If you are turning to these pages to read our latest salary survey results, you may be disappointed. This year, we threw away the questionnaires we have sent out in the past and did something a little different. We decided to partner with AvJobs.com to get a better snapshot of industry wages. AvJobs maintains a database of all current job openings and uses those postings to compile salary averages. Remember, these are just averages based on current job openings. Pay rates do not reflect differences in pay based on geographical area or type of aircraft worked on.
A few interesting notes. If you look at salaried job listings, avionics and helicopter mechanics have higher minimum salaries than management. Although management has a higher average salary, avionics still takes the top maximum pay at $150,000. Another interesting note, if you are in sales and marketing, the average pay is $68,900 beating out managers for the top average pay. Those folks are tied with avionics technicians for the highest maximum pay. I guess it pays more money to sell the company’s products or services or talk about how great the company is rather than working as mechanics or even managers.
Another interesting thing we noticed was how much computer guys are making. Although they come through the gate strong with higher minimum salaries, computer folks seem to level out on the average pay and come in towards the bottom for maximum pay. The theory of quitting maintenance, going back to school and getting into computers seems a little weak now.
In closing, we list some of the pay averages for those jobs listed under A&P mechanic. These listings are based on employer input, so there is some duplication on titles.
Salaried Jobs
| Title | Minimum | Average | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| AP Mechanic | $14,137.20 | $51,525.75 | $78,000.00 |
| Avionics | $20,000.00 | $55,603.15 | $150,000.00 |
| Computer | $49,938.00 | $56,093.00 | $62,248.00 |
| Helicopter | $35,000.00 | $47,500.00 | $60,000.00 |
| Management | $16,476.00 | $61,859.05 | $120,000.00 |
| Pilot | $14,137.10 | $58,333.32 | $120,000.00 |
| Sales-Marketing | $28,000.00 | $68,900.00 | $150,000.00 |
Hourly Jobs
| Title | Minimum | Average | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| AP Mechanic | $7.00 | $18.56 | $45.00 |
| Avionics | $10.00 | $19.07 | $32.00 |
| Helicopter | $10.00 | $14.43 | $31.25 |
A&P Mechanic Positions
| Title | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| A-P Mechanic | $19.46 hr. | $24.50 hr. |
| A-P Mechanic | $7.00 hr. | $45.00 hr. |
| A-P Technician | $12.00 hr. | $25.00 hr. |
| A-P Inspector | $23.00 hr. | $28.00 hr. |
| Aircraft Corrosion Repair Technicians | $15.42 hr. | $15.42 hr. |
| Aircraft Mechanics (Rotary Wing) | $22.50 hr. | $22.50 hr. |
| Aircraft Structures Technicians | $15.00 hr. | $25.00 hr. |
| Airline Division Mechanic | $13.75 hr. | $22.00 hr. |
| Aviation Maintenance Instructor | $20.40 hr. | $33.69 hr. |
| Director of Maintenance | $45,000 yr. | $75,000 yr. |
| Flight Line Technician | $18.00 hr. | $24.00 hr. |
| Helicopter Field Mechanic | $12.00 hr. | $15.00 hr. |
| Line Maintenance Technician | $18.00 hr. | $20.00 hr. |
| Mobile A-P | $25.00 hr. | $31.00 hr. |
| QA Inspector | $20.00 hr. | $24.00 hr. | Quality Assurance Inspectors | $15.00 hr. | $25.00 hr. |
