Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
Occupation · SOC 49-3011.00
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Also called: Aircraft Maintenance Technician (Aircraft Maintenance Tech) · Aircraft Mechanic · Aircraft Technician (Aircraft Tech) · Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A and P Mechanic) · Aircraft Maintainer · Aircraft Restorer · Aircraft Service Technician (Aircraft Service Tech) · Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) · Aviation Mechanic · Helicopter Mechanic · Aerospace Propulsion Jet Engine Mechanic · Aircraft AC Mechanic (Aircraft Air Conditioning Mechanic)
Job family: Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-49-3011-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+4.0% by 2034)
- 11,300 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $78,680/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (58th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (21st)
21st-percentile task overlap — yet about 11,300 openings a year (+4% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 30th | -0.7 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 23rd | 0.2 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 15th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.2). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.7 · 58th percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components. | 0.6% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +4.0% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 11,300 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 139,400 → 145,000 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians sits at the 32nd percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
19% mean task exposure (2025)
32nd percentile of 427 placed occupations
+3 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Engine Mechanics and Repairers · 7232 | 19% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 38 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Inspect completed work to certify that maintenance meets standards and that aircraft are ready for operation. Core · importance 4.5
- Read and interpret maintenance manuals, service bulletins, and other specifications to determine the feasibility and method of repairing or replacing malfunctioning or damaged components. Core · importance 4.5
- Maintain repair logs, documenting all preventive and corrective aircraft maintenance. Core · importance 4.3
- Examine and inspect aircraft components, including landing gear, hydraulic systems, and deicers to locate cracks, breaks, leaks, or other problems. Core · importance 4.3
- Conduct routine and special inspections as required by regulations. Core · importance 4.3
- Inspect airframes for wear or other defects. Core · importance 4.2
- Replace or repair worn, defective, or damaged components, using hand tools, gauges, and testing equipment. Core · importance 4.2
- Check for corrosion, distortion, and invisible cracks in the fuselage, wings, and tail, using x-ray and magnetic inspection equipment. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Measure parts for wear, using precision instruments. Core · importance 4.2
- Remove or install aircraft engines, using hoists or forklift trucks. Core · importance 4.1
- Service and maintain aircraft and related apparatus by performing activities such as flushing crankcases, cleaning screens, and or moving parts. Core · importance 4.1
- Assemble and install electrical, plumbing, mechanical, hydraulic, and structural components and accessories, using hand or power tools. Core · importance 4.1
- Test operation of engines and other systems, using test equipment, such as ignition analyzers, compression checkers, distributor timers, or ammeters. Core · importance 4.1
- Reassemble engines following repair or inspection and reinstall engines in aircraft. Core · importance 4.1
- 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. Core · importance 4.0
- Measure the tension of control cables. Core · importance 4.0
- Read and interpret pilots' descriptions of problems to diagnose causes. Core · importance 4.0
- Determine repair limits for engine hot section parts. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Obtain fuel and oil samples and check them for contamination. Core · importance 3.9
- Examine engines through specially designed openings while working from ladders or scaffolds, or use hoists or lifts to remove the entire engine from an aircraft. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Listen to operating engines to detect and diagnose malfunctions, such as sticking or burned valves. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Remove or cut out defective parts or drill holes to gain access to internal defects or damage, using drills and punches. Core · importance 3.7
- Communicate with other workers to coordinate fitting and alignment of heavy parts, or to facilitate processing of repair parts. Core · importance 3.7
- Inventory and requisition or order supplies, parts, materials, and equipment. Core · importance 3.7
- Clean, refuel, and change oil in line service aircraft. Core · importance 3.7
- Modify aircraft structures, space vehicles, systems, or components, following drawings, schematics, charts, engineering orders, and technical publications. Core · importance 3.6
- Disassemble engines and inspect parts, such as turbine blades or cylinders, for corrosion, wear, warping, cracks, and leaks, using precision measuring instruments, x-rays, and magnetic inspection equipment. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Clean engines, sediment bulk and screens, and carburetors, adjusting carburetor float levels. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Remove, inspect, repair, and install in-flight refueling stores and external fuel tanks. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Accompany aircraft on flights to make in-flight adjustments and corrections. Core · importance 3.6
- Install and align repaired or replacement parts for subsequent riveting or welding, using clamps and wrenches. Core · importance 3.6
- Locate and mark dimensions and reference lines on defective or replacement parts, using templates, scribes, compasses, and steel rules. Core · importance 3.4
- Spread plastic film over areas to be repaired to prevent damage to surrounding areas. Core · importance 3.4
- Fabricate defective sections or parts, using metal fabricating machines, saws, brakes, shears, and grinders. Core · importance 3.3
- Clean, strip, prime, and sand structural surfaces and materials to prepare them for bonding. Core · importance 3.1
- Trim and shape replacement body sections to specified sizes and fits and secure sections in place, using adhesives, hand tools, and power tools. Core · importance 3.1
- Cure bonded structures, using portable or stationary curing equipment. Supplemental · importance 3.1
- Prepare and paint aircraft surfaces. Supplemental · importance 3.0
Work activities
- Read technical information needed to perform maintenance or repairs.
- Interpret blueprints, specifications, or diagrams to inform installation, development or operation activities.
- Inspect completed work to ensure proper functioning.
- Maintain repair or maintenance records.
- Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems.
- Inspect structural components of vehicles to identify problems.
- Repair worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
- Inspect mechanical equipment to locate damage, defects, or wear.
- Replace worn, damaged, or defective mechanical parts.
- Assemble electrical components, subsystems, or systems.
- Install electrical components, equipment, or systems.
- Install piping for installation or maintenance activities.
- Test mechanical equipment to ensure proper functioning.
- Test fluids to identify contamination or other problems.
- Reassemble equipment after repair.
- Read work orders or descriptions of problems to determine repairs or modifications needed.
- Install machine or equipment replacement parts.
- Align equipment or machinery.
- Lay out work according to specifications.
- Clean equipment, parts, or tools to repair or maintain them in good working order.
- Service vehicles to maintain functionality.
- Lubricate equipment to allow proper functioning.
- Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
- Move large objects using heavy equipment.
- Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
- Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
- Fabricate parts or components.
- Remove parts or components from equipment.
- Drill holes in parts, equipment, or materials.
- Communicate with coworkers to coordinate installations or repairs.
- Cut materials according to specifications or needs.
- Paint surfaces or equipment.
- Apply protective coverings to objects or surfaces near work areas.
- Disassemble equipment to inspect for deficiencies.
- Determine operational criteria or specifications.
- Operate heating or drying equipment.
- Observe equipment in operation to detect potential problems.
- Troubleshoot equipment or systems operation problems.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Transferable skills
Knowledge
| Mechanical | 4.7 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.8 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.8 | |
| English Language | 3.7 | |
| Transportation | 3.7 | |
| Education and Training | 3.3 |
Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.5 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Near Vision | 4.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 4.0 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 4.0 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 4.0 | |
| Control Precision | 4.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 3.9 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.8 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.8 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.8 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 3.6 | |
| Visualization | 3.5 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.4 | |
| Far Vision | 3.4 | |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.4 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 4.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | |
| Monitoring | 3.6 | |
| Active Listening | 3.5 | |
| Speaking | 3.3 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences , Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 66.2% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 15.1% | |
| High School Diploma | 10.0% | |
| Some College Courses | 8.1% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 0.6% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Interest areas
| Mechanics/Electronics | 6.9 | |
| Engineering | 5.7 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 5.4 | |
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 2.5 | |
| Physical Science | 2.0 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 1.8 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.7 | |
| Conventional | 4.7 | |
| Investigative | 3.8 | |
| Enterprising | 1.8 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.6 | |
| Integrity | 2.2 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 2.0 | |
| Perseverance | 1.8 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $47,790 |
| 25th percentile | $61,920 |
| Median (50th) | $78,680 |
| 75th percentile | $95,050 |
| 90th percentile | $120,080 |
| People employed | 136,390 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 84,710 | $79,040 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 23,210 | $82,610 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 3,270 | $82,940 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 3,270 | $59,850 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 2,520 | $61,810 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 2,000 | $52,000 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 1,800 | $84,050 |
| Ambulance Services · National industry | 1,670 | $84,280 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 1,470 | $81,570 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1,290 | $55,010 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 650 | $116,120 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 650 | $69,370 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 12.96× | 84,710 |
| Ambulance Services · National industry | 11.49× | 1,670 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 2.06× | 23,210 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 1.44× | 1,470 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 0.85× | 2,000 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 0.45× | 170 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.41× | 3,270 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.34× | 3,270 |
Related occupations
Part of the Supply Chain & Transportation career cluster.
- Avionics Technicians · 49-2091.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers · 51-2011.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Service Attendants · 53-6032.00 Compare →
- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians · 17-3021.00 Compare →
- Engine and Other Machine Assemblers · 51-2031.00 Compare →
- Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians · 17-3024.00 Compare →
- Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists · 49-3031.00 Compare →
- Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians · 49-3051.00 Compare →
- Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines · 49-3042.00 Compare →
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Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Postsecondary nondegree award · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences · field of study
- Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 32nd percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians show 21st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 11,300 annual U.S. openings
- Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians rank in the 21st percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 11,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $78,680, across about 136,390 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians show 21st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 11,300 annual U.S. openings • Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians rank in the 21st percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 11,300 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $78,680, across about 136,390 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-3011-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-3011-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-3011-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-49-3011-00,
title = {Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-3011-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.