A helicopter mechanic is responsible for the general maintenance of helicopters. They ensure that all of the helicopter's parts in good working condition by inspecting the unit, identifying parts that need replacing, and troubleshooting any mechanical or technological problems that they may come across.
The typical day of a helicopter mechanic involves tasks like performing scheduled maintenance tasks, maintaining a record of all tasks done on a unit, and discussing the performance of the helicopter with helicopter pilots and other maintenance staff. They also make recommendations about replacing spare parts, modifying maintenance techniques, and allowing certain units to retire.
Apart from a high school diploma or GED, the basic requirements of this role are the completion of an appropriate training program and a certification from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA). Since this role is mission-critical, helicopter mechanics must have a high level of technical and mechanical skills before they work on actual helicopters.
Helicopter mechanics typically work in hangars or on airfield runways. On average, they make about $54,000 a year, with the potential to make more as their experience and skills progress.
How to Become a Helicopter Mechanic
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a helicopter mechanic. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.37 an hour? That's $52,769 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 4,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Helicopter Mechanic Do
There are certain skills that many helicopter mechanics have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, dexterity and strength.
How To Become a Helicopter Mechanic
If you're interested in becoming a helicopter mechanic, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 27.0% of helicopter mechanics have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.8% of helicopter mechanics have master's degrees. Even though some helicopter mechanics have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a helicopter mechanic. When we researched the most common majors for a helicopter mechanic, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on helicopter mechanic resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a helicopter mechanic. In fact, many helicopter mechanic jobs require experience in a role such as mechanic. Meanwhile, many helicopter mechanics also have previous career experience in roles such as aircraft mechanic or helicopter crew chief.
Helicopter Mechanic Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of aircraft mechanic you might progress to a role such as lead mechanic eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title maintenance supervisor.
Average Salary for a Helicopter Mechanic
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Helicopter Mechanics
1. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
3. Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS • Private
4. Baker College
Owosso, MI • Private
5. Ohio State University
Columbus, OH • Private
6. Worldwide Campus
Daytona Beach, FL • Private
7. Utah State University
Logan, UT • Private
8. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA • Private
9. Lewis University
Romeoville, IL • Private
10. Vermont Technical College
Randolph, VT • Private
Top Skills For a Helicopter Mechanic
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.9% of helicopter mechanics listed hand tools on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and dexterity are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Helicopter Mechanic Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Helicopter Mechanic templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Helicopter Mechanic resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Helicopter Mechanic Demographics
Helicopter Mechanic Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among helicopter mechanics, 7.0% of them are women, while 93.0% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among helicopter mechanics is White, which makes up 64.6% of all helicopter mechanics.
- The most common foreign language among helicopter mechanics is Spanish at 77.4%.
Online Courses For Helicopter Mechanic That You May Like
More than one century after the Wright brothers' first flight, the flight still defy our intuition. You will learn here how to name the different parts of the airplane and how to describe and quantify its geometry. For that, we need now to share a precise vocabulary to describe the airplane's movement and attitude in space, and a refresher on basic general mechanic principles. You will remind how Newton's 2nd law allows you to determine what force must be applied on an apple - or on an airplane,...
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Best States For a Helicopter Mechanic
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a helicopter mechanic. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Washington, California, and Nevada. Helicopter mechanics make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $89,136. Whereas in Washington and California, they would average $83,838 and $80,774, respectively. While helicopter mechanics would only make an average of $73,031 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$89,136
Avg. Salary
2. Nevada
$73,031
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$62,460
Avg. Salary
How Do Helicopter Mechanic Rate Their Jobs?
Top Helicopter Mechanic Employers
Most Common Employers For Helicopter Mechanic
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CSC Holdings LLC | $70,180 | $33.74 | 15 |
| 2 | AECOM | $64,967 | $31.23 | 21 |
| 3 | Lear | $64,279 | $30.90 | 17 |
| 4 | Lockheed Martin | $61,155 | $29.40 | 27 |
| 5 | City of Los Angeles | $59,974 | $28.83 | 8 |
| 6 | Papillon | $58,959 | $28.35 | 8 |
| 7 | US Air Conditioning Distributors | $58,383 | $28.07 | 26 |
| 8 | M2 Services | $58,356 | $28.06 | 8 |
| 9 | Robinson Helicopter | $58,197 | $27.98 | 10 |
| 10 | Iowa National Guard | $58,141 | $27.95 | 11 |
Helicopter Mechanic Videos
