Flight technician vs flight data technician

The differences between flight technicians and flight data technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a flight technician and a flight data technician. Additionally, a flight data technician has an average salary of $55,827, which is higher than the $42,931 average annual salary of a flight technician.

The top three skills for a flight technician include troubleshoot, FAA and preventive maintenance. The most important skills for a flight data technician are flight data, R, and data products.

Flight technician vs flight data technician overview

	Flight Technician	Flight Data Technician
Yearly salary	$42,931	$55,827
Hourly rate	$20.64	$26.84
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	27,302	80,619
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	2	2

Flight technician vs flight data technician salary

Flight technicians and flight data technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Flight Technician	Flight Data Technician
Average salary	$42,931	$55,827
Salary range	Between $31,000 And $58,000	Between $36,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between flight technician and flight data technician education

There are a few differences between a flight technician and a flight data technician in terms of educational background:

	Flight Technician	Flight Data Technician
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Education
Most common college	Purdue University	Purdue University

Flight technician vs flight data technician demographics

Here are the differences between flight technicians' and flight data technicians' demographics:

	Flight Technician	Flight Data Technician
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%	Male, 75.0% Female, 25.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between flight technician and flight data technician duties and responsibilities

Flight technician example responsibilities.

Recognize for enhancing EDP operations to boost productivity and meet schedules.
Resolve discrepancies report by training crews, the FAA, and support staff.
Perform require tasks to inspect, install, troubleshoot, maintain, repair, modify, and operate training devices.
Read schematics to troubleshoot and repair digital and analog electronics.
Perform in-flight avionics/communication systems operation.
Print and cut stripcharts on plotters.

Flight data technician example responsibilities.

Manage and distribute cad standards to contributing design consultants and assist with any design issues as necessary.
Perform in-flight avionics/communication systems operation.
Perform in-flight avionics/communication systems operation.

Flight technician vs flight data technician skills

Common flight technician skills

Troubleshoot, 15%
FAA, 11%
Preventive Maintenance, 7%
In-Flight, 7%
Aircraft Systems, 6%
Aircraft Maintenance, 5%

Common flight data technician skills

Flight Data, 61%
R, 27%
Data Products, 12%

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Flight Technician
Flight Technician vs Flight Data Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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