"Bret Ludwig" wrote:

Getting the license by experience is the only way that makes any
sense to me-A&P schools are largely a total ripoff.

I have heard that about some of the private schools, like the one you
cited. $30k for A&P training? Absurd. That sounds like a scam
targeted at government-financed "retraining" programs for displaced
workers.

Community colleges can be a good deal though. I went through a
program at a community college near Seattle, and the cost was about
$850/quarter plus whatever I spent on tools. That's about seven
grand for the school, plus the testing costs which are the same no
matter how you qualify.

Having said that, these are _not_ profitable programs at such prices.
We have four or five community college A&P programs here in
WA State, with three in the Seattle area. I hear that's quite a lot to
choose from. College administrators can really improve their bottom
line by shutting down the expensive A&P programs and replacing
them with liberal arts curricula, where they get the same tuition and
only have to provide an instructor and a classroom.

As for the pay, well. . .that's another discussion. If you just want to
turn a wrench on airplanes, there's a big repair station nearby here
that will hire you without an A&P, and their starting pay is
comparable to what you mentioned. They do pay a small hourly
premium for an Airframe ticket though.