How aviation careers take flight: give it one year, and it might last a lifetime

The reasons professionals are attracted to a career in aviation, while varied, are probably not that surprising. It is a sector brimming with dynamism and energy, promising international exposure, technology, travel, responsibility, and being part of something bigger than your individual role.

A more complex question is this: why do professionals stay in aviation? It is a question that Sandra Diaso is well qualified to address. Starting out as a civil engineer, she has taken on various roles, including Training Manager, Crew Resources Specialist, and HR Business Partner. At present, she is Head of Human Resources at KlasJet, a private charter and ACMI operator.

To anyone considering a career in aviation, Diaso’s advice is simple. “I would say: give aviation that first year everyone talks about. Just be careful, because it might turn into a career for life."

According to Diaso, multiple factors contribute to aviation becoming a life-long vocation. It offers opportunities beyond the ones we typically associate with the sector, and switching departments and roles is common. Careers can progress in a variety of ways beyond simply linear promotions - professionals learn new skills, work on new projects, and switch locations. And aviation companies are proactively working to ensure employees can keep on growing.

Careers beyond technical and operational roles

When we think of aviation careers, our minds inevitably turn to technical and operational roles - pilots, cabin crew and engineers. And there are certainly huge career opportunities in these roles, with Boeing forecasting that more than 2.4 million professionals will be needed in the next 20 years. But they cannot do their jobs without a wide range of supporting functions, from IT and finance, to HR and legal.

“What’s really fascinating is that you don’t have to be a pilot or an engineer to carve out a career in aviation,” Diaso shares. “Airlines, private charter and ACMI operators, MRO providers, ground handlers, and other aviation companies are always on the lookout for talent in HR, finance, IT, commercial, legal, operations, and many other functions. Without these functions, the industry simply won't function. And indeed, as millions more technical and operational professionals are hired, the importance of supporting functions is only going to increase."

Shifting departments is the norm in aviation

One reason why careers in aviation often develop into lifelong journeys is that shifting departments is common.

“Aviation is extremely interconnected,” Diaso says. “No department really operates in isolation. Operations, crew, maintenance, commercial, HR, finance, safety, and compliance constantly cross paths, so people naturally get exposure to areas far beyond their own job description. I think this creates curiosity. You start in one role, but through daily work you begin to understand another part of the business, meet the people behind it, and sometimes discover that your skills could be valuable there too.”

In some cases, professionals switch lanes entirely, and Diaso counts this among the most interesting things about the aviation industry. "I find it remarkable how a ticketing agent can evolve into a compliance specialist, or how a cabin crew member might find themselves in HR. This trend is especially noticeable in larger aviation groups, which often combine everything from charter services, wet leasing and maintenance to ground handling, staffing, and training all in one place," she explains. 

Career growth in aviation isn’t a straight line

The interconnected character of the aviation industry opens up a multitude of internal opportunities for individuals to progress their careers. Crucially, this career growth is multi-faceted, and far more complex than simply promotions up a corporate ladder.

"I don’t think there is a single answer anymore to the question of what career growth actually looks like inside aviation today. And that is actually an important change,” Diaso explains. Her own journey encompassed six different roles, ranging from civil engineering, through training and crew resources, to HR leadership. It perfectly illustrates the kind of winding path she describes.

"Career growth does not necessarily mean promotion or a more prestigious title. For some people, it means taking on a leadership role, while for others it’s about gaining additional expertise, joining a new project, moving between different areas within aviation, or gaining international experience. In aviation, careers are rarely linear, and I see that as a strength of the industry, with learning and development underneath all of these opportunities,” Diaso comments.

Proactively keeping employees in love with aviation

"Aviation can attract people with its energy. Building an environment where they can grow is what turns that attraction into a career," argues Diaso. In order to build this environment, it is up to aviation companies to proactively focus on employee welfare and growth.

"The pace is high, responsibility is real, and change is constant. That can be exciting for a few years, but for someone to build a long-term career, there needs to be something beyond the excitement: opportunities to develop, take on bigger challenges, move between roles or markets, and feel that their experience is actually taking them somewhere," adds Diaso.

This is not necessarily straightforward in a context where today's employees have a different set of priorities. “People’s expectations have demonstrably changed," comments Diaso. "If we look back five or ten years, a solid salary, job stability, and a clear role might have sufficed. But today, people are demanding a lot more from their employers. They want flexibility, transparency, opportunities for growth, and a real say in what happens. Employees are eager to understand not just their tasks, but also the rationale behind decisions and the company’s future direction, and they’re much more open to questioning leadership, company culture, and traditional ways of doing things.”

“I also notice a growing demand for personalized treatment,” she goes on. "People don’t want to be just a name on a roster. They expect leaders to recognize that various career stages and life circumstances call for different approaches."

This means that loyalty is no longer a given, but instead is something companies must consistently earn. To do so, they should proactively create an environment where individuals can thrive and still maintain a balanced life alongside a challenging career. On top of this, establishing a strong sense of purpose and belonging is key. Today's aviation professionals will stay with a company when they understand how their work contributes to the bigger operation and when they feel valued as part of it.

The industry benefits from retaining employees long-term

Putting the effort into building loyalty is well worth it, because operational experience travels with an individual employee and can bring unexpected advantages.

"Someone who has actually worked as crew brings a completely different perspective into an HR or training role," says Diaso. "They understand the reality behind the policies and processes."

She believes companies should encourage horizontal moves rather than trying to keep good people in the same function forever. The mindset needed is that retaining talent doesn't have to mean retaining someone in the same job. Diaso's career speaks to exactly the benefits of this approach.

"Training taught me about standards and development, crew resources showed me the operational reality, HR business partnering brought me closer to business decisions, and leadership has taught me to connect all of those pieces with people and strategy. Each role gave me another piece of the aviation puzzle," concludes Diaso.

Dynamic opportunities make aviation hard to move on from

Ultimately, Sandra Diaso is a firm believer that aviation's unique qualities as a sector make it a natural career-for-life for a certain type of person.

"I think what attracts people to aviation today is that it still feels different from most industries. There is a certain energy around it, and it constantly keeps you slightly outside your comfort zone. Even after nearly a decade, I still face situations I haven't seen before. And once you become used to that pace, complexity and sense of purpose, a more predictable environment can be difficult to imagine," she comments.

"The beauty of the industry lies in the fact that you can bring your expertise into aviation, and in doing so, aviation will enrich the way you practice your profession, giving it an exciting new twist.”