I like it.  What's he doing?

Ahhh, wonderful New River, right in the middle of lovely Jacksonville NC.  If your son's going to MALS-26 and is describing his job as comm/nav, he's probably going to end up in the 63xx MOS and will be working for I-level Avionics work center 620.  I say probably because I'm a I-level metalsmith, and that's a little outside of my ballpark.  I was at MALS-14 in MCAS Cherry Point for 8 years and got to know a few of the avi guys reasonably well.  Your son won't actually do much work on the aircraft being Intermediate (or "I" level), but will work on the black boxes that the Orginizational (or "O" level) squadron guys pull of the helos and send to his work center.  Last I heard, 26 was a pretty decent unit.  He'll probably get a chance to go on a deployment or two while with the MALS, typically in support of an ACE or Aviation Combat Element.  Good luck and Semper Fi to him and you.

Maybe, know that's not much of an answer, it will depend on the level of his training and work experience after school. The big thing will be if the FAA requires a license and if the will accept the military training

MikeV wrote:

Yamafreak72 wrote: Ahhh, wonderful New River, right in the middle of lovely Jacksonville NC.  If your son's going to MALS-26 and is describing his job as comm/nav, he's probably going to end up in the 63xx MOS and will be working for I-level Avionics work center 620.  I say probably because I'm a I-level metalsmith, and that's a little outside of my ballpark.  I was at MALS-14 in MCAS Cherry Point for 8 years and got to know a few of the avi guys reasonably well.  Your son won't actually do much work on the aircraft being Intermediate (or "I" level), but will work on the black boxes that the Orginizational (or "O" level) squadron guys pull of the helos and send to his work center.  Last I heard, 26 was a pretty decent unit.  He'll probably get a chance to go on a deployment or two while with the MALS, typically in support of an ACE or Aviation Combat Element.  Good luck and Semper Fi to him and you. Thanks for the info. Will this be something that he can use in the private sector such as an airline company or something when he is discharged from the Corps?

 

Absolutely, if he gets an FCC license he should be able to get work just about anywhere and will never go hungry. 

Avionics techs and Sheetmetal techs can ALWAYS find jobs in the aviation industry. The problem is that like with A&P Mechanics, it can be a pain trying to find a company that pays what they are worth, but with a little research, and a willingness to relocate he should be able to find a good job.

I got my A & P license right after I retired and didn't have a problem finding a job, It took me a year or two to find something that really suited me, and I had to compromise as the job was in Louisiana (I would have preferred somewhere else) But the money was good  and eventually I was able to establish enough contacts to land the current gig I am in which pays considerably more. (in excess of 100K ) 

What I find amazing is that the same people who don't blink an eye when shelling out the bucks for $95 / hour maintenance on their Mercedes Benz, will squeal like a stuck pig when they have to pay more than $35 / hour for maintenance on their airplane or helicopter. If the car breaks down, you just pull over to the side of the road and we all know what happens when aircraft stop working.

Hopefully New River, Camp Geiger, Camp LeJeune, and the surrounding areas have changed for the better since I was last there (1977) with HMM-162. I used to avoid Jacksonville altogether and would drive down to Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach during the weekends.