A&Ps At Majors
 

I've been working as an A&P at a regional for about 6 months now, I've been curious for some time what an experienced mechanic can realistically expect to earn per hour or salary? I'm based in STL so all I really see are regionals coming and going, but a recent trip to IAD made me realize there are a lot more mainline birds out there.

Does anyone know how much experience they really prefer for an applicant? I've seen a small amount of jobs posted wanting 5 years minimum. It seems to me becoming familiar with all of the required manuals and company paperwork is what can be difficult. Most of the maintenance on our little airplanes is very self explanatory, just follow the manuals...

Are there any good sites out there for A&Ps, networking or hiring wise?

The 5 year's is pretty much the hardeck, Boeing is hiring A&P's for line i believe, that's where it at.

Yeah there really are not as many good forums for mechanics as this one is for pilots. There is Aircraft Mechanics Forums and Jetcareers and Airline Forums.com is good too and a few others that escape me at the moment.
Most major airlines now start at around 20 dollars an hr and after between 5 and 8 years depending on airline your are looking at around 35 or 36 an hour right now.. Now UPS FDX and SWA are your top payers.. UPS in a lot of cases starts PT but they do have the highest rate in the industry right now with a top rate of over 50 dollars an hour. SWA is in the mid 40's per hour as is FedEx. The mechanics at these 3 companies at top rate are making 6 figures for all intensive purposes with very little overtime and in the case of UPS their new contract makes that on straight time. But again most A@P's are not making that.

I'll have to check out the Boeing listings again. I applied for several jobs with them and never heard much, took an online assessment they sent me and haven't heard a thing. Do they even value an A&P license? There seem to be very few if any that require you to have one.