HOW TO GET AN AIR JOB
If you have the nerve and ambition to become a cloudman, this will tellyou where to go to bat—and how.
Back in the days when the clipper ships spread their great, white sailsfrom Hudson’s Bay clear down around the Horn, the youth of America heardthe call of the sea—the whistle of a hurricane through the shrouds, theboom, boom, boom of the surf pounding a coral shore. They heard thecall and they answered it; and with their youth and their strength andtheir undying courage they toiled till their new flag ruled the seas.
Then came the call of the West. The pioneer spirit that was KitCarson’s, that was Boone’s, reached out through the land. Clerks putdown their pens and joined the wagon trains; farmers gave up the plowsto strap on their muskets. From every walk in life they came to battlewith their wilderness. And they stretched their homes from coast tocoast to rule the land.
The sea, first; then the land. And now they have come to that last greatfrontier—the air!
The advance man has made toward his conquest of the air is commonknowledge. The development of heavier-than-air craft from a purelyexperimental stage to its present place in the commercial world has beena part of our lives; in a sense, we have all grown up with it. We havecome naturally to recognize aviation as one of the prime factors of thefuture—and the same pioneer spirit that conquered the land and the seais impelling our young men to ask questions about it.
“Does aviation offer me an opportunity?” they want to know. And thenthey ask, “How can I take advantage of this opportunity? How can I learnaviation and get a job in the air?”
The answer to the first question is emphatically, YES! American aviationtoday has reached a good sound beginning. The countries of Europe mayboast more widespread routes, may point to their greater number ofplanes and a greater volume of business, but experts now declareunanimously that this condition is only temporary. The United States hassolved its air problem in typical Yankee style—and our unsubsidized,privately-owned companies form a solid basis upon which to build.
You, if you have certain definite qualifications, can help in thebuilding.
The qualifications are simple and concise. They are:
(2) A common-school education, or better.
(3) An interest in mechanics and a flair for adventure.
If you have these things, and with them an impelling desire to pioneerin a virgin field, aviation offers you an opportunity to get in on theground floor. Of course, everyone cannot be a pilot or a flyer any morethan every man on the baseball team can be the pitcher. For every personin the air there must be at least ten men doing work on the ground, andmany of you will find your opportunity there.
Aircraft companies will need Aeronautical Engineers, Mechanics, MotorExperts, Airplane Builders and Designers, Assemblers, Salesmen—and asthe industry develops the need for men trained in this field willincrease, just as it did in the automotive industry. And aviation isgrowing by leaps and bounds.
The second question—how to learn aviation and get a job in the flyinggame—is more complex and more difficult to answer. It would be best todivide the answer in two parts; (1) for the fellow who can afford totake a course in aviation instruction; and (2) for the fellow who has tomake his way while he learns.
If