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Just got my A&P ticket after three years of night classes
I picked up my certificate from the FSDO office this morning. The guy behind the counter just slid it across the desk like it was a parking ticket, but man, it felt huge. I've been working as an uncertified mechanic at a small cargo outfit in Bakersfield, doing the grunt work while taking classes. The last oral and practical was on hydraulic systems, and I must have drawn that Cessna 208 brake schematic ten times before I walked in. My boss already moved me onto the line for a King Air 200 annual next week. For anyone who did the night school route, how long did it take you to stop feeling like you were going to get quizzed on something?
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smith.jordan1mo ago
Three years is a long grind, but honestly, that feeling of being quizzed might never fully go away. In my experience, the second you get comfortable is when you miss a step. My old lead would say the ticket just means you're allowed to learn on the job now.
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Congrats, that's a huge win. I remember that exact feeling, looking at my own ticket and waiting for someone to ask me about torque values or something. smith.jordan is right about it meaning you can learn on the job now. I still get that little jolt when an inspector walks in the hangar, even years later. It gets better, but you just learn to work with it, double-checking your own work becomes the new normal.
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