My Career Advancement?

I think by now there should be a few that noticed that I have been heavily tweeting and talking about planes lately. Even fewer that I told them I want to pursue the aviation industry. And its EVEN fewer that they know I want to become a pilot (now a few more knows...). 

Three stripes on an epaulette indicates First Officer (or co-pilot)

The interest isn't that noble like it was my childhood dream to become an airliner pilot. I have always been interested in engineering and technology and somehow planes have been part of it. I would find myself reading countless of Wikipedia pages or articles regarding certain model of planes from both Boeing and Airbus (even before the detection of wannabe-ing a pilot). 

Aircrafts are designed in a way that each steel in the frame has its own engineering purpose. Aeronautical engineers will make sure that every part of the plane has its own purpose or it will not be there at all. The aircraft is designed so carefully and so meticulously (all particular taken into account!) that you will not be to able recognize every function of every button you can find in the aircraft during your trip to Bali. Well this is what excites me. 

Boeing 747-8. It is the easiest aircraft to spot for its hump at the front. 

We won't know everything, agreed? You will never knew the real way of eating a Tic-Tac if you never seen it on 9GAG. Same goes with the little table on your pizza when you ordered it from home. I would like to unravel and uncover all the dirty little secrets the fixed-wing has (not primarily the reason though). 

Imagine you will be working everyday in different areas, flying through soft puffy clouds (or thundering black clouds, yikes!) and get to take people back home safely and meet their loved ones. That sound totally noble and righteous! 

And of course there are hundreds if not thousands of aspiring pilots in only Malaysia itself that has the same goal as I am. I dare not to compare myself to them as I believe most of them are probably the fan of the fixed-wing aircraft since small and it might probably be their life's ambition! But it doesn't matter because everyone deserves a chance to pursue their own ambition, given that they worked hard for it. 

Right now I am deciding to whether take up the Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) course in Shah Alam for 3 years or continue my Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering at UMP. Going into LAME would means I will be attached to the aviation industry entirely and will be (maybe?) one step closer to becoming a pilot. However I think that is not quite a good option given that I need to use 75k and 3 years just to be an engineer that maintains the aircraft, but not flying them. I have to find another way to get into a pilot course. No good. I am having second thoughts on this path. On the other hand, getting my degree would proved to be much more viable as a degree definitely will score you more jobs than a professional certificate does (since its highly specialized). Not to mention it's probably 50k cheaper. But the downside is that I might be working my path far away from the aviation industry entirely. 

Days of gender inequality should be over. LAMEs approve the airworthiness of aircrafts while his/her technician does the work. Sometimes bit of both. 

I am relying on the AirAsia Cadet programme to get myself a chance to realize my own interest. I hate myself for not discovering this earlier as I could have joined it with my friend in the earlier months of this year. Anyhow, the last intake had passed and assessments are still ongoing. I have to wait for next intake and it's probably the last one according to my friend. Nevertheless, I believe that the pursue will only truly ends when you decided to give up. 

"Nevertheless, I believe that the pursue will only truly ends when you decided to give up."

I guess that I actually have an idea already what to choose but I simply need more time to determine which is the best for me and my interest.