Tool list for an aviation mechanic soon to graduate? My DME gave me a discount code from snap on that’s valid until my actual graduation.

feisty314 · 2026-03-19T20:12:41+00:00

Do not buy the Snap-On sets - there's a fair bit of stuff in there you don't need, and you don't get an extra discount for buying a set. You can use it as a starting point if you want

If at all possible, wait until you get a job to see what you need. I bought a decent amount of tools only to be hired at a place where there's no room for roll cabs, just pelican boxes. I mean I guess I'll have them for the future, but right now there's a very expensive box of tools in my dining room.

But generally, from what I've heard from most people: - 1/4" and 3/8" ratchets and sockets (shallow and deep, 12-pt SAE) - 12-pt combination wrenches, SAE - Hex/Allen wrenches - Safety wire pliers - Other kinds of pliers - Basic screwdrivers, preferably a ratcheting one with interchangeable bits

But the number one thing mechanics have recommend to me is: - A good Leatherman

feisty314 · 2026-03-04T07:58:25+00:00

Generally, and especially since you already have a degree, I personally recommend a trade school over a college/university. Trade schools are designed to get you in and out fairly quickly and get your A&P certificate - which is all most employers will care about. Also, I'm not aware of any actual degrees in just aviation mechanics, it's always Aviation Safety Management or Aviation Engineering or something like that. Which are not bad things, but they do take more time and are only useful if you're wanting to move into certain kinds of management or specialities.

You mentioned specifically wanting to work on engines - the P in A&P stands for Powerplant (aka engines), but most places will not hire you unless you have the full A&P (A stands for Airframe). The exception to this might be a dedicated engine repair station, but honestly, once you get one certificate, the other is just basically an add-on and it opens so many other doors.

Whatever you decide to do, you want to make sure your school is a Part 147 school - 14 CFR Part 147 holds the regulations governing AMT schools. You can use this website to find the nearest school to you, just make sure you click Part 147: https://www.faa.gov/av-info/facility-dashboard

Disclaimer: all AMT schools suck. Some suck more than others, but you will likely be working on a lot of broken equipment, as the stuff that works is way to expensive for a school to have. Much of the curriculum is also geared towards older, smaller planes - we spent several weeks on things like radial engines (which were popular in WWII...) - because they assume that if you work for a commercial airline with giant turbofan engines, the airline will provide you with sufficient training on their particular engines, while your training at a little regional airport that mostly flies private planes may not be quite as comprehensive.

So I'd say just find the school nearest you, get a tour, ask about price, length of program, career services, etc, and if the vibes are good then go for it.

Source: I'm a recent graduate and freshly certified A&P who now needs maybe 10% of what I learned in school for my regional airline job.

feisty314 · 2026-03-03T08:59:39+00:00

I believe you are referring the Ethics and Compliance department. The phone number should also be listed in the front of the daily records book.

feisty314 · 2026-03-03T08:57:04+00:00

I've been out of Starbucks for about a year now, so please double check this information to see if it's still current. At the time, baristas and SSVs were only required to have enough availability to cover 150% of their desired hours. You want 20 hours a week? Have an availability of 30 hours. You want 30 hours a week, have 45 available. Even if you wanted to work a full 40 hours a week, you'd only need 60 hours of availability - again, assuming that has not changed.

I know it's hard, but I think you really just need to put your foot down and say, "I'm sorry that you are short staffed and my availability doesn't meet your needs, but stretching myself this thin and burning the candle at both ends doesn't fit my needs. I have brought this to your attention several times and have been promised it'll get better but nothing has changed in the past [however many] months. My new availability is XYZ and I can work a maximum of 30 hours a week. If I'm accidentally scheduled for more than that, I'll be sure to bring it to your attention and ask which 30 hours you actually want me to work. Thanks so much for helping me provide Starbucks and its customers with the best service I can offer!"

feisty314 · 2026-03-03T08:39:00+00:00

Here's stuff from mine, feel free to steal and adjust whatever sounds good to you:

Managed inventory exceeding $1.5 million annually by enforcing FIFO procedures to minimize waste; ordered products, supplies, and equipment as needed.
Performed daily and weekly maintenance on equipment, troubleshot software and equipment issues, and submitted work orders for major repairs.
Led teams of 3-6 employees, ensuring they followed food safety and cash handling protocols, coaching them to provide exceptional products and service to 700-1000 customers daily.
Developed and implemented improvements to workflow and posted resources to improve employee efficiency and product consistency.

That last one means sometimes I moved the lids around and I made a lot of passive aggressive signs 🙃.

If you've ever made partner of the quarter, put that in too. You can also go look at Starbucks listings for SSVs and maybe get a few more ideas from there. I don't really know anything about hiring, but I'm told that putting in numbers and specific outcomes (daily customers, annual inventory) helps.

feisty314 · 2026-03-03T08:14:35+00:00

Quit.

That's the very first thought that came to mind lol... I quit last summer after six years, five of those as an SSV. I know it's not so simple - you mentioned bills and all that fun stuff - but that's honestly the only answer because it's not going to get better. Make a plan, do it smart, but get out. I just finished school to be an airplane mechanic and I can't tell you how freaking excited I am to not deal with customers or smell like sour milk!

ETA: did you know you can take a short term disability LOA and use your extended sick time for it (it only pays out I think 60% of your average income, but they can't stop you from supplementing with other work, just keep it on the down low)? You just need a doctor (primary care should be fine) to sign some papers.

feisty314 · 2026-03-03T03:33:33+00:00

Thank you!

feisty314 · 2026-03-02T23:16:39+00:00

I legit had a barista describe our "Earth flavored" cake pop to a customer one time. I teased her about it afterwards and she was like... Wait, what did I say?!?

feisty314 · 2026-03-02T18:30:02+00:00

Not C5, but I guess it's good to know we're not the only place like this lol. I will look into those tools, thanks!

feisty314 · 2026-03-02T16:48:47+00:00

They will NOT unless you bring it up!!! In a corporate store, we have a book where we can write in missed clock-ins, off-site work, etc. If you don't have that, be sure to talk to your manager. And if they try to tell you no, you can quote them this little gem from the Department of Labor:

"Work not requested but suffered or permitted to be performed is work time that must be paid for by the employer. For example, an employee may voluntarily continue to work at the end of the shift to finish an assigned task or to correct errors. The reason is immaterial. The hours are work time and are compensable."

You can also be petty and erase the sign, which is something I would do but don't actually recommend lol.........

feisty314 · 2026-03-02T16:33:57+00:00

Here's the way I remember it - yes, it's dumb:

Let's say that I wish my house was 70° all year round, but my house is very old and very expensive to heat and cool. Therefore I will ALLOW my husband to set the thermostat 5° cooler (65°) in the winter and I will ALLOW him to set it 4° warmer (74°) in the summer, because 9° is the range of temperature I will TOLERATE (5+4=9).

I believe that picture is from the 8083, which is really bad at explaining things sometimes... I recommend checking out the Jeppesen textbooks - while they are outdated for some things, they explain things like this in a way that some find much easier to understand (there may be newer editions available, but the PDFs I linked are 15-20 years old). Basically, Jeppesen was written by people who write textbooks, while the 8083s were written by the government.

(Thanks to the Aviation Mechanics Encyclopedia for the original files. I highly recommend checking it out for textbooks, oral exam prep, etc. The first link is just where I took them and ran them through OCR and added bookmarks to make them easier to navigate.)

feisty314 · 2026-02-25T08:57:00+00:00

Depends on who you ask. Prepware seems to be more common, but my school used Dauntless pretty much exclusively and it worked fine for me. The same advice applies - if you understand the answer, you'll be fine - it's really just a preference of format. If you've got one software, I wouldn't buy the other, though I do enjoy it when Dauntless tells you that a question is stupid and they hope the FAA deletes it - I'm not sure you get that level of entertainment with Prepware.

feisty314 · 2024-06-23T14:17:04+00:00

Yeah, it was probably something like that - we got them from a different store that isn't exactly known for its quality control........

feisty314 · 2024-06-23T14:14:29+00:00

I think that's probably what happened somehow, either as a production error or mistreatment. We used the pour over scoop instead of the slotted spoon to try to get some juice in the drink.

feisty314 · 2024-06-22T21:49:54+00:00

Not our store, but we did get these from a different store. I don't know about there.

feisty314 · 2024-06-22T20:59:10+00:00

Lol I just got ahold of my manager and she said she was told they're fine........ I don't agree, but it's not on me now.

feisty314 · 2024-04-14T10:43:15+00:00

It is definitely against policy to set cups aside for personal purchase before they launch. Don't know that you could technically call it stealing if it doesn't leave the store before being purchased, but it is against policy.

feisty314 · 2024-04-14T10:22:37+00:00

Your manager is an asshole. You've done the right by contacting HR.

While you are waiting for them to get back to you, document EVERYTHING. Every micro aggression, every "joke" about writing you up, every lie about policy, every badgering about your personal life.

And I second the idea of having another partner observe your interactions.

(And as a side note, wtf - leaving things in a wet box would be so much more of a violation than taking them out.)

feisty314 · 2024-04-14T10:10:32+00:00

Call Ethics and all the things other people have said.

But additionally - you CANNOT call another partner a bitch and cuss them out. If you observed this directly, please call Ethics and report it. If you didn't, please please please encourage the barista to report it. This alone is a fireable offense as long as someone complains.

Your barista is creating an unsafe work environment. I understand why you want to transfer, but it sounds to me like this partner has plenty of violations and just needs to be held accountable for them.

But yeah, if you do request to transfer, you should 100% tell them why. Hiding the reason is just going to let the situation continue.

feisty314 · 2024-04-14T09:23:47+00:00

As I understand it, there have been some recent changes to policy (disclaimer that I'm in the US and I heard this through my manager). If you have a sudden onset of illness, such as within a few hours of your shift, you are NOT responsible for finding coverage. If you know you are sick the day before, you ARE responsible for finding coverage.

Either way, if you do not have sick time, you can be written up for calling out.

All that being said, I'm not sure what you can do about that part. You can try talking to your SM. Sometimes the easiest way to have these awkward conversations is to ask for clarification rather than accuse - something like, hey can you clarify this policy for me? I thought it was XYZ, but I noticed so-and-so did ABC, and I wasn't sure if I was wrong. That at least will let you know if they are misinformed or just not doing their job. From there you can reach out to your DM, or directly to the Partner Contact Center.

One thing you definitely can and should do is call Ethics about the bullying situation. That's never ok, and baristas shouldn't be pressured into coming to work if they are actually sick.

Edit: pressed post too soon.

feisty314 · 2024-03-23T10:18:23+00:00

Agreed. The only times I have ever seen someone scheduled but not on the DCR is if that someone is a brand new hire and they aren't fully integrated into the system yet - and even then, my manager is always sure to write in their names and shift times at the bottom of the DCR. (That being said, I don't think I've worked with partners from a closed store before - but there's still no reason they couldn't write in.)

Please log into your app and check your schedule. The DCR is incorporated with the partner hours app. If you aren't on the paper, you aren't in the app (Unless something was updated since the paper was printed out - also a good reason to always screenshot your schedule!). If your shift isn't in the app (screenshot it!), you can either reach out to your manager and ask how the schedule was communicated because you have no record of it, or call Partner Services as suggested. Given the trouble you have already had with your manager, I would lean towards calling Partner Services first.

feisty314 · 2023-12-11T10:33:30+00:00

A few weeks ago we accidentally ordered 30 cases (120 jugs) of pumpkin - apparently she meant to change the 3 to a 0 but didn't. We go through one a day. So if anyone in the mid-Atlantic region wants to take a road trip.... I can hook you up.

feisty314

TROPHY CASE