Is Aviation Management a Rewarding Career?

Aviation management positions have a lot to offer, providing you with a combination of responsibility, a varied day-to-day working life, excellent employee benefits and good pay. 

In order to understand if aviation management is a rewarding career for you, it is necessary to explore the role of aviation managers.

What is an Aviation Manager? 

An aviation manager can be described as the manager of a business or organisation within the aviation industry. This could mean working in airline management, for example, where you will be responsible for the overall operations of an airline, but it may also mean becoming the manager at an airport, an aircraft manufacturing company, or similar. 

As such, this means the job of one aviation manager may differ significantly from another. The main things that unite these roles are senior managerial responsibilities, combined with a clear specialisation in aviation-related processes. 

What are the Roles and Responsibilities of an Aviation Manager? 

An aviation manager is essentially responsible for overseeing all major operations of the aviation business, so duties associated with the role are wide-ranging. Typically, as an aviation manager, you will be in charge of hiring and firing staff, negotiating contracts and coordinating the work carried out by the various departments. 

In addition, you will need to take responsibility for the provision of training, help to design and implement strategic initiatives and ensure the aviation company is complying with all of the relevant rules and regulations. At times, you may also be required to step into various other roles within the organisation, in order to keep things ticking over. 

As a general rule, an aviation manager will still have to report to senior executives and other stakeholders. For this reason, many of your duties may be based in an office and include things like writing and reading reports. 

Students who study aviation management are preparing to enter the workforce and quickly move into management positions.  

Graduates often find pleasure in the management aspects of businesses. The core aviation studies work in tandem with management education to build a well-rounded industry understanding. 

Aviation professionals with backgrounds in these areas may especially enjoy the aviation management degree as they work to move up in their industry: 

• Air Traffic Control 
• Aviation Maintenance 
• Flight Operations 
• Dispatch Operations 
• Military Aviation Operations 

Why is Aviation Management a Rewarding Career?

Depending on which area you move into, your role will be rewarding for different reasons. In a broad sense here are a number of reasons why aviation management is a rewarding career: 

• Excellent opportunities to earn a high salary with bonuses and opportunities to increase your salary with promotions along the management ladder 
• Breaking new ground using innovation and technology to solve problems in new ways  
• Your aviation qualification/experience is useful beyond the airport, you will be open to all careers in business and management should you choose to pivot  
• Be part of an exciting, growing, global industry 
• Opportunities to work internationally and in diverse social and cultural settings  

The aviation industry is growing, and there’s no sign of slowing down. There are many different types of jobs to choose from, so you’ll always have plenty of options. As long as planes are flying in the sky, there will be people on the ground who need to keep those planes safe and operational. See our upcoming aviation management courses.