What Can I Do with a Degree in Aviation Management?

The aviation industry is a significant contributor to the Irish economy. Estimates in 2017 had the aviation industry contributing just shy of 7% to the overall GDP of the country according to an IATA report.

The aviation industry plus the tourists it brings with it was estimated to have grossed just over $20bn in the same year, sustaining approximately 143,000 jobs. This makes it a stable industry to build your career in, in Ireland and internationally. 

The same report estimated growth of 55% in the 20 years following, with 2037 showing gross estimates of between $28bn and $32bn in GDP income as well as jobs going as high as almost 180,000 in the sector.

While the Covid-19 pandemic will have certainly had an impact on those numbers, with the ‘re-opening’ of most transnational air routes, the aviation sector is experiencing high quantities of travellers going out of and coming into Ireland.

Some of the careers that will be available to you with an aviation management degree include 

• Airport management
• HR Management
• Finance Management 
• Strategy Management 

Let's explore these in more detail.

Management

As the title of the degree suggests, with a degree in aviation management, you will have been taught the principles of management and what it takes to be a good manager.

Organisational skills, communications skills, the ability to delegate, and many more disciplines are involved in management and are directly applicable to the various avenues of management you can go down in the aviation industry. Some examples include:

• Passenger handling management
• Airline operations management
• Air cargo management
• Airline sales management
• Airline marketing management
• Revenue management
• Engineering management
• Cabin crew management
• Flight deck management

Specialist Areas in Aviation Management

In addition to learning the skills to become a good manager in the aviation sector, you will learn the intimate details of how and why an airline is run.

This will include learning the basics of strategy, branding, legal, and many other areas that concern an airline in day-to-day operations.

Some of the specialist jobs you can in the sector include:

• Airline finance – the financial running of airlines
• Airline strategy – this can include adding or ceasing routes and putting down long-term plans and goals for an airline
• Airline branding – this includes the marketing of an airline, trying to make your services more attractive to potential customers
• Airline IT support
• Airline corporate legal services – this involves the legal side of an airline’s operations
• Airline procurement – this can include adding to an airline network’s portfolio of smaller airlines

The aviation industry has a diverse and exciting repertoire of jobs that you can work in with a degree in aviation management.

And with an expected boom in air travel in the coming years, now is as good a time as any to upskill and enter the fast-paced and rewarding environment of aviation management. Follow your passion and fulfil your potential with a degree in Aviation Management.

Read More

Hear directly from current Aviation Management student, Stacey Caffrey, on how she went from planespotting as a young child to cabin crew and what she’s looking forward to achieving on completion of her degree. Read here.

Get in touch

If you are interested in any of our Travel and Tourism degrees, masters or qualifications you can book a consultation call with our expert advisor Brandon McLean here, email brandon.mclean@portobelloinstitute.com or call 01 892 0035. Visit our Travel and Tourism department here.