Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship: How to Get Certified on the Job

How an Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship Works

You get hired by an airline, repair station, or manufacturer and work on aircraft under certificated mechanics while you study the theory. Employers also call this an aircraft maintenance technician apprenticeship. The employer pays you, assigns the work, and keeps the records you'll later hand to the FAA, which matters more than anything else in the program.

A registered apprenticeship is one the Department of Labor or a state agency has approved. Under 29 CFR 29.5, it needs written standards, at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning for a time-based program, related instruction (144 hours a year is recommended), and a wage schedule that rises with your skills.

Plenty of shops also hire helper mechanics without a registered program. That work can still count toward the certificate, because the FAA judges the experience, not the job title.

How Apprenticeship Hours Count Toward the FAA Mechanic Certificate

The FAA doesn't certify apprenticeships. It certifies people, and it checks your experience against 14 CFR 65.77: at least 18 months of practical experience for one rating, or 30 months on both airframes and powerplants for both ratings.

The FAA counts experience on a full-time 40-hour week. That works out to 173.3 hours a month (40 hours times 52 weeks, divided by 12). Eighteen months is about 3,120 hours, and 30 months is about 5,200 hours. A 5,000-hour DOL program at 40 hours a week takes about 28.8 months, so you may finish the apprenticeship shortly before you're eligible to test.

Two more rules trip people up. Only time spent performing maintenance counts, so classroom hours don't add to the total. And your proof has to hold up: pay receipts, or logs signed by a certificated supervisor showing hours, tasks, and aircraft registration numbers.

From Apprentice Aircraft Mechanic to Certificated Mechanic

Once your months are in, testing starts at your local Flight Standards District Office.

Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship Programs Hiring Today

Each aircraft mechanic apprenticeship below appears on the employer's own career page, which we checked in September 2026. Openings come and go, so treat this as a starting list.

Kalitta Air apprentices rotate through avionics, hangar, composites, structures, engine, and line shops at the Oscoda base. You need to be 18 with a diploma or GED and pass a background check, drug test, and WorkKeys assessment. Duncan Aviation's 20-month program ends with one rating, which lines up with the FAA's 18-month single-rating minimum.

Textron Aviation splits a 40-hour week into two days at a technical school and three on the job, and says openings aren't posted year-round. AAR's program is open only to current AAR support technicians and Level II or III technicians, so you get hired first. United announced Calibrate in November 2022 with the Teamsters and the FAA.

School Pathways That Work Like an Apprenticeship

Several aviation mechanic apprenticeship options sit alongside an FAA-approved (Part 147) school. Delta's TechOps Apprenticeship takes applicants who are 18 or older and enrolled in one of Delta's more than 50 partner aircraft mechanic schools. Horizon Air's development program pays a $10,500 stipend plus up to $1,800 in FAA test fees.

• Honolulu Community College lists apprenticeships with Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Air Cargo after six months in the program.
• Rock Valley College in Rockford, Illinois, offers AAR's EAGLE Career Pathway with tuition reimbursement and job placement.
• Legacy Aviation Learning Center in Traverse City, Michigan, has an agreement with AAR expanding the EAGLE pathway.
• Minneapolis College teaches inside Delta's Building C maintenance facility at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

School has one real advantage: students at FAA-approved schools can take the oral and practical tests during their final subjects. Apprentices wait until the full 30 months are documented. Compare programs in the aircraft mechanic school directory.

Apprentice Aircraft Mechanic Pay

Registered programs must pay a rising wage that starts at or above the federal minimum. Kalitta Air starts apprentices at $17 an hour, adds about $1 every six months, and pays at least $26 after certification. AAR's 2024 fact sheet steps apprentice pay from a $23 journeyworker rate. Oregon's labor bureau lists a $25.61 average wage for the Southern Oregon Aviation JATC.

For context, the 10th percentile for all aircraft mechanics was $48,780 a year in May 2025, about $23.45 an hour ($48,780 divided by 2,080 hours). The median was $79,870, or $38.40 an hour. See the full aircraft mechanic salary breakdown by state.

Where you apprentice shapes where you start. Among the industries below, airlines paid the highest median in May 2025. Support activities for air transportation, which include repair stations and FBOs, employ the most aircraft mechanics but paid the lowest median.

Military Apprenticeships and the GI Bill

If you're serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, the United Services Military Apprenticeship Program (USMAP) lists Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic as a 5,000-hour trade tied to jobs like Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate, Army 15-series repairers, and Coast Guard Aviation Maintenance Technician.

USMAP doesn't hand you the FAA mechanic certificate, though. The FAA says military service alone doesn't authorize testing, and only time working in the specialty counts. Our military aircraft mechanic guide covers the paperwork and JSAMTCC credit.

Veterans can use GI Bill benefits during a civilian apprenticeship. The VA pays a monthly payment for living expenses while you train, but not while you're on active duty. Check the employer in the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool first. Duncan Aviation and AAR both say their programs are VA-approved.

How to Find an Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship Near You

Start with the Department of Labor's Apprenticeship Job Finder at apprenticeship.gov. Then check your state apprenticeship agency: Oregon's labor bureau, for example, registers an Air Frame and Power Plant Mechanic apprenticeship with the Southern Oregon Aviation JATC in White City. After that, check career pages at airlines, cargo carriers, and repair stations near you.

Before you accept an offer, ask these questions:

• Is the program registered with the DOL or a state agency, and under which occupation?
• Will I work on both airframes and powerplants, or only one? That decides which rating you can test for.
• Who signs my experience log, and does it list hours, tasks, and aircraft registration numbers?
• What does the pay schedule look like, and do I owe anything if I leave early?

Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship vs. an FAA-Approved School

An apprenticeship trades time for income, and school trades income for time. If you want to test soon, school usually wins. Read how long aircraft mechanic school takes and what aircraft mechanic school costs before you decide.