In the aviation, there seems to be
at least one (or more) organization or association for every sector of the industry. AOPA is
the largest and most influential general aviation associate in the world. Their broad main mission is to protect our
freedom to fly. (AOPA, 2015) They do this by advocating on behalf of their
members; educate pilots, non-pilots, and law makers, and fight to keep general
aviation accessible to all just to name a few.
If you are a member, or just visit their website, you will quickly learn
that AOPA does so much for the aviator.
I embarrassingly have not renewed my membership since I had a student
pilot account, but this is one association I definitely feel is an asset for
anyone in aviation (and will renew soon…)
IF my path leads to the airlines,
the next logical association to join would be ALPA. ALPA has a
mission statement that says "to promote and champion all aspects of
aviation safety throughout all segments of the aviation community; to
represent, in both specific and general respects, the collective interests of
all pilots in commercial aviation" (ALPA, 2015) Being the largest pilot
union in the U.S. and Canada, their carry a good amount of weight. I’ve never belonged to a union; have a bad
opinion formed due to excessive abuse of power and corruption in the UAW, so it
will be interesting to learn more about ALPA from current pilots in the
industry good and bad.
Its important to belong to your professional associations, groups, or unions because they offer a plethora of information relating to your job, and also in this industry networking is key.
Its important to belong to your professional associations, groups, or unions because they offer a plethora of information relating to your job, and also in this industry networking is key.
Reference:
Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association. (n.d.) Retrieved
from http://www.aopa.org/About-AOPA/Governance/Mission-and-History-of-AOPA
Air Line Pilots Association. (2015) Retrieved from http://www.alpa.org/about-alpa/what-we-do
I think you bring up a good point about being in AOPA to promote general aviation is a good idea. Promoting all aviation is important.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that AOPA is an important organization to belong to throughout your entire pilot career. They offer so many useful tools that can help at any level of aviation.
ReplyDeleteJoining ALPA would be a great benefit, I have a friend that works at DTW operations department and is a board member in the union for them and says joining is very beneficial. It keeps you updated on laws helps maintain and improve contracts, benefits, and other aspects of a job.
ReplyDeleteI too, have a somewhat jaded view on unions, for the same reason that you stated. I know people that were involved in the lunchtime drinking incident a few years back at Chrysler, and they were able to fight it because of the union. Union or not, they deserved every consequence they were hit with. I am curious to see if the opinion of aviation unions carries the same negative consensus as those in the auto industry.
ReplyDeleteI agree that joining the ALPA would offer many opportunities to network in the industry. Along with networking, you're able to gain so much knowledge about the industry as a whole if you belong to an organization like that.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if you were to go to the airlines ALPA should be the first organization you join.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a member of the AOPA its a great organization that give you updates on all current events, it also keep you informed on new safety regulations this was a very good discussion keep up the good work.
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