Jered Moore knew that having a desk job was not the type of career he desired. He wanted to go into a program where he could work with his hands, as he always enjoyed working on his car. At first, Moore looked into programs that were driven toward cars, such as mechanics or diesel engines, but the closest programs were over an hour away or more. His mother, who has worked in logistics in the aviation field for some time, discovered the Aviation Systems Technology program at College of The Albemarle (COA) and suggested that he find out more information. He went on a tour COA – Currituck and decided to sign up for the aviation program that same day.

Moore started at COA during the fall semester of 2015 and graduated with an Associate Degree in Aviation Systems Technology in 2017. “The aviation program at COA helped prepare me with the basic skills to work and maintain aircraft, how aircraft operate, what each piece of equipment does and how to fix them,” Moore said. “The program helped with understanding how the industry works and provided a very good base to start in this field.”

Moore currently works at Southeast Aero Services in St. Augustine, Florida, building, fixing and maintaining Extra 300 series aerobatic aircraft. He explained that it is a small Fixed-Based Operator (FBO) in general aviation that uses reciprocating engines. Moore previously worked for Boeing Manufacturing Company and Flight Star FBO. “In most Aircraft and Powerframe (A&P) schools, individuals would work on small aircraft like I am now. The large aircraft are too expensive to maintain, so where I am employed now reminds me a lot of what we did at COA,” Moore stated.

When asked about the education he received at College of The Albemarle, Moore shared, “I enjoyed how close the atmosphere was to the real hangar work life. The way that everyone worked around one another and joked with each other while working on projects at COA is very similar to the hangar I work at now. I also liked the instructors at COA. There is a lot of experience between the two and I have yet to see something while working in this field that is different from what I was taught.”