Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Clears an aircraft for operation only after completed work is inspected and certified against maintenance standards. Manuals, service bulletins, and other specs guide whether a worn or damaged part—landing gear, hydraulics, deicers, or airframe—is repaired or replaced with hand tools, gauges, and test equipment. Routine and special inspections, required by regulation, look for cracks, leaks, corrosion, and distortion in the fuselage, wings, and tail, including x-ray and magnetic checks for hidden faults. Every preventive and corrective job goes into a repair log. Suits people who like close reading of technical documents, methodical inspection, and careful record-keeping.
Typical education: Post-Secondary Certificate (vocational/technical)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$79'870
Median Wage Market Position
$79'870
What you might do
- Inspect landing gear, hydraulics, and deicers
- Repair worn or damaged aircraft components
- Check wings and fuselage for hidden cracks
- Read service bulletins to plan the fix
- Certify that finished maintenance meets standards
- Record preventive and corrective work in logs
Skills that matter
- Inspecting fuselage, wings, and tail
- Reading manuals and service bulletins
- Repairing engines and hydraulic assemblies
- Certifying aircraft ready for operation
- Finding hidden cracks with x-ray
- Logging preventive and corrective maintenance
AI & the future of this role
Hands-on diagnosis of engines and flight systems, plus strict safety and certification rules, keep this work hard to automate. Digital manuals or diagnostic aids may speed some checks, but physical repair and liability still favor skilled technicians.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details