What You Want In Life: The Journey of Southwest Aviation Mechanic Ryan Cano

For Ryan Cano, the journey into aviation began in construction. With a jackhammer as his daily companion, he worked long, grueling hours. One day, his wife posed a simple question that would change the trajectory of his career: "Is this what you want to do the rest of your life?"

“A lot of people in their 20s, if you didn’t go to college, you don’t really have an answer for what you want to do with life,” Ryan shares.

It was a question that caused him to reflect. His memory led him to a time he joined his father-in-law’s friends on a fishing trip—all aircraft mechanics for Southwest Airlines.

“I was hanging out with the guys and they all seemed so happy, they were like a family,” Ryan recalls. “They started talking about aircraft and I was like, ‘That’d be pretty cool.’”

His mother added fuel to the fire by reminding him of his great grandfather, a NASA engineer and pilot, who would've been proud of his decision to step into the world of aviation.

It only took one week after that for Ryan to enroll into training in the Airframe & Powerplant Technician program.

Immersing in the Learning Experience

It can be daunting walking into the first day of training with a lot of unknowns ahead of you. Luckily, Ryan met a student who encouraged him with advice he still remembers today:

“When I started, there was a guy that had been there for four months, Cody, and he told me, “Listen, I’m a pilot. I already know how aircraft work, but my advice to you is to just go with the flow,” Ryan shares. “There’s a lot of people here who have Airforce experience, and some have no experience and don’t know left from right with a wrench. Don’t compare yourself to anyone or anything, just learn what you can.”

One of the highlights of his training was troubleshooting, something he still loves to this day.

 “There’s nothing more rewarding than getting a problem that’s gone through two or three stations, and being the guy to fix it,” he says.

Getting the FAA Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Certificate

Ryan emphasizes that anyone who says earning an A&P certificate is easy, is lying. It’s an intensive process with somewhere around 3,500 questions on the test and it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. But the process is worth it, according to Ryan. He saw peers who, despite their passion and good grades, didn't get their certification and ended up in unrelated jobs.⁷⁹

"They know planes, but without A&P you can't sign off for one thing that you do by yourself," he explains.

The reward for Ryan's hard work came quickly. The aircraft & powerplant community is a small world, and word can travel fast when you’re a great worker. Within a few months after earning his A&P certificate, he was promoted to lead mechanic, which ultimately led him to achieve his goal career of working for Southwest.⁷⁷

He's now able to provide the life his wife always wanted, including the ability to be a stay-at-home mom for their two daughters.

“My wife now has the life that she’s wanted, and I was able to give her that. She supported me through my schooling and paid most of the bills, but here I am now and it was worth it,” says Ryan.

Being in a commonly unknown industry, Ryan finds that describing his work to others piques a lot of interest.

“We tend to think of these metal birds just flying around with nothing ever going wrong,” Ryan jokes. “A lot of people don’t know about aviation mechanics, so when they ask, ‘What do you do?’ Their next question tends to be, ‘How do I get into that?’”

To those who are interested in aircraft maintenance, his answer is always the same: Go to an A&P school and then get your certificate.

Living for the Job

Ryan sums up his journey best:

"I don’t live to work, I work to live, but when I’m at work, I do live for this job and this work, because it’s fun."

His story serves as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of hands-on training, the importance of earning an A&P certificate, and the fulfillment that can come from pursuing your passion.

To learn more about training in aviation at UTI, head to our programs page.¹ To get started training for a career where you can work with your hands in a field you’re passionate about, head to our Get Info page.