Welcome to career Watch the Siri's. That brings you the latest information on
high demand jobs in South Florida. Whether you're a young adult ready
for an exciting opportunity or someone already in the work force looking for a
change, you won't want to miss this on today's show. We're
taking off with the aviation industry, and if you think this high
flying career is just for pilots, you better think again. So
stay tuned to career Watch because who knows where you'll take your
career.
Airports are busy places. Travelers make their way through the parking
structures, ticket counters, security clearances and departure
gates. Summer going on an exotic vacation, others air
traveling on business or to visit family. So what does it take to make an
airport like this run? The answer may surprise you,
but it's like a small city, Really. You think of an airport, and you just think of
it as a place to get from Point A to point B. But it's really a small city of its
operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and
it's functioning. It's like a well oiled machine. It takes a lot of people to make
that happen. And just like the city you live in, it takes all kinds
of behind the scenes activity to make the airport run. And you know what
that means? Jobs and lots of them, No matter what
your education level, what's your ah financial level or your aspirations? There's
something for everybody here at the airport, career wise, and by that I
mean, whether you want toe be a groundskeeper and work on the grounds here at
the airport, whether you want to be involved in security, whether you want to work for an
airline is a flight attendant or a ticket agent is a manager,
a spokesperson, not only for the airport, which is my
responsibility. But all of these airlines have marketing and spokesperson's
positions as well. So I mean, whatever level you are, whether you have a
master's degree, a bachelor's degree or just a high school diploma, there's somewhere
for somebody here at the airport. Greg Meyer is the public information
officer at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. His
job is to represent the airport to the public. It's just one of the
interesting and vital departments looking for qualified people, and
I'm the liaison between the media and the general public in the airport.
So any time there's an issue, for example, there could be an aircraft
emergency or an incident of public interest here at the airport. I
would be the person that someone would contact to try and get information about it and to try
and explain why something may have happened here at the airport. Greg's
background is not in aviation, it's in communications. I have
not been in the aviation business my whole life. I was actually in the media for most of my
career, so this was a new change for me. But so I was able to transition,
taking the media and parlaying it into the aviation industry, and it's really work
that well. Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport is one of the
fastest growing airports in the country. In a typical day here,
almost 67,000 passengers pass through on their way
to or from almost 1000 flights,
28,000 restaurant meals are served and 500 gallons of
jet fuel are consumed. But that's only part of the story.
Sure, the airport is a huge economic engine for Broward County. In fact, It is the
third largest employer in Broward County. Right now we have
8900 jobs here at the airport. This is based on a recent study that just came
out with a 2.7 billion. That's 1,000,000,000 with a
B economic impact. In other words, that's how much
money this airport helps generate with the jobs with all the
stimulation of the economy that it creates with the tourism at in the
vendor and support services and that number of 8900 jobs
is actually much larger. The total employment here
at the airport would be 37,000 people. So
not within the aviation department, which is a very small element. But actually
37 plus 1000 people come through this airport
on a regular basis to help maintain and operate the airport and support the
airport in the surrounding communities. This list of jobs at the
airport may look complete, but it's actually just a fraction of
the opportunities available to you now. Many departments from
A to Z have positions across every salary and
education level.
And while the aviation industry had its troubles after 9 11
the growth of the industry since then has been tremendous.
Since September 11th 2001 the whole aviation industry basically was
turned upside down, and things are completely different here than they were pre 9
11 And that is how you access an aircraft, how you approached the
airport, how you park your car. So everything is very, very much different
here. But it also created a lot of new opportunities. The
since 9 11 the security is much, much tighter here. The report, Anyone that
travels or has traveled recently will notice a huge difference even since
last last summer, with the band or liquids going on the
aircraft that people at home that don't really realize how much that really
impacts the operations of an airport. But it also impacts the
number of people that it requires to maintain the security of the airport, which
is a good thing. The more eyes and ears you have watching an airport,
making sure things go the way that they should makes it a safer place for everybody
but also creates new jobs for everybody. And this is a good thing for the economy, and
it's a good thing for the security and safety of the airport. So what does all of this
mean to you? It means that the aviation industry in South
Florida is taking off, and you could be part of it, no
matter what your aspirations are, what your career ideas or your
education. Because we have different areas anywhere from a maintenance worker
who can make between 20 and $37,000 a year all the way to the top
position, which would be the aviation director who has just recently
hired a $250,000 a year. Whether you're interested in becoming
a pilot or a chef, you could earn your piece of the
$358 million payroll. And that doesn't
include working for the airlines, outside contractors or vendor
services. Yes, aviation in South Florida is big and
strong. Coming up will meet the Masters and take a look at the
glamorous world of private aviation. You're watching career
Watch the show that asks, Where will you take your career?
Did you know? Here's a typical day at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood
International Airport. 741 commercial
flights, 189 private plane flights,
66,914 passengers come through. There were
as many as 1200 taxi cab pickups, 12,500
workers make the airport run, 4100 cups of
coffee are sold and 2296 runway and
taxiway lights illuminated.
Meet the Masters. Who ever said anything
worth doing is worth doing well? Must have had friends in the aviation
industry because, let's face it, safety, security,
technology and craftsmanship play a major role in how it
functions here in the world of private aviation, those friends
can be in high places sometimes, yes, very upscale.
Sometimes it's just average people needing to go someplace on business,
and this is the ideal way to travel. I've met a
lot of super nice people as well as celebrities
and wealthy people. Average people, friends of wealthy
people, friends of celebrities I had all that experiences
were here at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, which specializes in
chartered on demand travel and just like it for Lauderdale
Hollywood International. There are career opportunities here, too.
Companies like Aero Jet are always looking for qualified people,
especially pilots. It's a big responsibility
flying high profile people,
celebrities I flown people
such as Mariah Carey on tour Bon
Jovi. I recently flown Senator Clinton. I came from no
background in aviation. I just woke up one day and said, I'm gonna try this
and see where it takes me. Basically, um,
I, uh, took one lesson at a time. A little Cessna,
and I just kept going one lesson at a time. And then
before you know it, you're flying a multi $1,000,000 jet in order for the folks
at Aerojet to do their job well, they rely on another employer here,
something called a fixed base operator. And they existed.
Every airport, big and small, a fixed based
operators is actually considered a service center, and they're
always located at an airport. It's a business that
consists of many different hangers, and within those hangers,
we have a maintenance department. Banyan in particular, has an
avionics division, so there's many things that we can give our customers when
they physically come here where you have services, you need
people not just here in the terminal, but also on the runway and in the
hangars. Some jobs are hard to fill, which could mean a great
opportunity for the right person. But really, right now in
aviation, almost every job is hard to fill is as
amazing as that sounds. There are certain positions that need to
have different types of schooling and licensing involved in them. For
instance, in our maintenance department, everyone is required to have an airframe and
power plant license with under avionics department. A lot of
people have an FCC license. Avionics and
maintenance are probably the two hardest places to fill. There's a lot of
gratification knowing that you can fix something and watch
it fly off. I recommend this job. For others, it's
It's an enjoyable job. You get to go flying
and have fun and fix the aircraft and just self
satisfaction in the pride that you have. Having pride in what you
do is important to who you are as a person. Firefighters,
especially here at the airport, have known this for years. My
name is Paul to tears. I'm a firefighter at
Station 10 that's at Fort Lauderdale International Airport. What's special about
this fire station is that we deal with a
more complex issue at hand on fire safety,
and that is aircraft and the master
casualty scenarios that we might have
are initial response in the
size up that we make in the initial attack with these crash trucks are so
important to whether people live or die. A
lot of people don't know that this airport fire station
exists, especially now that we're out in the middle of the airport. Paul has
been a firefighter his entire adult life, and his passion is
evident. He'd like to encourage anyone interested in the firefighting
field to explore the options here at the airport, he personally
oversees much of the training of new recruits all the young people that are
coming up the ranks that we're teaching or learning the same way. And
hopefully, when I leave, that can pass the baton to somebody else,
have the same feeling for this place as I
do. And the main thing is that every person that flies in and out of here,
you know, brother, sister, mother, father, and an uncle,
boyfriend, husband and wife Children doesn't matter
who it is that they feel that they're safe when they come here, and it will be
ready to respond in a timely fashion and save their lives. That's what
we're here for, probably the most visible safety program at the airport is
the TSA or Transportation Security Administration.
These are the people who screen passengers and baggage to help keep the skies
safe. Our main goal is to protect our nation's
transportation system and ensure the
movement in the freedom of movement for its people and
commerce. Background requirements for becoming part of the Transportation
Security Administration are definitely a clean
background and knowledge and people skills.
Those who work for the TSA say it's also a great place to launch a
career in the federal government. This job is a transportation Security
officer is a great introduction into the federal government, which could also lead
you into other positions within the federal government. Such a CIA,
customs, border protection, FBI
Spirit Airlines is a good example of a Florida based airline on the
move here at the headquarters in Miramar, Florida, jobs
across every facet of the operation are available,
especially in the field of technology development.
Clearly, our technical support requirements are huge.
We're going through some significant technology changes within our company
that certainly we need very good, capable, talented to support us in that
regard, new job opportunities are continually available at
airlines like spirit. Thanks to their tremendous growth, it's all
about growth. And for us at this point in time or growth, year over year has
been very significant where 70% ahead of where we were last
year and clearly with grope comes career opportunities
and career advancement for individuals to come to work for us.
Great company for advancement. I started as a part timer, and now I'm
a manager. They give you a lot of opportunities to learn and grow.
Management is very supportive of you. I have three Children, so I had have
flexibility in my schedule and they've been great. I've learned a lot and I love it. I love the
travel industry. We can take advantage of all the travel
benefits that we have. Going to different locations and
especially being here in South Florida, located close to the Caribbean, has been great. It's
a great career choice because you get to travel, you get to experience different
cultures, diversity and things. Along that line. On the
day we visited Spirit Headquarters, they were celebrating Heritage Day.
Employees shared a lunch featuring native dishes that reflected each others.
Cultural diversity
Embraer is one of the largest manufacturers of commercial jets in the
world, with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. There a good example of a
company with career opportunities for people who like sales and
marketing. We have a wide range of opportunities here
because we not only have our teams that support sales and
marketing and customer support, but we also have those areas that have
to support those teams. So we have all the basic
administration. H R I t. Legal, public
relations, air safety and then we have our teams of support,
sales and marketing. And customer support is a huge organization here,
both here in Fort Lauderdale, in other parts of United States. Coming up, we'll
talk about training for a career in aviation and why this industry is a
great place to work. If you're a woman,
you're watching career watch the show that asks, Where will you take your
career? Did you
know typical pay ranges in the aviation industry offers
something to everyone. Annual salaries for full time workers
typically range from $24,000 for entry level positions
up to $250,000 for the top positions.
Many jobs come with free travel benefits. Some say
that's the best part
getting there.
People in South Florida who are interested in training for a career in
aviation don't have to travel far. There are several
viable and highly respected training institutions at the center of life
here. One is Broward Community College, which has its aviation
campus on the grounds of the North Perry Airport in Pembroke
Pines, Florida
We provide a lot of individualized attention. Our
standards are very high as well. Our training standards are high because this is
an exciting career. There's an exciting programme but can also be a
dangerous program. So we make sure that our standards are very high for
the safety of everybody involved. So it's a good environment in that
sense as well. Here, students can train to become aircraft maintenance
workers or pilots or something in between.
We also have a, uh, airport operations and airline operations
management program, and those are programs designed for
the individual wants to be part of the aviation industry
but don't want to become a pilot or don't want to fix airplanes.
But they're excited about working in airports and doing all the
support work that goes around that this industry
Nathan's training takes place on a 7 27 that's owned by the
college. Students have a hands on experience in repair
and maintenance. Well, hopefully from this
program will allow me to get my license and be able to work in the
aviation. Feel like airplanes and stuff. I just It's different.
Pilot training takes place first in a simulator like this one
today, we're gonna What we're gonna be doing is we're gonna utilize the simulator that we have here
to practice traffic pattern operations and assessed at 1 72
This is an awesome machine that we have here. It's gonna help you get acquainted with
all the instruments, station and procedures that we utilize during the
traffic minor operations. So what we're gonna do today is going to sit
down. I wanna walk you through. All the procedures were here today with Hector.
Hector is practicing traffic pattern operations, and we're
utilizing this simulator, which is a great tool for students to
practice traffic pattern before they actually jump in the plane
and they actually do it. And the plane. Okay, heck, very ready to go
back to work. All right, Let's do it
by the power and we're through to take off my left.
You look at your airspeed, make sure you're making directional control,
utilizing the brothers and that one.
And then the trainees hit the rial runway.
Aviation training also exists at Lynn University, located at the Boca
Raton Executive Airport, with school remarks actually part of
the College of Business at Lynn University. So the students graduate with a
bachelor of science in business administration with a specialization aviation
management. Along with that degree program, the students
have the opportunity to do flight training up to the commercial multiengine instrument
rating and then through the airline transport pilot rating and then on into type
ratings in various large jets. And here again, the
emphasis is on safety, more so than most other fields.
Probably the biggest thing is the emphasis that we put on safety, and
by we I don't mean just us. Here at Lynn University, Amin is the
training industry as a whole for 80 aviation. The FAA
is very strict with the safety of what we do when
people are training to do what we do. One of the very first things that we
stresses that what they're doing to kill people, not only themselves with other people,
whether it be the farmer on the ground, somebody on I 95 or the
passenger beside him, whether you're a doctor, a lawyer, a student,
Ah, homemaker, a mother, a father. This has to be something that
when you come into the training environment that this is what you're doing. You're not
worried about cellphones, cell phone call from mom or, you know,
somebody back at the office. Safety comes first, and it's serious
business. Aviation training is also serious business at
Embry Riddle Aeronautics University, which is headquartered in Daytona
Beach. They also have worldwide campuses, this one in Broward
County, just west of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. You have a
residential campus located in Daytona Beach, as well as Prescott, Arizona, and
then over 100 30 worldwide campuses, either on military bases or civilian
centers, which is what we are. We take the aviation enthusiast
or professional and take him to the next degree
of education. Higher education. We have
associates and bachelors, as well as masters degrees in aviation and
aerospace as well as management. Training is for people of
all ages and women can be very successful in the aviation
industry. And the Ingram, who you met earlier, is currently
working as a cabin attendant for marriage it charter airline. But she is
also training for her pilots license. I've been citing fresh
alleviation. Have a two year degree. I'm now finishing a four year
degree, My bachelors, a school called Embry Riddle. I'm
using it, Teoh pay for school. And also I love to travel. So it's a
good way for me to say I would encourage women to enter this
field. Absolutely. Women make
wonderful pilots because of their attention to detail.
On a lot more women are entering the field of aviation.
If you go to a lot of our commuter airlines
and where people are still starting out, you'll find a lot more women
sitting in the flight deck. This has been traditionally a very
male dominated world, and it was basically because the model of
Davies ministry, at least on the flying side, has always been the military pilot
coming through the ranks. I'm getting to an age where he was done with his military service and then could
transition over in for the Airlines.
Today's aircraft. It's not like the old days where it was a real hands on muscle meat
through get everything. It not to say that that wasn't a woman's world, but
quite frankly, it was. It was a tough job was physically demanding.
Now, with new airplanes fly by wire, Thea Systems are much
better, much easier to control. And it's a much more
gender neutral environment. I would say that it was 10 years
ago. Once you get into it, you realize that
it's just something that you have to learn like anything else. And the fears go away right away.
And just like any other training program, the life skills the students learn
are invaluable. The life skills that students will learn here is
that you need to be somebody who can think very
critically in all situations, whether
you're doing a maintenance program and operations program or the pilot
program, you need to think very quickly you need to think critically.
Uh, you need to solve problems very
quickly on that will serve you in just about every every phase of
your life. Up next, we'll look at what the future might hold for you in the
exciting field of aviation. Plus, where to turn for
more information. You're watching career. Watch the show that
asks, Where will you take your career?
Did you know the Jet Dragster? Mr.
Fire goes over 300 miles per hour on the ground. It was built
by the aviation engineering students at Embry Riddle's. It's made up
almost entirely of airplane parts. The Missed A fire is used
for research and development because there are some concepts that you just
can't test in the sky. The driver is a woman
navigating your way through the aviation industry. In this
episode of career watch, we've taken a look at the high flying world of
aviation. This industry has had exciting history, and the
future looks even brighter. Think it's for you?
Here's one idea on how to get some job leads our
website doesn't necessary have all the positions listed that you might want
to learn about. But what it does have is it has a list of all the tenants here at the airport.
In other words, all the businesses that operate here at the airport from TSA
airport recycling to shelter air to whomever they're all listed
on our website so you can scroll through there and figure out what companies you might
have an interest in working for and what companies might have a position that would be
available that would meet your skill level. So it's one way.
It's one way to get your foot in the door and learn a little bit more about the different
businesses here. And I would encourage people to do as much homework as they can ahead
of time to learn about the industry, to learn about the business and then go from
there. Experts agree that aviation careers are particularly
rewarding today and that anyone looking for a career path should
consider working in aviation. I believe what people need to know
to about this careers, that it is fun.
It is challenging. If you're an individual who doesn't like, um, a
routine, these are the kind of jobs for you. Whether it's
at an airport, no two days are the same
and it's exciting. It's challenging. You meet a lot of people.
If it's in the pilot aside, the
technology is changing every day. Being a pilot, it's it's a great
career. You can't be your office being a 35,000
feet above the clouds, taking people from one place to another
place, getting to know different cultures. And once
you jump in the plane and you start actually flying the plane, then you
understand how beautiful is to actually fly and get
to move people from place to place and get to know a lot of people in a lot of cultures
recommend this corretta other because this field that would never dies.
Aviation. You know your guarantee of a
job in this field and pays good money?
Um, might as well try it out. Many of the people
you've met here today say that they've had a love of airplanes since they were
kids. Others, like Greg Meyer, became interested by
chance. I was born into a military family,
was like that kid and
my father, of course, being a fighter pilot ever since. Like, uh,
Hector said, Ever since I was a little kid, I've always been motivated
to do this since I was a kid. I like airplanes and stuff
like that. I went to aviation high school in New York, so I've been around aviation my
whole life. So no matter what your age, background or
interest, the aviation industry might have something to offer
you. There's a lot more enthusiasm here than there are in other
businesses and that as a result of that, people tend to
stay longer. But they also tend to move up the ranks. And that's why
it's really a good opportunity to at least explore. I mean, what have you got to lose
by learning more about the aviation industry and trying to come and be part of
that? It's just the best. The best feeling, so you don't feel
like you fit in one area. There's always other areas that you'll find a niche
and be able to fit in. So it's a wonderful
career for a wonderful place. We hope you've enjoyed this episode
of career. Watch the show that asks, Where will you take your
career? Please join us next time when we explore more exciting
career opportunities that just may be waiting for you.