Bronco Spotlight: Shelby Jordan

Image of Shelby Jordan

Bachelor of Science, aviation technical operations, 2015

Aviation Technician at Duncan Aviation

As an aviation technician at Duncan it's my job to gain access to all the areas on an aircraft for inspection, identify damage or spots where damage could occur and fix them. We do troubleshooting and removal and installation of parts. Pretty much anything to keep the aircraft safe and in the air.

What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your job?

The team I'm on at Duncan is really fast paced.  We get an aircraft in and need to hap it out with a week, or for some even less.  We also have a large amount of aircraft in at once. So, sometimes you're given a task you've never done before and the more experienced techs are needed elsewhere, you have to put your knowledge and information gathering skills to the test. It's a great feeling though when the other techs get back and you can explain what you did and get signed off as the job being done right.

If you had a campus job or internship, how did they impact your career development?

I actually had no less than two jobs at a time on campus the first three years. The first two weren't in a field related to my major but they helped me develop experience dealing with people, which I then used to my advantage when applying for a lab tech at the aviation college. The people who interviewed me were teachers who had seen how well I worked in class and how I handled my grades and steady jobs. I then applied for an internship at Duncan Aviation the summer before I graduated and got accepted. Because of my work they decided to keep me on even after my time was up and hired me full time after graduation.

What advice do you have for others pursuing a career similar to yours?

Apply For Internships. I'm sure you've heard it from teachers but really it's an important part of college. It shows companies after you graduate that you were either confident in what you learned in school to give them a trial run in the industry or at the very least that you wanted to learn more before graduation to ensure you do a great job when you truly enter the aviation world. Some of you may complain, oh I don't have experience or other things, but to be honest there were dozens of internships I heard of while at college. My last year the teachers were practically begging students to apply. If that's not an opportunity to advance yourself and possibly gain employment, or even just more confidence in your abilities, then nothing is.

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