How To Become An Aircraft Stress Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is an aircraft stress analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an aircraft stress analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $47.3 an hour? That's $98,376 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAircraft Stress AnalystUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $98,376

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.30%

Asian 10.87%

Black or African American 4.24%

Hispanic or Latino 11.35%

Unknown 4.47%

White 68.77%

Gender

female 17.14%

male 82.86%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an aircraft stress analyst

Explore aircraft stress analyst education requirements

Most common aircraft stress analyst degrees

Bachelor's

52.8 %

Master's

17.0 %

Associate

13.2 %

Start to develop specific aircraft stress analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Aircraft Maintenance	25.83%
OEM	13.52%
FEA	11.61%
Structural Analysis	10.91%
Maintenance Data	10.70%

Complete relevant aircraft stress analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New aircraft stress analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an aircraft stress analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real aircraft stress analyst resumes.

Research aircraft stress analyst duties and responsibilities

Lead the software development for multiple successful NASA and DOD small business innovative research (SBIR) grants.
Review all airframe, engine, APU and propeller maintenance log books.
Provide fatigue and damage tolerance analyses of primary structural elements base on fatigue test article results supporting FAA certification reports.
Establish NDT system design criteria to meet manufacturing requirements for capacity and capability.

Apply for aircraft stress analyst jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an aircraft stress analyst job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do aircraft stress analysts rate their job?

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Aircraft stress analyst reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019

Cons

The working hours,there was not the ideal balance between life and work