Blue-Collar Job Series: Aircraft mechanics can begin work after only one year of training
IMAGE / Wikimedia Commons
Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class Donald Elder replaces an axle lever on the landing gear of an F/A-18C Hornet aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75).
This article is the second in a four-part series about jobs that do not require a four-year college education.
Aircraft mechanics, also known as aviation mechanics or aviation engineers, are always in demand.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, aircraft mechanics have many responsibilities, which include the following:
- Keeping maintenance records on each aircraft
- Examining engines
- Replacing and repairing defective parts
- Repairing sheet metal
- Checking for cracks and corrosion in the wings and tail
- Troubleshooting problems with aircraft
In Michigan, there are a few opportunities to get a head start on this career pathway by attending training programs offered during a student’s high school years.
Marquette and Alger community school districts offer aviation maintenance programs, which allow students in grades 11 and 12 to get a head start in the field.
If students graduate from high school and want to continue a career in aviation maintenance, they will have to attend college for one to four years.
But students can receive a college certificate in aviation maintenance technology, which allows them to work on aircraft, after as little as one year of schooling.
The national job growth for aviation technicians is 8.2 percent.
— Bureau of Labor Statistics
The next step to progressing further in the field of aviation maintenance is to get a two-and-a-half year associate’s degree. This degree allows aviation technicians to fill entry level management or supervisory jobs in the aviation industry.
The final step to progressing in the aviation maintenance field is to receive a four-year bachelor’s degree. This degree allows technicians to increase earnings in the field and expand job possibilities with enhanced technical and management skills.
According to the BLS, the median earnings for aircraft mechanics is $25.51 an hour with the range of earnings from $14 to $40 an hour.
The national job growth for aviation technicians is 8.2 percent, while the job growth in the Upper Peninsula is projected to be 14.5 percent.
More articles in the Blue-Collar Job Series:
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