A Little Background

First of all Goat is not my real name. My name is Wayne and I have been involved with Aircraft Maintenance since 1984 when I took a test and was accepted into Aviation High School in New York City. I graduated in 1988 and took all three tests, scoring well in all. At that time I only had time to take the General, and Airframe practical since I had to leave and go to Daytona Beach FL to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
After my first year I was able to go back to Aviation High School during the summer and take my Powerplant Practical exam. Once i got back to Riddle I got a job with the school as a Lab Instructor in the Electrical Lab of the Maintenance part of the school. I was not very good at it. pretty much fresh out of school and trying to show the students the "depth of my knowledge"(not very deep).
One year later I left that job and got a job in the Powerplant Overhaul Lab as a Lab Instructor once again. I liked that job much better but still had trouble with convincing the students (most of who were 23-30years old) that this skinny 19year old had an A&P and could show them how to overhaul an engine. I did enjoy the shop though and especially the guys who worked with me. The professors name was Chandeller Titus and he was really a handfull at times but always fair. I think a lot of my character in mx situations today can be attributed to Titus. He had very little patience for stupidity or lack of common sense and I feel the same.
After Riddle I was lucky enough to get a job in Atlanta GA with Delta Airlines in 1991. I was able to stay at Delta until 1994 when I was laid off and moved with my new wife to Oakland CA. Once in CA I worked for ATI at the Hayward Airport as a mechanic for that small flight school. A few months later I was hired at Ameriflight in Oakland Airport. I kept the ATI job and worked both for a while.
In 1996 I got very lucky and was hired at SouthWest Airlines in Oakland where I work today.