Maintenance controller vs flight chief

The differences between maintenance controllers and flight chiefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a maintenance controller and a flight chief. Additionally, a flight chief has an average salary of $73,910, which is higher than the $72,133 average annual salary of a maintenance controller.

The top three skills for a maintenance controller include maintenance control, FAA and general maintenance. The most important skills for a flight chief are safety program, emergency situations, and logistics.

Maintenance controller vs flight chief overview

	Maintenance Controller	Flight Chief
Yearly salary	$72,133	$73,910
Hourly rate	$34.68	$35.53
Growth rate	5%	6%
Number of jobs	70,069	14,227
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 54%
Average age	49	44
Years of experience	4	4

Maintenance controller vs flight chief salary

Maintenance controllers and flight chiefs have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Maintenance Controller	Flight Chief
Average salary	$72,133	$73,910
Salary range	Between $48,000 And $106,000	Between $50,000 And $109,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between maintenance controller and flight chief education

There are a few differences between a maintenance controller and a flight chief in terms of educational background:

	Maintenance Controller	Flight Chief
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 37%	Associate Degree, 54%
Most common major	Aviation	Criminal Justice
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Maintenance controller vs flight chief demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance controllers' and flight chiefs' demographics:

	Maintenance Controller	Flight Chief
Average age	49	44
Gender ratio	Male, 89.1% Female, 10.9%	Male, 87.6% Female, 12.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% Asian, 2.8% White, 81.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	4%	9%

Differences between maintenance controller and flight chief duties and responsibilities

Maintenance controller example responsibilities.

Achieve superior safety, logistics reliability, and quality assurance record.
Coordinate and manage required logistics support, and direct, document, and monitor aircraft cannibalization.
Manage and coordinate extensive activities in support of intercontinental ballistic missile launch facility readiness and space flight operations.
Ensure warehouse are in compliance with OSHA state and federal laws.
Coordinate travel requirements in support of AOG recovery personnel.
Advise, troubleshot, and determine repair procedures using technical publications.

Flight chief example responsibilities.

Manage, lead and oversee all areas of evaluations / assessments for over 200 USAF aviators.
Manage the command and control of GPS satellite operations.
Lead initial training for over 600 staff annually through 736 syllabus hours and oversee evaluation of competency.
Provide leadership and knowledge of federal shipping and logistics regulations by managing adherence to all policies and procedures from higher headquarters.
Promote to in-flight supervisor position to train and supervise any given number in flight attendants.
Ensure compliance with DOD and USAF personnel management policies, directives, and procedures regarding military personnel issues and current programs.

Maintenance controller vs flight chief skills

Common maintenance controller skills

Maintenance Control, 13%
FAA, 12%
General Maintenance, 7%
Unscheduled Maintenance, 7%
Maintenance Planning, 6%
Aircraft Systems, 5%

Common flight chief skills

Safety Program, 15%
Emergency Situations, 9%
Logistics, 6%
Training Programs, 6%
Combat, 5%
DOD, 4%

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Installation, Maintenance and Repair Industry
Maintenance Controller
Maintenance Controller vs Flight Chief

Updated January 8, 2025

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