Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Most important skills
- Equipment Maintenance
- Repairing
- Troubleshooting
- Operations Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Operation and Control
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Engineering and Technology
- English Language
- Transportation
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components.
- Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation.
- Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance.
- Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations.
- Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems.
- Inspect airframes for wear or other defects.
- Maintain, repair, and rebuild aircraft structures, functional components, and parts, such as wings and fuselage, rigging, hydraulic units, oxygen systems, fuel systems, electrical systems, gaskets, or seals.
- Measure the tension of control cables.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (66.2% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (33.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (32.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 55% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 60% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 62% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 78% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 60% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 72% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 51% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 8.3%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.88%
- Contact with others most of the time: 27.89%
- Constant contact with others: 62.93%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 4.58%
- Fairly important: 27.46%
- Important: 28.49%
- Very important: 24.92%
- Extremely important: 14.55%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 6.28%
- Important: 14.19%
- Very important: 40.19%
- Extremely important: 39.33%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 10.05%
- Limited freedom: 25.43%
- Some freedom: 22.03%
- A lot of freedom: 42.49%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 1.32%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.02%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 48.76%
- Every day: 38.91%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 2.65%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 41.94%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.23%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 12.86%
- Every day: 16.32%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 22.44%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 32.58%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 31.11%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 9.29%
- Every day: 4.58%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 30.09%
- Fairly serious: 9.26%
- Serious: 23.88%
- Very serious: 10.32%
- Extremely serious: 26.46%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 49-3011.00 · SOC 49-3011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8