Caring for Aircraft
As an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), you could specialize in the repair and support of many different aircraft systems so that they take off, fly, operate, and land safely. Some of these specializations could include working on the powerplant (engine), the airframe (aircraft body), or avionics (electronic systems).
As an AMT, your job might entail:
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Performing annual inspections of overall aircraft or specific aircraft systems;
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Carrying out repair, preventative maintenance, or support work on airplanes or parts of an airplane, or supervising others in doing so; or
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Altering aircraft or aircraft systems.
With anywhere from a few hundred individual parts on the smallest of aircraft to a few million parts on commercial or military aircraft, there is so much opportunity to apply your knack for fixing things to making a living. Read on to find out more about different aviation maintenance career paths.
Why A Career in Aviation Maintenance?
Fun Aviation Maintenance Facts
There are 170 FAA-approved schools to train aircraft mechanics.
As an aviation maintenance technician, you could work on brand-new airplanes with state-of-the-art-technology or travel back in time and work on aircraft 75-plus years old.
Of the thousands of career choices, aircraft maintenance consistently places in the top 20 career lists from popular websites like Monster.com, Yahoo! Jobs, and Forbes.
Many FAA-approved aircraft maintenance schools include computer technology coursework in their programs since aircraft are becoming more technology-oriented than ever before.
An Airbus A380 is made up of about four million individual parts produced by 1,500 companies from 30 countries around the world.
An A-level maintenance check on a commercial airline is performed every 400 to 600 flight hours and takes about 50 to 70 manhours, while a B-level maintenance check is performed every six to eight months and takes about 160 to 180 manhours.
Is Aviation Maintenance for You?
If you can say "yes" to any of the following questions, becoming an aviation maintenance technician could be a good career fit for you.
Do you enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together?
Do you love working with your hands or with puzzles?
Are you excited about learning how things work?
Does keeping people safe as they fly sound fulfilling to you?
Explore Aviation Maintenance Careers
There are many different opportunities for aircraft maintenance — from maintenance management to working at your local fixed-base operator (FBO) or for the military or a commercial airline. Explore these aviation maintenance pathways to see where a career keeping airplanes shipshape could take you.
