I guess I really do not care what the job is as long as it is at the Airport and I am around airplanes!

Thanks!!

 

[jimntx]

Can you work on the ramp before 18? Probably not. Anything in that area is considered SIDA--Security Identification Display Area. To get a SIDA badge, you have to be cleared by the Feds. I don't think that can happen before you are of "legal" age--i.e., 18.

About the cleaning job...consider this that if you take it, you do a good job, you show up when you are supposed to show up, and you make an attempt to get along with others, when you turn 18 and a ramp job becomes available, guess who's standing first in line with a work history and ethic that the company already knows?

I was always taught that you can do anything for a year or two that you would never consider doing for your whole life--particularly if it is a stepping stone to something better.

Before you go off paying thousands of dollars for pilot training, consider the military. Do you have good grades in school? If so, think about going to one of the military academies, and from there into military aviation. Your parents will be thrilled. The cost to them for your education would be minimal. When my nephew attended the Air Force Academy, I think my sister and her husband paid $1000 up front, and that was the last cost for fees, tuition, books, uniforms, you name it. My nephew became a jet pilot.

From what I hear, pilots trained in the military tend to go to the head of the line when the airlines are hiring.

 

[eolesen]

Ditto. It used to be that you could get a job pushing wheelchairs or cleaning if you were under 18. Not so sure about that anymore with all the background checks. Even less sure about that with unemployment still averaging around 10%.

The current federal rules being discussed are going to require 1500 hours before someone can be considered for a Part 121 pilot job. That's going to present a big challenge to the guys who don't go the military route. There are only so many options for building up that much time.

All five branches hire pilots, but keep in mind it's an eight year commitment between active and reserves, you'll need your degree, and your ASVAB scores need to be pretty high (probably around 80-90 right now) to get a pilot slot.

 

[sjcpilot]

Can you work on the ramp before 18? Probably not. Anything in that area is considered SIDA--Security Identification Display Area. To get a SIDA badge, you have to be cleared by the Feds. I don't think that can happen before you are of "legal" age--i.e., 18.

About the cleaning job...consider this that if you take it, you do a good job, you show up when you are supposed to show up, and you make an attempt to get along with others, when you turn 18 and a ramp job becomes available, guess who's standing first in line with a work history and ethic that the company already knows?

I was always taught that you can do anything for a year or two that you would never consider doing for your whole life--particularly if it is a stepping stone to something better.

Before you go off paying thousands of dollars for pilot training, consider the military. Do you have good grades in school? If so, think about going to one of the military academies, and from there into military aviation. Your parents will be thrilled. The cost to them for your education would be minimal. When my nephew attended the Air Force Academy, I think my sister and her husband paid $1000 up front, and that was the last cost for fees, tuition, books, uniforms, you name it. My nephew became a jet pilot.

From what I hear, pilots trained in the military tend to go to the head of the line when the airlines are hiring.

Thanks for the reply, You have a good point about the job opening for cleaning.

I really dont want to do the military route, I dont want to be trapped for up to 8 years, and the possiblity of death.

My parents wouldnt like me going to the military either.

Thank you for the reply again and I will try calling the local FBOs instead of emailing them.

 

[bbrooks1963]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums and hope I get some questions answered

Let me start off by saying that I am 16 and in highschool looking for my first job, part time that is. I have been interested and intrigued by aviation since as long as I can remember and I want a job to raise the 5 to 8 grand to get my Private Pilots Certificate and eventually become a professional airline pilot for Southwest, but that is another story.

Anyways, I did some research and looked for jobs online at my local Airport (KRDU) and havent found anything for my age and my lack of experience.

I contacted my local FBOs (3 of them) and one has replyed thus far by email. The lady was very nice and said basically you need to be 18 to work most jobs for safety reasons but she did say that there could be a position open for cleaning the FBO facility or aircraft and that she would check around.

Does anyone know, and I probably already answered this but, can I work as a Ramp Agent for the GA aviation and marshall the GA planes in?

Also is working at TACAir (the FBO) cleaning the place a good idea, bad idea, the only option?

I am open to all suggestions, I guess I really do not care what the job is as long as it is at the Airport and I am around airplanes!

Thanks!!

Your post looks like one that was posted almost word for word about 3-4 months ago. Stay in school and join the military when you get out!

 

[N965VJ]

Anyways, I did some research and looked for jobs online at my local Airport (KRDU) and havent found anything for my age and my lack of experience.

I contacted my local FBOs (3 of them) and one has replyed thus far by email.

You'll have much better luck at a small GA airport with an FBO that caters to Cessna 172 owners instead of Citations.

Also, seek out a local EAA chapter and go to a few meetings. They've been doing some great things with their Young Eagles program and scholarships.