Topic 12: Review of the Semester

So, this is it, my last week of college classes for the foreseeable future. I may end up taking more classes later on down the road if needed, or if payed for by an employer, but right now I am happy to get my bachelors degree and to enter the professional world. Obviously this is not the end of my learning about aviation, it is most likely just the beginning...

At the beginning of the semester I had the intentions of getting a job in airport operations and moving up the ladder, and at this point that is still my goal. I think operations sounds like a very fun job and would be a good stepping stone to higher positions for me. I am not the kind of person that wants to sit behind a desk and make decisions, I want to be very involved in the work I do and want to feel like I am making a difference. I have been searching for jobs online and through the AAAE job search with little luck, and I am starting to wonder if I may have to do something else first. I am very willing to relocate for work, and would actually prefer it, which is something that should make finding a job easier.

I have really enjoyed all of the guest speakers that came in to speak to our class. They all had good information to pass on, even though a lot of their presentations seemed to be tailored to the pilot side of the program. The two speakers that really stick out in my mind are Mark Johnson and Aubrey Grohowski. Mark's presentation was very interesting to me because he is an airport manager and showed us the pros and cons of being in that position and what all an airport manager actually does at a small airport. I am not sure if being an airport manager is something that I want to end up doing in the long run, but he had a lot of good information on what it is all about. Aubrey's Skype session was also very interesting to me because while I was still a flight major, I wanted to get into corporate aviation after graduation. I have always thought, and still do think, that it would be better than an airline job. The way that she achieved her current position is also very interesting and vastly different from the traditional way of doing things. I think her "go getter" attitude has stuck with me the most, and has made me want to put myself out there more than before.

As far as the blog topics for this semester go, I enjoyed researching and writing about UAVs and whether or not they have a commercial future the most. I have always been intrigued by UAVs and think that they have incredible potential. I am not sure how far they will actually become integrated into the aviation industry, but there are so many opportunities out there for them right now it will be interesting to see. Maybe one day UAVs will be conducting passenger operations across the globe! The blog that I least enjoyed researching and writing was the aviation business models blog. I found this blog the least interesting because I am not very interested in the business aspect of things. The information was rather unexciting and I did not feel like I learned anything after writing it. Some of the other blogs were rather uninteresting to me as well, but after researching and writing them I felt like I had learned something.

After graduation, I plan to continue my professional development by becoming more involved in the aviation community through attending seminars, conventions and meetings. While going to school I have been very busy and unable to attend any of these things, including the Great Lakes Conference at EMU, because I have held two jobs and had a full time class schedule here at Eastern. My goal after graduation is to find a job full time airport operations job within six months. If anyone hears of any opportunities or knows someone who can help me out, please let me know!

Thank you, as always, for reading and good luck to everyone! I look forward to seeing you on the professional side of things!
Kyle Wagenknecht