WHY AVIATION CAREERS BECOME LIFELONG, ACCORDING TO KLASJET’S HR CHIEF

Sandra Diaso started her career as a civil engineer before moving through roles as Training Manager, Crew Resources Specialist and HR Business Partner. She is now Head of Human Resources at KlasJet, a private charter and ACMI operator. Asked what she tells people considering a career in aviation, her 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.”

BEYOND THE COCKPIT AND CABIN

Boeing forecasts that more than 2.4 million professionals will be needed across technical and operational aviation roles over the next 20 years, but Diaso points to the supporting functions that make those roles possible. “What’s really fascinating is that you don’t have to be a pilot or an engineer to carve out a career in aviation,” she says. “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.”

CAREERS THAT MOVE SIDEWAYS AS OFTEN AS UP

Diaso attributes much of aviation’s staying power to how interconnected the industry is. “Aviation is extremely interconnected,” she 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.” That, she argues, is why career growth in aviation rarely follows a straight line: “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.” Her own path, spanning six roles from civil engineering through training and crew resources to HR leadership, illustrates the point.

RETAINING TALENT BY MOVING IT, NOT KEEPING IT STILL

Diaso believes companies benefit from encouraging staff to move between functions rather than trying to keep them in place. “Someone who has actually worked as crew brings a completely different perspective into an HR or training role,” she says. “They understand the reality behind the policies and processes.” Reflecting on her own six roles, she concludes: “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.”