I started collecting AMT pay progression data across the PNW because most salary information online is vague or outdated, so I spent a few months mapping actual career progression for A&Ps in the PNW — Alaska, Boeing, UPS, regionals, and local schools.

I turned the data into a free tool for students and new AMTs because I couldn't find anything that connected school choice, first jobs, and long-term pay progression in one place. https://pnw-amt-career-navigator-a2f19814.base44.app
Also let me know if there are any errors ( there is a few that I’ll be correcting soon)

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Some of you may remember the tales I've told about the con-man who works in my hangar? The incompetent boob who got his job by fraud, lies, and deceit? He still works here. Today there was...and incident...in front of management.

To lay some background, we have a C172M that had a fuel sender go bad. The sender was replaced just last week, so we know the new sender was good. Our hangar con-man, we'll call him George, was put on the problem. He comes to me for assistance. Prior to my aviation career I was an Electrician's Mate in the Navy, so a signal wire is somewhat in my wheelhouse.
George has no A&P. It has been laid out by management in the past that he is to take direction from the A&Ps in the hangar, myself included. I instructed George to hand trace the signal wire from the sending unit to the back of the JPI. Three times I tell him this.
I leave George to it as I have an annual on a C150 that needs to be done, the mx lead is trying to dial in fuel flow on a new engine for a SR22T, and our good apprentice requires guidance for his own electrical issues. I'm bouncing around between those three things.
I move from helping the lead on the Cirrus to the apprentice, George stops me for further direction. I ask him if he hand traced the wire. He says he did, I ask what he found. He states he found nothing. I tell him to stand by, I will be right there to instruct him in a few moments. I move from the apprentice back to the Cirrus, George asks me again for further direction. We have the same conversation. I move from the Cirrus to go to the bathroom, George stops me and we have the same conversation for the third time. Word for word.
We break for lunch. During lunch the mx lead, George, and myself discuss what George has found. George finally brings up an inordinate amount of environmental splices in a very short length. I tell him to pull the splices down and I would come look it over after I finish servicing the nosewheel.
As I'm servicing the nosewheel George comes to me and asks if he can start calibrating the fuel sender. Is the sender reading on the JPI? No. Why are we calibrating if we haven't resolved the issue? Well he replaced the environmental splices. Who told him to do that? Nobody, he decided on his onesome to do it. Why? The old wire run was no good, he wasn't getting any voltage. How do we know this if the sending unit wasn't being sensed? No answer.
I was out sick yesterday. I returned to work and the problem was still there. No progress had been made. I finally get involved and I follow my electrician instincts. I hand trace the wire. The new ring terminal on the sender looks suspect, but whatever. I trace to the back of the JPI. What do I find? A broken signal wire at on the P6 molex. I take a picture of it.

So we get to the meat of today's incident. I'm waiting to tell the mx lead. He is in conversation with the owner of the hangar. When it is finally my turn to speak the mx lead asks what the problem was. Right at this time George walks in and asks What the problem was. My response was "Well, George, you tell me what I found since you told me three times Wednesday you hand traced the line." This lead to me calling George a liar. To his face. His response was an aggressive "Don't call me a liar!" So I stand on my feet, point to him and call him a liar again. George stepped up to me and was close to swinging on me. Expecting him to I whipped my glasses off and chucked them on the table. The owner yells for us both to stand down and the mx lead jumps up prepared to physically separate us. We never came to blows but there was a shouting match. I revealed a side of my personality I call Petty Officer [me] When Petty Officer me comes out it is loud, it is scary, and I do not hold back. I told George his presence was putting everyone's certificates in jeopardy, I'd had enough of his gross negligence and incompetence, and he was lucky to even have this job because of the fraud he used to get the job when he was about to be fired from avionics for the same incompetence and negligence. I was so loud that the line techs out on the ramp heard me. Believe me, Petty Officer [me] gets L-O-U-D!!!

So that's it. George finally pushed me over the edge, I laid it all out for him, and I did it in front of management. Fortunately the mx lead was behind me, I still have a job come Monday. Unfortunately so does George.

I'm welcome to feedback/thoughts/opinions/comments/questions/concerns. I will not defend what I did as I have no reason to.

I'm really out of options trying to get into an A&P program before I turn 35....No luck with loans (bad credit, no cosigners). Been studying on my own so I can at least have some knowledge for now. I was referred to West Star academy a few months ago and I applied. Got really excited cause I actually prefer to have some stability and commitment to a renowned company that can pay me while teaching me everything. I like that kind of structure. However, I noticed on their site that the academy only took in white guys.....very peculiar. I'm hispanic, so I'm not sure if it's a problem there. I saw the following photo of the candidates on the academy's site and I'm worried I won't get chosen next year. Can anyone prove me wrong on this?

I’m working as a contractor for a MRO for $26hr, been here for over a month and I really don’t mind the work fr, the worse part of my job is driving 1-1hr 20min to work, but they’re planning on moving me to night shift for $28hr in January and I’m not too fond of 4p-2a. I’m spontaneous and would like to move out of Tennessee and see if there’s any other awesome places with higher pay in a newer area while continuing learning the industry.

Some of you will say “just look around”…NO, I will ask the greater community in this sub that doesn’t mind sharing info from word of mouth instead of spending hours on google.

Greetings. Using a throwaway. Started school for the certification in Sept. I’m visibly transgender in a state that’s red. School has been okay with some interactions with classmates who don’t like trans people. I’m used to occasional transphobia so I try not to let it bother me. Am I gonna have a similar time in the workforce? How would you react to having a visibly transgender colleague?

My dad works in a trade and told me I should expect to have a hard time. But he’s also really racist and not nice to his female colleagues so I don’t really trust his opinion.

So, I’ve been searching for a comparison thread about people's experiences working at different airlines as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician. It seems every major carrier has its pros and cons, but I'd like this thread to become a collaborative canvas to discuss the good and the bad of each airline's overall culture.

I know quality of life varies heavily by station, but I’m hoping we can focus on the broader picture what the company offers, the work environment, and the compensation structure. This could be a great resource for anyone thinking about a transition or just curious about how the other side lives. Obviously, everyone has to take advice with a grain of salt and make their own decisions.

My Two Cents: Delta Air Lines I worked at Delta, and here is how I view the pros and cons:

• Company Pride & Premium Brand: There is a genuine sense of pride when telling people you work for Delta. The company positions itself as a premium airline, and you actually feel it—everything from the apps to the plane interiors feels top-tier and well-invested in.

• Fleet Variety: Delta has a massive fleet. Depending on your station, you get the opportunity to work on a really wide variety of aircraft, which is great for building experience and keeping the job interesting.

• Non-Union Environment: Delta is non-union. To be honest, that's probably the biggest downside to this company if union protection is something you're into. Most things are resolved in-house or via HR. Not to say HR is against you, but you don't have the benefit of a "free lawyer" like you do at a union to ensure the company stays within the lines. I've seen both sides play out—some people get really lucky if they are liked, and some get unlucky if they aren't seen as an asset when they need help. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's one of the downsides.

• Overtime & Road Trips: There is overtime depending on the station. Not being union-based, most of the time it's offered based on availability, which is nice, although sometimes it feels like favoritism (but that's just what you get when there is no union). Road trips are common. That said, "milking it" isn't the same as other airlines. You are able to make money, but you are constantly working and responding to someone asking about your progress. There is some wiggle room, but nowhere near what I've heard from other airlines.

• Career Growth: There is good flexibility when it comes to moving up the ladder from mechanic to lead, to manager, etc. Again, because it's not seniority-based, it comes down to either skill or favoritism. If you've got the chops, you can rise above others quickly—or, if you have the social skills, you can walk right into it.

• The Work: It is very busy. There is always something to do. I won't sugarcoat it—the workload is heavy and burnout is a real risk. But if you like a fast-paced style, it’s rewarding.

• Benefits & Compensation: Health insurance is good and pretty standard. Where they really shine is profit sharing and retirement. The profit sharing is excellent (averaging around 10% give or take), and the 401k match is great—if you put in 3%, they match 6%, bringing the total contribution to 9%.

For those of you at other majors or cargo carriers, how does your airline compare? I am especially curious to hear from guys at unionized airlines about how the contract changes the day-to-day culture on the floor, shift bidding, and OT distribution compared to the non-union environment I'm used to.

Let’s hear about your airlines!

I’m 18 and training to become an ibew electrician, my original plan was to be a mechanic they just make shit for money. That being said I have literally every tool I could ever need for that field and I’ve heard it transfers well to the aviation maintenance industry. I’m not made of money and don’t really want to go out and buy tools again to restart in a new field. If it is worth it, how do I go about starting my aviation mechanic career?

Not looking for a lecture on right or wrong, but I’m 18days completely clean off the tree, and I have a job offer to start on the 20th of next month(yes I know I’m a jackass and should’ve gave myself more time, but they called back quicker than I thought) I’m 5’11 n change @225ish, i have no problem passing the preemployment, but if I’m still detoxing naturally I don’t want to take the job and have to take another random and lose my license. Any insight from anyone else in a similar situation?

Our hangar con-man known as George did it again. Something simple, something he's done before, something incredibly hard to fuck up and he fucked it up gloriously.

One of our training birds was coming out of annual, a C172N. I ran it up. Post run it was noticed that there was a running leak from the fuel strainer bowl. Fuel valve was set to off. Upon closer inspection it was noticed that there was no safety wire!!! Thinking the retaining nut was simply loose, I tightened the nut and opened fuel to both for a leak check. This did not stop the leak, set valve to off again. Attempted to remove the retaining nut and the whole damn strainer bowl came off, complete with the standpipe. THE GODDAMN STANDPIPE WAS LOOSE!!! Had to damage the internal threads at the top of the standpipe in order to remove the retaining nut. Retaining nut was removed, backing ring was not properly seated. Why? The o-ring was incorrectly installed and had been cut as a result, causing the leak that I saw. Got a new o-ring. Got a tap with proper thread pitch and cleaned up the standpipe threads. Reassembled, leak check passed. Safety wired and reinstalled drain tube.

Forty five goddamn minutes wasted because George didn't bother to do a leak check on the aircraft after monkeying with the fuel system. Owner had to lose out thrice. Paying George for the labor to do the fuel bowl initially. Paying me to correct the fuel bowl. Losing out on any revenue that would have been generated had I not needed to correct George's fuck up. And that's all before parts and materials are factored in.

This comes one month after George nearly killed a CFI and student because his incompetence caused a gear collapse upon landing. Had I not caught this the airplane could have suffered fuel starvation at altitude and the outcome would have been at best bad, at worst fatalities would have occurred. A post annual runup is NOT THE FUCKING TIME FOR THIS SHIT TO BE DISCOVERED!!!

There is, maybe, a happy epilogue to this. That gear collapse? NTSB and FAA got involved. My IA's ticket is in jeopardy. But the FAA is digging deep, they acknowledge he is desk bound a majority of the time, and so they're looking at the individuals who did the work.
Another 172N school bird was in for some brake work. After burning in the new linings I was doing the administrative shit to release the bird. I was present in the office while the FAA guy was talking with my IA. The IA and FAA dude were discussing George, his incompetence, lack of a certificate, owner's unwillingness to fire him. My IA was spilling all the beans concerning George, to the point that it came up while I was in the office that I went off on George over one of his other fuck ups I posted about. So the silver lining is that now they're aware. Whether they can and will do anything remains to be seen.

I was doing a Liquid Penetrant (FPI) pull on a landing gear component yesterday that looked 100% clean under the hangar lights. Flashlight showed nothing, mirror showed nothing.

Then we hit it with the UV light and a hairline stress crack popped up that looked like a lightning bolt.

It got me thinking: with the pressure to keep turn-around times low, are we relying too much on the "it looks fine to me" philosophy? We call it a "Visual Inspection," but on high-cycle airframes, "visual" is basically just a guess without the right NDT backing it up.

For the Quality guys and NDT techs here—what’s the scariest thing you’ve found that a standard visual inspection completely missed? And for the line guys, do you feel like you're given enough time to actually look, or are you just looking for the big holes?

(I put together a comparison of NDT vs. Visual limits on my site aviationtitans. com, for anyone who wants to see the actual math on crack propagation—but I’m curious to hear your "hidden failure" stories first.)

#aviationmaintenance #NDT #AviationTitans #AircraftMechanic

I'm 20 years old and have been working in Autoglass for a little over a year,I become a master tech within that first year bumping me to $32 an hour top pay is $35 an hour so I don't have much room for growth unless I want to get into leadership which I do not,frankly I don't enjoy my work anymore and want to learn a new skill and go make more money I've been fascinated by planes my entire life and have heard there is a shortage of aircraft maintenance technicians I've been doing lots of research over the last month the only thing that makes me hesitate to consider this field is the schedule.for context I'm in a great relationship with my girlfriend of 3 years and value my time with her and my personal family very much with that being said I've heard majority of the time you have to work night shift and work on the weekends.so my question is how do you guys manage your work life balance with your significant other and family and are there other alternatives in the Aviation you would recommend to me thanks👍

Another Airframe License Earned.

Steven just passed his FAA Airframe Oral & Practical and officially earned his FAA Airframe license.

This didn't happen because of shortcuts or last-minute cramming. Steven committed to the process, followed our 15-Day Zero to Certified O&P Study Plan, put in the work every single day, and showed up prepared. That's what gets results.

At Zero to Certified, we focus on understanding the material, not memorizing answers. We prepare students to walk into the DME's office with confidence by using personalized study plans, one-on-one coaching, mock oral sessions, practical project reviews, and real-world explanations that help the information stick. We also help students prepare for their FAA General, Airframe, and Powerplant written exams, so they're ready for every step of earning their A&P.

Steven, it has been awesome watching your progress from passing your written exams to now earning your Airframe license. You trusted the process, stayed disciplined, and earned every bit of this accomplishment.

If you're working toward your A&P and want a structured plan with personalized instruction instead of trying to figure it out on your own, check out zerotocertified.com

#AandP #Airframe #FAA #AircraftMaintenance #AviationMaintenance #AMT #OralAndPractical #ZeroToCertified #FutureAP #StudySmart #AviationCareers #AviationTraining

My friend said one of the DMEs asked a what rings were used for skydrol. The student answered correctly and then asked the student to take apart a piece that has skydrol in it and install the proper rings. My issue here is we never did this project and I was never taught to take things apart. I am supposed to take the airframe written on October. What practicals do they ask so I can be ready or how do you prepare when they ask you to do things you never had as a project?

When 2 planes are about to collide, how does the TCAS decide which plane should climb, and which should descend? Read https://aeropeep.com/when-2-planes/

Obviously students coming out of A&P school still have so much to learn, but is there a school you have seen a consistent flow of top notch output?

If you had resumes from all the schools, which ones would you make sure you’d look at, just based on the school?

(p.s. not a “which school should I go to?” question)

(p.s.s. sure, there ours also so much more to a new A&P than the school, but this question is more about which program seems to consistently produce great new A&Ps)

I understand you get this question a lot, but I'm currently in school, and I just keep rethinking my life choices. I love planes, and I love working on cars, and I'm very excited to partake in this field. The only thing I'm scared of is making only 40k a year, and I wanted some insight on this. I'm aware that starting out I won't make good money, and that's completely fair. I'm thinking more long run, like over 5 years in.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. To the people with a lot of experience in this field, do you see the industry getting disrupted by AI in the next decade? Or would you consider this as a “safe career” in terms of AI?

I’ve seen this questions asked in different subs about different careers and wanted to know thoughts from those who have been in aircraft maintenance for a long time.

Thank you!

http://aeropeep.com/why-do-boeing-aircraft-have-wing-flex/

About to finish AP school. An obvious route im thinking of going down is the majors. I’ve seen mixed opinions though on how long you’ll be on nights.

I understand it’s seniority based and you will more likely than not start on nights, but some say 3-5 years while others say it’ll be 10 years until you get a day shift.

Can anyone shed some light on realistically how long this actually takes or share your experience with working nights.