urp99 I couldn't have said it better.
There is this an extreme shortage of good mechanics especially with there IA. I have gotten the same response from multiple employers you did. We rely need you in the shop, we would put you in the cockpit but pilots are easier to find. But then they pay the pilot more than the mechanic. I to thought it could be a potential character flaw I had that made employers not want to put me in the cockpit. I had to have a lot of talks with a lot of people to come to the conclusion it wasn't me, it's just the way it is (code for it doesn't make sense). It seams to defy the logic of free market capitalism.
I am not saying pilots shouldn't make more than mechanics, they should. Its just that the chasm between the two is enormous.