Airline mechanic vs flight engineer

The differences between airline mechanics and flight 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 airline mechanic and a flight engineer. Additionally, a flight engineer has an average salary of $85,035, which is higher than the $56,745 average annual salary of an airline mechanic.

The top three skills for an airline mechanic include FAA, and . The most important skills for a flight engineer are FAA, flight operations, and simulator.

Airline mechanic vs flight engineer overview

	Airline Mechanic	Flight Engineer
Yearly salary	$56,745	$85,035
Hourly rate	$27.28	$40.88
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	34,009	2,042
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Associate Degree, 41%
Average age	40	44
Years of experience	4	4

Airline mechanic vs flight engineer salary

Airline mechanics and flight engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Airline Mechanic	Flight Engineer
Average salary	$56,745	$85,035
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $79,000	Between $55,000 And $129,000
Highest paying City	-	Gilbert, AZ
Highest paying state	-	Arizona
Best paying company	-	Learjet
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between airline mechanic and flight engineer education

There are a few differences between an airline mechanic and a flight engineer in terms of educational background:

	Airline Mechanic	Flight Engineer
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 59%	Associate Degree, 41%
Most common major	Aviation	Aviation
Most common college	Purdue University	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Airline mechanic vs flight engineer demographics

Here are the differences between airline mechanics' and flight engineers' demographics:

	Airline Mechanic	Flight Engineer
Average age	40	44
Gender ratio	Male, 100.0% Female, 0.0%	Male, 94.7% Female, 5.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.0% Asian, 6.9% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 2.7% White, 81.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	2%	9%

Differences between airline mechanic and flight engineer duties and responsibilities

Airline mechanic example responsibilities.

Inspect welds and other non-destructive test (NDT) methods.
Perform all hanger and line operation maintenance under the auspices of FAA rules and regulations.
Work in there fleet department repairing and diagnosis on all emergency apparatuses and ambulances and police vehicles also include maintenance schedules.
Receive and implement combat orders and direct deployment of personnel in offensive, defensive operations.

Flight engineer example responsibilities.

Manage and execute all aircraft grind servicing as well as security for USAF assets abroad.
Lead several Russian inspectors during a highly-visible reentry vehicle inspection on-site inspection - commend for superb leadership
Perform operational checks on helicopter systems and subsystems to isolate and facilitate troubleshooting of malfunctions.
Modify airframe for customer options.
Work are performed in compliance with applicable U.S. Government and DoD regulations, guidance, policies and procedures.
Develop flight dynamics math models in FORTRAN for the simulators of FAA approve business class aircraft using flight test data.

Airline mechanic vs flight engineer skills

Common airline mechanic skills

FAA, 100%

Common flight engineer skills

FAA, 10%
Flight Operations, 9%
Simulator, 8%
DOD, 7%
Combat, 5%
Technical Problems, 5%

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Airline Mechanic vs Flight Engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

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