Aircraft Maintenance License and Courses

Hi i'm about to start studying aerospace engineering in one of the local unis and I just wanted to get an idea of what it's like to work as an LAE to get an idea of what i can look forward to in the future, just wondering what's the normal job scope, working hours and salary during and after the trainee period? Would love any insight on this thank you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi i'm about to start studying aerospace engineering in one of the local unis and I just wanted to get an idea of what it's like to work as an LAE to get an idea of what i can look forward to in the future, just wondering what's the normal job scope, working hours and salary during and after the trainee period? Would love any insight on this thank you.

If you are taking aerospace engineering in local uni I would suggest you don't go into LAE. You are wasting your time only.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hello, does anyone know how long does it take to become a LAE, from the first day as a trainee till the day you got your license?

Refer to SAR part 145 and 66.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If you are taking aerospace engineering in local uni I would suggest you don't go into LAE. You are wasting your time only.

May I ask why? in that case what would be ur suggestion for me then since i'm enrolled in such a specialized course, are there any other sectors/jobs that will accept such a specialized course?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi i'm about to start studying aerospace engineering in one of the local unis and I just wanted to get an idea of what it's like to work as an LAE to get an idea of what i can look forward to in the future, just wondering what's the normal job scope, working hours and salary during and after the trainee period? Would love any insight on this thank you.

Hi, i would recommend that you switch to another degree course that is generalized like Mechanical, electrical engineering or computer science.

Im a recent grad of Aerospace Systems from SUSS and i can tell you the employment prospects for fresh graduates in the aviation industry is abysmal.
Not easy to find jobs in other industries with this degree too if you wanna do engineering related work.

Feel free to contact me more for more details

Originally Posted by Unregistered

May I ask why? in that case what would be ur suggestion for me then since i'm enrolled in such a specialized course, are there any other sectors/jobs that will accept such a specialized course?

After ur 4 years in NTU, u will need to join either SIAEC or ST Aero n undergo training as a LAE trainee for 44 months. Salary is 2.5k Then after that, u r bonded for another 2-4 years. ROI isnt good and too long a bond.

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

Hi, i would recommend that you switch to another degree course that is generalized like Mechanical, electrical engineering or computer science.

Im a recent grad of Aerospace Systems from SUSS and i can tell you the employment prospects for fresh graduates in the aviation industry is abysmal.
Not easy to find jobs in other industries with this degree too if you wanna do engineering related work.

Feel free to contact me more for more details

Wow it's really that bad huh, kinda unfortunate but it's already too late for me to back out from this since i'm already enrolled, guess i'll just buckle up and be prepared for the worst in the future, thank u so much for ur advice tho!

Originally Posted by Jeffrey

After ur 4 years in NTU, u will need to join either SIAEC or ST Aero n undergo training as a LAE trainee for 44 months. Salary is 2.5k Then after that, u r bonded for another 2-4 years. ROI isnt good and too long a bond.

Damn the pay is really abysmal, does it get better after finishing the training phase? had the general consensus that most of the extra pay of LAEs come from OT is that true?

after that 44 months you are only getting 3,000 sgd +/- for a uni grad. whereas your classmates are probably getting 4k 5k 6k or even 7k 8k (if he/she is promoted to asst. manager or manager).

44 months to become lae is an ideal situation, but most people get the lae license in the 52 to 66+ months range. become lae basic 4k +/-, add ot and allowance probably 6k 8k, good if you dont intend to start a family. the hangar/ramp will be your 1st home, not 2nd home. if got family, another guy will sleep on your bed with your wife while you are working on the aircraft.

need verification from other sources.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi i'm about to start studying aerospace engineering in one of the local unis and I just wanted to get an idea of what it's like to work as an LAE to get an idea of what i can look forward to in the future, just wondering what's the normal job scope, working hours and salary during and after the trainee period? Would love any insight on this thank you.

the road to be an lae is basically an aircraft technician (almost similar to car/motorcycle mechanic in a dirty workshop, or a bmt recruit, private/lcp/cpl). trainee is mostly 8 to 5:30 working hours, your job is to pass exams (best if you can memorise), if you bad with exams, better if you go the self-starter route of being a technician and slowly collect your experience and exam certs (can fail 1000+ times as long as get the cert, trainee lae fail 2 times = demote to technician)

once you are an lae, you are basically like a 3SG (closest i can think of is CQMS or tank section ic) in-charge of a team of technician (sometimes with interns, trainee or assistant engineer). the 2LT and LTA will be the aircraft in-charge which is usually senior engineer or manager, basically a pool of lae will be under them. each lae will be in-charge of the various sections of an aircraft, like left wing 1 lae, right wing 1 lae, cabin/interior 1 lae, cargo 1 lae, avionics 1 lae, empennage 1 lae and et cetera.

in general you delegate job tasks to your men, verify and sign off the work done by them. you also need to order spare parts, perform various inspections, do troubleshooting, liaising with other dept such like engineering support, transport or logistics, or even do the hands-on work yourself, teach your fellow men (most of them do things by left or their grandfather-say-is-like-that way). oh btw your technicians are mostly pilipino or chinese national and they probably have 10-30 years of experiences under their belt from around the world.

working hours is usually of a few variant of shift patterns (may start at 3am or 8am or 3pm or 5pm), if you are in general aviation, they may start and end work 8am to 5:30pm. OT from 1.5 hours to more, most of the time over the MOM rule of 12 working hours per day.

salary during trainee period for uni grad starts from 2.5k on your 1st year, on your 3rd year you should be getting 2.8k+, 4th year 3k+ if you become assistant engineer, downgraded to technician if you fail exams? probably basic salary stagnant as you hit the technician salary cap.

once lae in your 5th to 6th year, can expect 3.5 to 4k+ excluding OT. OT x1.5 and x2.0 pay can ownself calculate from MOM salary calculator. if you white horse or ankat bola game strong, can become manager after 8th year onwards, pay no need say liao. if not, you become lae or senior lae for life till you retire, jumping from coy to coy, country to country, or may even change position to various white collar engineer role or instructor or lecturer.