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Aircraft maintenance technician vs aviation maintenance technician

The differences between aircraft maintenance technicians and aviation maintenance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an aircraft maintenance technician and an aviation maintenance technician. Additionally, an aircraft maintenance technician has an average salary of $53,026, which is higher than the $51,794 average annual salary of an aviation maintenance technician.

The top three skills for an aircraft maintenance technician include FAA, airframe and powerplant. The most important skills for an aviation maintenance technician are electrical troubleshooting, FAA, and maintenance procedures.

Aircraft maintenance technician vs aviation maintenance technician overview

Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianAviation Maintenance Technician
Yearly salary$53,026$51,794
Hourly rate$25.49$24.90
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs105,268102,259
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 43%Associate Degree, 37%
Average age4033
Years of experience44

What does an aircraft maintenance technician do?

Aircraft Maintenance Technicians make commercial, government/private airplanes, and helicopters safe for their crew and passengers. They ensure that aircrafts meet Federal Aviation Regulations.

What does an aviation maintenance technician do?

An Aviation Maintenance Technician carries out repairs and maintenance on all sorts of aircraft, like airplanes and helicopters. They ensure that aircraft are in perfect working condition.

Aircraft maintenance technician vs aviation maintenance technician salary

Aircraft maintenance technicians and aviation maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianAviation Maintenance Technician
Average salary$53,026$51,794
Salary rangeBetween $37,000 And $75,000Between $35,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CA-
Highest paying stateNevada-
Best paying companyCiti-
Best paying industryGovernment-

Differences between aircraft maintenance technician and aviation maintenance technician education

There are a few differences between an aircraft maintenance technician and an aviation maintenance technician in terms of educational background:

Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianAviation Maintenance Technician
Most common degreeAssociate Degree, 43%Associate Degree, 37%
Most common majorAviationAviation
Most common collegePurdue UniversityStanford University

Aircraft maintenance technician vs aviation maintenance technician demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft maintenance technicians' and aviation maintenance technicians' demographics:

Aircraft Maintenance TechnicianAviation Maintenance Technician
Average age4033
Gender ratioMale, 93.6% Female, 6.4%Male, 91.3% Female, 8.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 8.6% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 29.3% Asian, 4.9% White, 50.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage2%14%

Differences between aircraft maintenance technician and aviation maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Aircraft maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
  • Work in building maintenance HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems.
  • Develop lesson plans using ISD utilizing PowerPoint, excel and word documents.
  • Prepare daily lesson plans, handout materials, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint slides, and other training aids.
  • Install, repair, troubleshoot aviation and navigation systems install on military aircraft
  • Maintain all photo and etch equipment.
  • Show more

Aviation maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Use technical specifications, sketches, manuals, drawings, engineering notices, and FAA forms and publications to accomplish work.
  • Perform scheduled and unschedule maintenance using RF electronic equipment and specialize test equipment.
  • Experience with oxygen/acetylene, Mapp gas brazing.
  • Certify in all power tools, lifts and scaffolding.
  • Utilize PLC and DCS systems to troubleshoot and improve boiler controls.
  • Load daily encryption codes for all cryptographic communication and GPS equipment.
  • Show more

Aircraft maintenance technician vs aviation maintenance technician skills

Common aircraft maintenance technician skills
  • FAA, 11%
  • Airframe, 11%
  • Powerplant, 9%
  • Ladders, 6%
  • Hand Tools, 5%
  • Aircraft Components, 5%
Common aviation maintenance technician skills
  • Electrical Troubleshooting, 18%
  • FAA, 13%
  • Maintenance Procedures, 10%
  • Airframe, 10%
  • Aircraft Maintenance, 8%
  • Maintenance Manuals, 7%

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