How To Become An Airframe Mechanic: What It Is and Career Path

What is an airframe mechanic and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an airframe mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.32 an hour? That's $60,976 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 9,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAirframe MechanicUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $60,976

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.8

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 5.29%

Black or African American 10.96%

Hispanic or Latino 21.04%

Unknown 5.22%

White 56.86%

Gender

female 5.42%

male 94.58%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an airframe mechanic

Explore airframe mechanic education requirements

Most common airframe mechanic degrees

High School Diploma

41.0 %

Associate

32.3 %

Bachelor's

14.8 %

Start to develop specific airframe mechanic skills

Skills	Percentages
Landing Gear	8.57%
Safety Procedures	8.12%
Hand Tools	7.92%
Structural Repairs	7.60%
Maintenance Tasks	4.15%

Complete relevant airframe mechanic training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New airframe mechanics 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 airframe mechanic based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real airframe mechanic resumes.

Research airframe mechanic duties and responsibilities

Utilize and reference additional supporting documentation including FAA approve engineering data/drawings, supporting company policies/procedures and supervisory instructions.
Line maintenance on ATR-42s and Embraer Brazilias.
Design and implement tracking checklist for each helicopter to track progress of each modification installation.

Prepare your airframe mechanic resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your airframe mechanic resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an airframe mechanic resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable airframe mechanic resume templates

Build a professional airframe mechanic resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your airframe mechanic resume.