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How much $ does MX make?

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How much $ does MX make?

Old 08-16-2017, 06:48 PM
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Question How much $ does MX make?

My younger cousin (age 16) is interested in becoming an aircraft mechanic.


What is the typical career path/progression for this?

What can he expect to make working for a major airline?
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Old 08-17-2017, 10:13 AM
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I believe the legacy mechanics start in the mid 20's hourly and end up in the high 30's/low 40's as they get more senior and with the yearly raises.
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Old 08-17-2017, 11:51 AM
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I have been told you also have to supply your own tools.

The sad truth: high school dropouts working at a car dealership may make more than a certified aircraft mechanic.
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Old 08-17-2017, 03:33 PM
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post
I have been told you also have to supply your own tools.

The sad truth: high school dropouts working at a car dealership may make more than a certified aircraft mechanic.
This is true, they have to buy their own (not cheap!) tools in most cases. Mechanics generally make less than pilots. Generally no college required.
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Old 08-17-2017, 03:36 PM
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i was shocked when a United mech told me that, and that a good set of tools would run $3-4000.
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Old 08-17-2017, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post
i was shocked when a United mech told me that, and that a good set of tools would run $3-4000.


He's on the cheap. A snap on tool box, without tools can cost as much as a car.


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Old 08-18-2017, 12:25 AM
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I've seen $120,000 sets.

Not kidding.
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Old 08-18-2017, 06:29 AM
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Originally Posted by UAL T38 Phlyer View Post
i was shocked when a United mech told me that, and that a good set of tools would run $3-4000.
A good rollaway tool box will cost a lot more than that, though most start out with a craftsman and do fine.

I have nearly two hundred grand wrapped up in my tools. Just one wrench set, used a lot for hydraulic applications, cost nearly nine hundred dollars, with each wrench bought separately and paid off before the next. What tools I have took several decades to accumulate, and that's how it's done, one tool at a time.

Starting with simple, inexpensive, minimal tools, however, a mechanic can get by, and build as he or she goes. If the mechanic hires at a regional doing nothing but swapping seats, not much is required. For those of us who do sheet metal, electronic, hydraulic, electrical, and work on turbines and pistons, as well as avionics, etc, it takes a fair amount of tools, and most mechanics keep buying them for much of their career.

As for what mechanics make, that really depends on the job, but few get rich turning wrenches. Someone noted that mechanics at car dealerships make more than most aircraft mechanics, and it's true.

Mechanic wages are more on par with entry level pilot wages. Again, that really varies with what the mechanic is doing. The level of complexity or a mechanic is far greater than that required to fly, and the liability and duty far exceeds that of most any other mechanic, with greater consequences. Completion of a simple inspection, for example, leaves the mechanic with the liability for all the work that's gone on before on that aircraft. He "buys" everyone else's work, legal or otherwise, and assumes responsibility for it.

Tidbit for those who don't know (most don't): no mechanic can return an aircraft to service. When you fly it, you do that.

Going to school for maintenance can be 18-24 months, and coming out of school, expect sixteen dollars an hour straight wage, not much more. It goes up with experience, but mechanics do need to have their own tools (shops carry speciality tools, so mechanics don't usually need them...unless they're freelancing and then they need everything). Good news is that mechanics are in demand, and a good mechanic in the right circumstance can make good money. For pilots, being a mechanic can be a foot in the door at many places that wouldn't be open without the certificate, or be a competitive addition to the resume.

I got my first jet job thanks to being a mechanic. I got my first job in large aircraft thanks to holding a mechanic certificate, and I've been employed right out the door of a furlough, thanks to maintenance skills and credentials. There are plusses and minuses, but I stay very active turning wrenches and other maintenance activities, and have long recommended that those entering the flying field seek maintenance qualifications.
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Old 08-18-2017, 08:49 AM
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The Snap On truck made a weekly stop to one of the shops I worked for.
Everyone had a line of credit and made a weekly payment, also got to see the latest and greatest tools.
Craftsman tools used to made in America and the starter sets including a few hundred tools would come on sale for $200 or so.
I work for Hawaiian Airlines where mechanics start at $21.50/hr. They hire straight out of A&P school now. Not sure how it is at other airlines.
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Old 08-19-2017, 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnBurke View Post
Tidbit for those who don't know (most don't): no mechanic can return an aircraft to service. When you fly it, you do that.
Part 43 says the person that signs the log returns it to service. The PIC may be ultimately responsible for the airworthiness (whereas the mechanic/maintenance is responsible for actually doing the work correctly) when he signs for the aircraft, but that is not a return to service. Part 43 explicitly explains this in 43.5.

§43.5 Approval for return to service after maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration.

No person may approve for return to service any aircraft, airframe, aircraft engine, propeller, or appliance, that has undergone maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration unless—

(a) The maintenance record entry required by §43.9 or §43.11, as appropriate, has been made;

(b) The repair or alteration form authorized by or furnished by the Administrator has been executed in a manner prescribed by the Administrator; and

(c) If a repair or an alteration results in any change in the aircraft operating limitations or flight data contained in the approved aircraft flight manual, those operating limitations or flight data are appropriately revised and set forth as prescribed in §91.9 of this chapter.
Now, if you want to argue that "approval for return to service" is different than "return to service", I'd say you are just trying to argue the semantics. If you've approved it to return to service, as soon as you sign off, it's back in service. No one goes after a pilot for "returning an aircraft to service" incorrectly, unless they have done maintenance in accordance with 43.3(h) or (i) and not met the requirements of Part 43. Many times, pilots performing maintenance under these authorizations don't realize all the requirements that must be met in Part 43 when they use this, but this authorization is not applicable for 121 and much of 135. It is a "thing" that maintenance/mechanics have occasionally "returned an aircraft to service" incorrectly, as supported by the regulation.
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