pilot

communication specialist

membership sales

coordinator

aircraft maintenance technician

Air Evac Lifeteam

First this can't be truly "anonymous" if I give my location as a pilot, so my location is not correct. I can only speak for aviation related topics.The 7 shifts on / 7 shifts off schedule is nice, but 12 hrs per shift can get a bit mundane if its not a busy week. It's a perfect schedule for online college if you want to do that and I basically get a vacation every other week. You essentially work half a year. It is definitely not a hard laboring type position and not micromanaged for me.  

 Personal attitude goes a long way in this company. If you hire in, leave your personal, "I'm the greatest" ego at the door. Your experiences are recognized, but your paid to fly the way THEY want. There are a few instructors at headquarters that have practically lived in a helicopter their entire life, recognize that. This is my first 135 job and I've done well by having a good attitude. When working with the  base staff, you have to be flexible with personalities, be humble, open minded, and understand your not perfect. 

Over the last four or so years, there have been several positive changes such as upgrades to new aircraft, aircraft systems, changes in the training/eval syllabus and the training climate. Pay has improved and was much needed!  The across the board pilot pay has  increased upwards of 10% or more over the past year, and annual raises are applied every year. I personally would like to see improvements to the 401 plan as well as other employee positions pay. We all want great medical insurance in America but lets be real, the insurance system has lots of issues.

There is nothing too hard about the job, but it can be stressful at times because your flying people, not parts. You have to be mindful of the weather and continually evaluate  conditions at multiple destinations if things change, AKA "pilot stuff." It becomes less stressful after you learn your AO, hazards and weather patterns, but it's still weather which is always changing. The job is very enjoyable at certain times, but never miserable. Being busy seems to be the best practice. Idle time can be the enemy and lead to laziness/complacency. There is always something that can be improved at a base no matter how small. You just have to get away from the TV and make it happen if that is what you want.

Overall, good company with at strong safety culture. I've not had any major problems/confrontations with any instructors or upper management . Disagreements at the base level will happened, but they are OK if they are talked through in a non threatening and adult manner, which is actually healthy. If the company continues to take of employees in the future, I have no plans to leave.

I’ve been with the company long enough to have seen and heard a lot of different opinions about how the company is ran and staffed from a maintenance standpoint. Most mechanics are super helpful when others are in need and very knowledgeable. Field mechanics sometimes don’t like doing jobs that they don’t regularly do but that’s when we call up the RMO for advice. Travel is moderate as I say I’d traveled about 3 times a month. Usually just a day trip or for an overnight to other bases to assist with their maintenance. You feel the pressure the get the aircraft back in service depending on your region, even though no one calls you to rush you… though you know leadership is paying attention to metrics and you will have more scrutiny on your work if your helicopter is out of service for too long or too short. Just making sure your not just sitting around or that your not pencil whipping the inspections. When it comes to safety I have rarely seen better. A shame overtime is being drawn back from double time to time and a half for most things. But you get a lot of time off so that is a huge plus. You’ll get those grumpy mechanics who are disgruntled about the company and openly say they hate it. But I find most of their complaints to be benign (some mechanics get mad that leadership is holding them to a standard) or if they have good points/reasons then I get confused as to why they don’t bring it up to leadership. They can’t fix what they don’t know about. The merger with GMR has changed the company a lot. For the better in most ways I think. Overall a great company with great standards.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Not sure, my specific experience was different than other mechanics. The work schedule was fantastic for other Base Mechanics, not so much for me.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
I was a new employee and they put me in charge of opening a new base. I was new and had no experience with the company's policies and procedures. So I was working a lot of ridiculous hours in order to get everything squared away.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
My specific experience was different than other Base Mechanics that worked there. Most other mechanics only worked a 3-5 hour work day because of on-call obligations after hours and their base was all ready set-up so they didn't have to worry about that. Help from other mechanics was a 50/50 experience, some were OK to help and others acted like it was a huge inconvenience to help even a little because all they wanted to do was their 3 hour work day and then go home.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Perform daily inspections on the helicopter and keep up with any parts/inventory that needs attention. As well as any hangar or support equipment issues that need work or addressed in any way.

I worked a 12 hr shift/3 days a week.  The position was fulfilling & stressful at the same time depending on flight volume and staffing. My direct Leadership Team was good.  The Just Culture Algorithm was emphasized and followed for monitoring, coaching and disciplinary action.  Situational awareness and critical thinking and proficiency with the use of support programs and processes were definite "have to know" and "willing to learn" qualities necessary for the position.  Job responsibilities were taught through initial training, mandatory staff meetings, quarterly training and individual monitoring and coaching.  There could be no complacency while working; one aircraft in flight or 45 aircraft in flight deserved the same observation, position check, availability and safety measures.  I worked in a dynamic environment where change was necessary to keep up with mandated FAA regulations and necessary safety requirements.

AE takes care of its employees and compensates appropriately for time served. I do wish there was less of a disparity between Nurse and Paramedic pay. Paramedics are underpaid. 
The safety culture there is the best I have seen anywhere and their just culture ensures all coworkers are treated fairly. 
The hardest part of the job is the inherent increased risk that comes with the job. I did mention above that the safety culture here is excellent. After that, some bases work 24-hour shifts. The medical crew members are encouraged to take naps during the day when possible in order to optimize performance for the duration of the shift. There are too many enjoyable aspects to this job. First, when you wear the flight-suit, you are representing a company whose mission is to provide access to medical care in critical access areas. The public sets you apart and well above the rest. There is plenty of education to keep up with and credentials to maintain. Management varies from base to base, but for the most part the program directors are very supportive and take care of their crews so they have everything they need to perform their jobs efficiently.

You MUST work weekends, but hours can be flexible. However, pay is stagnant (MAXIMUM 3% raises) and there is zero opportunity for advancement. It is long hours sitting at a desk, but the work is challenging. Good home-work life balance in that the work does not carry over or go home with you; when you are off, you are off! A BIG negative is the Comm Center management. Most of them have zero experience or education in management, are were promoted because they were friends with the hiring manager. They do not care about their jobs, and have stated publicly that they consider their employees to be "replaceable" and "like children", despite the fact that this job requires communicators to earn 5-6 industry licenses. The male management also tend to downplay any instances of sexual assault or harassment, telling all female employees that they are overreacting even to physical contact.

I am an independent sales representative so my tipical day at work would be to go from door to door cold calling, setup at different store fronts and advertise and sell, or give a company presentation. I have learned that different people need to be approached in different ways and that harrasing and bugging people about what you are selling is not the answer. I have also learned that giving up will get you no where in life and to get some where you have to set a goal and work toward it without failure. The management is very professional and friendly, everything is very well organized and other co workers are friendly. The hardest part of the job is simply just trying to figure out how to approach someone without pressuring them and making them feel uncomfortable. The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to meet new people everyday and hearing different stories.

I’ve been employed with AEL 12+ years. I have witnessed great growth and improvement with safety and clinical education during my tenure. Management has done a great job of supporting their field staff and treating them like family during crisis situations. I will throw this caveat out there: Every base has a different culture and family dynamic. One employees experience can not compare to another employee’s experience from a different base. On the base level each base has it’s own dynamic based on mid-level management (Program Director &/or Base Clinical Lead). Otherwise, it can’t compare to other companies. I have several friends who work for competitors that aren’t treated as well as my experiences with AEL. Safety is AEL’s priority. Shifts schedules vary from base to base, with a standard 84 hour pay period. (12-hr or 24-hr shifts)

We can be extremely busy at times and other times extremely slow. There is usually about 20 of us in the communications center at one time and we all work well together and also spend time outside of work together. Very great at team building in many aspects with training materials and reoccurring  training classes once a quarter.

The leadership team is very positive in feed back and handles issues that arise with positive and non demeaning tones.

The hardest part of the job is when there are not enough communications officers to handle the call volume that comes in, be it on the radio or phones.

The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to work with very professional people, when we need to be, and goofy at down times. I also and proud to say that I work for a company that changes lives on a daily basis by providing them with urgent, safe, and considerate transport when in their time of need.

As a mechanic day to day work at a base is relatively short. Most of your time is spent on call and depending on the base it could be very little or a lot of calls. The continuously preach their online training modules and completing the FAASafety monthly course. Maintenance management can be great, but can quickly turn against you or leave you hanging. As long as you are doing the right thing and following the book though that should never happen. Most everyone in the company is extremely friendly and helpful. Hardest part is being on call 24/5, always having a phone attached to you can get stressful and annoying. Great time at home though, cant complain about that. Benefits arent that great, but they fit the bill.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pilot 30 salaries reported	$91,370 per year
Communication specialist 3 salaries reported	$18.83 per hour
Membership sales 8 salaries reported	$107,500 per year
Coordinator 6 salaries reported	$20.33 per hour
Aircraft maintenance technician 3 salaries reported	$81,245 per year

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