2022 AMT 40 Under 40 Maintenance Professionals: Gareth Lawson, Flight Mechanic, 10 Tanker Air Carrier

Aviation is something Gareth Lawson has been around most his life.

“My whole family is kind of in aviation. I have two cousins that are pilots and my uncle is a pilot as well. My brother flies crop dusters in Roswell, New Mexico. Aviation's kind of just always been something I've been around and I really enjoy it a lot," he said.

Lawson himself said he’s been hooked on aviation ever since taking his first flight in seventh grade. Four years ago, he received his A&P license. He’s moved around the country for work, from Roswell to San Antonio, Texas, and back again.

Today, he’s a flight mechanic for 10 Tanker Air Carrier.

“I like being a mechanic because there's always going to be job opportunities out there, you’ll never be out of a job. It's always like constant job security. You can work anywhere you want, anywhere in the world. That's what's really exciting about aviation maintenance,” he said.

Lawson said he also likes the important role he plays in the aviation industry and the challenges that come with that.

“Maintenance keeps everything safe. I'm biased on this opinion, but it's one of the most important things in aviation. But we all work together to keep the industry safe. Other than that, maintenance is really exciting, because you have all these problems and sometimes, you're very limited on time to fix the problems. And it's like a big brain game,” he continued.

Lawson said that he would like to see more people join the industry and help it to grow.

“I’d like to see more younger people interested in the industry. There are so many jobs out there, because not many people are going into the industry. So, I think that if we can influence these younger generations to actually take a role in the aviation industry, that'd be a great thing, so we can continue to grow it and expand far beyond what our older generation can even think,” he said.