A series of alumni testimonials about French colleges and universities. The alumni share their personal experiences about their courses, part-time jobs, internships, job search, etc. I have focused on alumni because it can help prospective and current students get a complete picture of the course and future opportunities.
In this article, Harshit JAIN was kind enough to share his Master’s experiences from ENAC – Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile in Toulouse.
Since 2020, A non-profit telegram group for Indian students is actively managed by Indian alumni, who graduated in France. The group covers the various topics relevant to our Indian students enrolled in French colleges and universities.
Alumni & Course Information
| Name | Mr. Harshit JAIN |
| LinkedIn Profile | |
| Degree | Master of Science (MSc) “RNCP/CGE certified” |
| Course Specialization | |
| Year of Graduation | 2021 |
| College | |
| City | Toulouse |
| Course Intake | September |
| Course Duration | 24 months |
| Course Fees | 11,400€ (check course website) |
| Funding for the course | Family Sponsorship |
| Monthly Expenses (Rent, utilities, etc) | 550€ |
| French level before the Course | None |
| French level after Graduation | A2 |
| Status after Graduation | Salaried Employee |
| Current Status | Site Support Manager for Swedish ANSP at THALES LAS ATM Systems. Salary Range: 50-60k€/year |
ENAC Campus in Toulouse city
Course Info – IATSED
The latest brochure can be downloaded from the course website.
Personal Experiences during the Course
- During IATSED courses, our time was equally distributed between theoretical classes as well as practical classes.
- In the initial week we started with getting to know our colleagues and professors and we together built a drone to showcase our ability to work in teams and with new faces.
- We had lab sessions which includes building up a website, a software, cybersecurity to ATC simulations.
- But due to covid, IATSED19 students were not able to gets hands-on many things but that did not affect our ability to learn as ENAC helped us by introducing a capstone project in 3rd semester which enabled us to work with different companies such as Collins Aerospace ,ATOS etc.
- Preferably, this course is more on technical aspects of systems which includes sometimes hardcore programming and delving deep into systems and new technologies.
- I had classmates from India, Romania, Vietnam, China, North Macedonia and Spain.
- Spending time with them and learning about different aspects of life was an enriching experience as well as you can interact and be friends with Pilots, ATCs, UAV enthusiasts and enjoy with them.
- At the end of the study internships, you can showcase what you have learnt in last 3 semesters and also learn and build networks for future.
- The future prospects with this course is unlimited and not only limited to the Aeronautical industry. For ex: Airports, Airlines, ATCs, OEM, any organization which deals with critical systems such as banking and payment , telecom industry.
Return on Investment (ROI)
- The ROI, I would say considering the price of the course was pretty low and the living cost including APL,CAF, etc. was very good.
- On graduating almost everyone in the class secured a good job even though Aviation industry was going through the worst period but with lower salaries than expected which is usually not the case.
- But after few years of hard work and gaining some competencies on new skills , you can always earn more with OEM’s.
- You can invest your time and energy in this course and gaining new skills and ROI will be a brighter future.
Multi-cultural Aspects of the Course
- As it was a first time for the course, there were only 14 students.
- 8 of them were from India but there were people from other nationalities and in other courses as well with whom you can interact.
Part-time Job Experience
- I did a part-time job online only for few initial months but looking at the extensive course requirements, I chose to invest my energy to pursue the course.
Internship Experience
- I did my internship with THALES DIS as a Systems Software Intern near to a place in Marseille called Gemenos.
- It included dealing with mostly Internal French Team and cooperating with the teams from Singapore and USA.
- It pushed me to improve my French, work in multicultural environment as wells as to lead a development of a product for their Business Line in Banking and Payment Sector.
- Working at Thales is a different experience altogether as you will find most of them were French and their English competency is not much but that makes it interesting as it pushes us to improve ourselves.
- It was initially tough to find Internship during COVID-19, some of the colleagues went to INDIA and CHINA and completed their respective Internships there.
- Although my internship was not in Aviation Sector but it was related to critical Systems which helped me to grow personally and professionally.
Job-search Experience
- Initially during COVID-19, It was tough to find a job.
- But thanks to the skills gained in ENAC and motivation I had, I got the job secured before finishing my course.
- As soon as the Industry situation improved , I switched to the job domain and company which I preferred initially.
Advice for Juniors
- I will say that be positive and open to challenges and new opportunities.
- If you like to be technical and play with systems and like to cod3e , you can choose this course.
- Go out, make new friends and don’t hesitate to ask questions.
- Be open to learn French language.
Practical Information
International Office:
Admissions Contact:
- Karine MICHELET
+33 (0)5 62 17 43 73
recrutement.masters@enac.fr
Entry requirements for MSc:
- Applicants must have bachelor’s degrees in mechanical, aeronautics, aerospace, or equivalents.
- Strong pre-requisites in mathematics are requested.
- Language Requirements: English B2 in CEFRL requirements
How to apply?
- Online application
- Selection and admission made by admission committees organized from December to July.
Campus Address:
- Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile
7, avenue Edouard Belin BP 54005
31055 Toulouse Cedex 4
France
Disclaimer
- These are original testimonials collected from the alumni via Linkedin.
- Opinions expressed are from the alumni and so the author or the blog cannot be held responsible.
- These testimonials include both facts and opinions. Facts will not change but opinions might differ based on personal experiences, perspectives, etc.
