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Maintenance technician vs aircraft maintenance technician

The differences between maintenance technicians and aircraft maintenance technicians 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 technician and an aircraft maintenance technician. Additionally, an aircraft maintenance technician has an average salary of $53,026, which is higher than the $43,293 average annual salary of a maintenance technician.

The top three skills for a maintenance technician include plumbing, HVAC and hand tools. The most important skills for an aircraft maintenance technician are FAA, airframe, and powerplant.

Maintenance technician vs aircraft maintenance technician overview

Maintenance TechnicianAircraft Maintenance Technician
Yearly salary$43,293$53,026
Hourly rate$20.81$25.49
Growth rate5%6%
Number of jobs178,450105,268
Job satisfaction4.255
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Associate Degree, 43%
Average age4740
Years of experience44

What does a maintenance technician do?

Maintenance technicians are technicians who specialize in the preservation of office facilities. They have in-depth knowledge of how various office equipment or fixtures work so that they can immediately identify how to repair them in case of breakdowns. Maintenance technicians perform diagnostics and routine maintenance activities to ensure that everything in the office is running well. They immediately repair problems in fixtures or equipment to avoid any further damages or safety concerns. They should be familiar with occupational safety and health standards to ensure that the office is a safe place to work.

What does an aircraft maintenance technician do?

Aircraft Maintenance Technicians make commercial, government/private airplanes, and helicopters safe for their crew and passengers. They ensure that aircrafts meet Federal Aviation Regulations.

Maintenance technician vs aircraft maintenance technician salary

Maintenance technicians and aircraft maintenance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Maintenance TechnicianAircraft Maintenance Technician
Average salary$43,293$53,026
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $59,000Between $37,000 And $75,000
Highest paying CityRichmond, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandNevada
Best paying companyAnheuser-BuschCiti
Best paying industryManufacturingGovernment

Differences between maintenance technician and aircraft maintenance technician education

There are a few differences between a maintenance technician and an aircraft maintenance technician in terms of educational background:

Maintenance TechnicianAircraft Maintenance Technician
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 34%Associate Degree, 43%
Most common majorElectrical Engineering TechnologyAviation
Most common college-Purdue University

Maintenance technician vs aircraft maintenance technician demographics

Here are the differences between maintenance technicians' and aircraft maintenance technicians' demographics:

Maintenance TechnicianAircraft Maintenance Technician
Average age4740
Gender ratioMale, 95.7% Female, 4.3%Male, 93.6% Female, 6.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 23.1% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage2%2%

Differences between maintenance technician and aircraft maintenance technician duties and responsibilities

Maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Install, repair and troubleshoot electrical wiring, including switches, outlets, lights, ballast.
  • Monitor and document all temperature readings on boilers, chillers, and dry vac systems beginning and mid shift.
  • Perform preventative maintenance checks and services on exhaust fans, boilers, chiller units, automatic transfer switches, and generators.
  • Repair electrical equipment; replace faulty electrical switches; repair refrigeration equipment.
  • Handle trouble-shooting and repair of mechanical systems refrigerant recovery and charging of HVAC systems.
  • Facilitate commercial plumbing, electrical, light HVAC, and carpentry repairs in a laboratory facility environment
  • Show more

Aircraft maintenance technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage the FOD prevention program to reduce costly repairs and increase the participation in FOD awareness and FOD walk downs.
  • Work in building maintenance HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems.
  • Develop lesson plans using ISD utilizing PowerPoint, excel and word documents.
  • Prepare daily lesson plans, handout materials, overhead transparencies, PowerPoint slides, and other training aids.
  • Install, repair, troubleshoot aviation and navigation systems install on military aircraft
  • Maintain all photo and etch equipment.
  • Show more

Maintenance technician vs aircraft maintenance technician skills

Common maintenance technician skills
  • Plumbing, 10%
  • HVAC, 8%
  • Hand Tools, 7%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Ladders, 4%
  • Electrical Systems, 4%
Common aircraft maintenance technician skills
  • FAA, 11%
  • Airframe, 11%
  • Powerplant, 9%
  • Ladders, 6%
  • Hand Tools, 5%
  • Aircraft Components, 5%

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