Aerospace technician vs flight technician

The differences between aerospace technicians and flight technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an aerospace technician and a flight technician. Additionally, a flight technician has an average salary of $42,931, which is higher than the $38,579 average annual salary of an aerospace technician.

The top three skills for an aerospace technician include safety procedures, calipers and hand tools. The most important skills for a flight technician are troubleshoot, FAA, and preventive maintenance.

Aerospace technician vs flight technician overview

	Aerospace Technician	Flight Technician
Yearly salary	$38,579	$42,931
Hourly rate	$18.55	$20.64
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	25,348	27,302
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

Aerospace technician vs flight technician salary

Aerospace technicians and flight technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Aerospace Technician	Flight Technician
Average salary	$38,579	$42,931
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $54,000	Between $31,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between aerospace technician and flight technician education

There are a few differences between an aerospace technician and a flight technician in terms of educational background:

	Aerospace Technician	Flight Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 34%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Aviation	Electrical Engineering
Most common college	Purdue University	Purdue University

Aerospace technician vs flight technician demographics

Here are the differences between aerospace technicians' and flight technicians' demographics:

	Aerospace Technician	Flight Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 84.9% Female, 15.1%	Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between aerospace technician and flight technician duties and responsibilities

Aerospace technician example responsibilities.

Lead troubleshooting team for radar system degradation, identify and replace system components to allow aircraft to perform assignment.
Use technical specifications, sketches, manuals, drawings, engineering notices, and FAA forms and publications to accomplish work.
Install DDC controls for HVAC systems and boilers
Repair and maintain aircraft navigation systems such as VOR-DME, TACAN, and GPS.
Update software and replace circuit cards with in the 128D GPS module.
Perform in-flight and grind maintenance instruction; training and qualify hundreds of personnel.

Flight technician example responsibilities.

Recognize for enhancing EDP operations to boost productivity and meet schedules.
Resolve discrepancies report by training crews, the FAA, and support staff.
Perform require tasks to inspect, install, troubleshoot, maintain, repair, modify, and operate training devices.
Read schematics to troubleshoot and repair digital and analog electronics.
Perform in-flight avionics/communication systems operation.
Print and cut stripcharts on plotters.

Aerospace technician vs flight technician skills

Common aerospace technician skills

Safety Procedures, 11%
Calipers, 10%
Hand Tools, 8%
Ladders, 7%
Ground Support Equipment, 4%
NASA, 4%

Common flight technician skills

Troubleshoot, 15%
FAA, 11%
Preventive Maintenance, 7%
In-Flight, 7%
Aircraft Systems, 6%
Aircraft Maintenance, 5%

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Aerospace Technician vs Flight Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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