Careers after bachelor's degree Aviation | ZHAW School of Engineering

Career after the bachelor's degree Aviation

After completion of the study programme, you will find challenging jobs in the fascinating field of aviation. In accordance with your personal interests, you will primarily be employed in project management in the following professional areas:

Planning (Administration)
Technology (Engineering)
Operation (Management)

Your possible places of work will include the authorities, air traffic control, airports, airlines, maintenance companies, aircraft manufacturers and suppliers, the Air Force, the transportation industry (e.g. SBB), banks and insurance companies.

Professional area: Planning (Administration)

Project administration and management
Jobs with/for the authorities
Mission control centre and dispatch (airline / air traffic control)
Aeronautical information management (airline / air traffic control)
Spatial planning (airports)
Solution development (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
Deployment centre (Air Force)

"In particular, during the times on the ground when the aircraft is being prepared for a new departure, a harmonious interaction of all involved interfaces is essential. The study helped me understand these processes and gain an understanding when things don't go as planned."

Reto Wagenbach, Graduate of the aviation bachelor's degree program

Graduate portrait

"As far as I know, the aviation study at the ZHAW is unique in Switzerland, so the decision to go for it was made quickly."

Salomée Amstutz, aviation graduate, turnaround coordinator Zurich Airport

To the graduate portrait

Porträtfoto vom Aviatikabsolventen, heute Pilot

“When the Aviation degree programme was created, I knew immediately that this was the right path for me to take. It wasn’t a rational decision, but rather an emotional one.”

Samuel Gessler, graduate of the Aviation Bachelor programme, A320 pilot with Swiss International Air Lines

Click here to view graduate profile

Professional area: Technology (Engineering)

Procurement, introduction, certification
Operational Engineering (airline / traffic control)
Maintenance, repair, overhaul of aircraft and air traffic control systems (airline / air traffic control)
Operational engineering (airports)
Airworthiness certification and maintenance (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
Customer support engineering (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
System integration and testing (maintenance companies / manufacturers)

Professional area: Operation (Management)

Safety, risk and quality management
Pilot with additional job function (airline / air traffic control)
Network management (airline / air traffic control)
Specialised job function (airline / air traffic control)
Security management (airports)
Airport management (airports)
Airworthiness certification and maintenance (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
Customer support engineering (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
System integration and testing (maintenance companies / manufacturers)
Operations research (Air force)
Pilot / drone operator (Air force

Aircraft Technician

Aircraft technicians work for aircraft maintenance and servicing companies. The main tasks include the release of aircraft fol-lowing completed maintenance work. Graduates of the Aviation programme who are pursuing a licence as an Aircraft Technician B1 as per EASA Part 66 are granted credit for eight training modules. This significantly decreases the theoretical training time.

Graduate profile

Finding a job and salary expectations after graduating

Most graduates quickly find a suitable entry-level job. The median starting salary is CHF 85,000, with the chosen industry and specialization playing a crucial role. In 2022, the median annual salary for engineers, when extrapolated to 100% full-time equivalent, is CHF 119,000. (Source: Salaries for Engineers and Architects 2022/2023)