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The differences between aircraft technicians and aeronautical engineers 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 technician and an aeronautical engineer. Additionally, an aeronautical engineer has an average salary of $80,442, which is higher than the $50,212 average annual salary of an aircraft technician.
The top three skills for an aircraft technician include FAA, airframe and aircraft components. The most important skills for an aeronautical engineer are MATLAB, airframe, and CAD.
| Aircraft Technician | Aeronautical Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $50,212 | $80,442 |
| Hourly rate | $24.14 | $38.67 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 28,265 | 28,911 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An Aircraft Technician inspects, maintains, and addresses any issues that arise with an aircraft. Their primary duties include diagnosing electrical issues, replacing defective parts, and maintaining aircraft standards.
Aeronautical engineers are responsible for designing and testing products for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and satellites. Their tasks involve creating and examining blueprints, starting the criteria for a design system, scanning proposals, and correlating teams from design to manufacturing. They work full-time and often require extra hours to work on larger projects, keep track of progress, and make sure that the designs match the mandatory requirements. Individuals who preferred for the job are those who can communicate well, can control their time effectively and perform on diverse projects at once, and who love working as a part of a team towards common goals.
Aircraft technicians and aeronautical engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Aircraft Technician | Aeronautical Engineer | |
| Average salary | $50,212 | $80,442 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $69,000 | Between $59,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Aviation Technology Group | Terrafugia |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Transportation |
There are a few differences between an aircraft technician and an aeronautical engineer in terms of educational background:
| Aircraft Technician | Aeronautical Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Associate Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Aviation | Aerospace Engineering |
| Most common college | SUNY Farmingdale | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between aircraft technicians' and aeronautical engineers' demographics:
| Aircraft Technician | Aeronautical Engineer | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9% | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.1% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 2% | 8% |