Members of local Aviation Explorer posts meet at nearby airports and visit flightlines, manufacturing plants, aviation museums, and air traffic control towers.

Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, has been offering apprenticeships since 1935. Applicants who are at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or equivalent can apply for an apprenticeship that lasts several years and provides up to 10,000 hours of practical work experience with pay from $30 to $43 per hour. Boeing currently needs apprentices in the fields of industrial electronic maintenance, composites manufacturing, machine tool maintenance, metal structures, and model making.

Crane offers internships to undergraduates; requirements vary. Undergraduates in a variety of majors can apply for internship positions in manufacturing, engineering, marketing, human resources, and more.

College students hoping to find practical work experience at American Airlines can check its online listings periodically using keywords for openings nationwide.

High school students in the Dallas, Texas area can work up to 30 hours per week during an eight-week summer internship at Southwest Airlines if they are at least 16 and have a GPA of 3.0 or better. There are internships available for college and graduate students in areas from its “People Department” (what Southwest calls human resources) to reservation logistics, facilities, and help at the Southwest Airlines University. Includes travel privileges.

Internships are available every semester with United Airlines, ranging from undergraduates to MBA candidates and spanning finance, customer service, flight operations, food services, and cargo. Includes travel privileges.

At its Honolulu headquarters, Hawaiian Airlines provides summer internships to undergraduate and graduate students with at least a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Applicants must have good communication and organization skills and be creative problem-solvers.

The Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee matches existing employees of more than 200 Washington state companies with a company mentor, who trains the apprentice in a variety of aerospace skills. An AJAC apprenticeship combines on-the-job training supplemented with one evening class each week at a community or technical college. Skills that are most in demand include machinist, airframe mechanic, precision metal fabricator, and plastic process technician. For applicants who don’t yet hold these skills or experience the AJAC offers a 10-week Manufacturing Academy it calls a pre-apprenticeship.