“Many people were surprised to know that I have been interested in Aerospace Engineering since I was a little girl”, Suthichar Danchaiviroj (Naye), an Aerospace Engineer of CCS Advance Tech Co., Ltd said. An Astronomy camp Naye joined as a fifth grade student at Chulalongkorn Demonstration School instigated her curiosity as to how spaceships were made and function. This later expanded to aircrafts especially those that fly at high speed. “How people make heavy things fly is intriguing to me”, she said.

“I was 13 years old when I went to study in Australia as my mother believed it is an education country with a welcoming and liveable environment, and I found it to be true”, Naye said. Graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace) from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, Naye learnt everything about aircrafts including their structure, propulsion, avionics, aerodynamics, and aviation law.

“I learnt to cut aluminium plate, hole-punch, rivet and assemble the fuselage in the first year. We learnt by doing: hands on experience with real planes. Our final project was to design an aeroplane ensuring that every component was taken into account. My final outcome is one of which I, my family, and teachers are proud”, Naye recalled her memory cheerfully.

The Aerospace and Aviation industry is growing and the need for experienced and skilled people in this area continues to increase. Australia is well known as a destination for Aerospace and Aviation education and training. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) offers an Aerospace Avionics Engineering program.  Accredited by Engineers Australia, the course has strong links with leading Australian and international organisations including AirServices Australia, Boeing and Australian Aerospace. It teaches the design, development, manufacture and maintenance of electrical systems of military and civilian aeroplanes, helicopters, spacecraft, satellites and uninhabited airborne vehicles. 

Aviation Australia, a leading Aviation training provider in the Asia Pacific region, is well known for its training courses taken up by many airlines, aerospaces companies, governments, defence forces, and regulatory authorities in countries around the world. With its main campus located in Brisbane International Airport – Australia’s largest primary airport in size - Aviation Australia provides training at Diploma and Certificate level in areas such as aircraft maintenance engineering, and flight attendants training, as well as other specialised trainings.

Naye recalls one of her professor saying that “as long as the planes fall from the sky, an engineer can never stop working”. She said that working in this field requires constant vigilance, precision, knowledge and competence. If you love this specialised stream, do not hesitate to take the opportunity as there are many aviation industry companies in Thailand demanding well-trained manpower.