Meet a young technician: Mark Schupp II
Mark Schupp II has found his calling in the complex world of aircraft maintenance. This Jefferson Community & Technical College graduate brings both automotive experience and aviation expertise to his approach to diagnostics.
Vehicle Service Pros is partnering with TechForce Foundation to share profiles and perspectives of young automotive technicians who are in the early days of their careers. These students were asked: "What is one skill you would like to master?"
Schupp is 21 years old and from La Grange, Kentucky. "I have always loved working on mechanical things since I was a kid," he says. "I got my first real job at a local automotive shop my freshman year of high school, where I learned a lot and gained many useful skills within the four years I worked there.
"After high school, I started working third shift on the ramp at UPS while I went to Jefferson Community & Technical College to get my degree in aircraft maintenance technology. Now, I am in the process of transferring from the ramp to an aircraft maintenance position at UPS.
"If I could master any one skill to advance my career as a technician, it would most definitely be diagnostics. Any technician can remove and replace a part, but not everyone has the knowledge, experience, or resilience to troubleshoot and diagnose a technical fault.
"Aircraft such as the Boeing 747 have hundreds of miles of electrical wiring of many different types and sizes installed in them. Aircraft systems are exceptionally complex and there are millions of possible problems a technician could encounter.
"Being a master at diagnostics wouldn't only benefit myself, it would also benefit everyone around me as well. That skill would make me very valuable to other technicians as I could be one of those technicians that is always willing to help others diagnose a problem."
His transition from automotive repair to aircraft maintenance has required a focus on his studies. And even while maintaining employment, he's achieved a 3.866 grade point average.