Florida·Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations·SOC 49-3011

Best Aircraft Mechanic programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic.

15 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,604 people a year. The job pays a median of $76,940 in Florida across about 14,850 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledAircraft MechanicAircraft Technician (Aircraft Tech)Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A and P Mechanic)Aircraft Maintenance Technician (Aircraft Maintenance Tech)EnginemanJet MechanicAircraft WorkerAirplane Rigger
Graduates / yr
1,604
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$76,940
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
14,850
people employed
Schools
15
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
57%
across those schools
Median net price
$27,594
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

2 programs in Florida that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 47.0608In Florida
824
51.4%
11$37,089$11,790
2
CIP 47.0607In Florida
780
48.6%
14$37,089$11,790

Top 15 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 15 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide
Daytona Beach, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
458Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician$76,66321%$21,26658%
2National Aviation Academy of Tampa Bay
Clearwater, FL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
328Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$48,78376%$29,957
3George T Baker Aviation Technical College
Miami, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
263Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician31%
4Aviation Institute of Maintenance - Orlando
Casselberry, FL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
172Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$44,09783%$24,656
5George Stone Technical College
Pensacola, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
64Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$38,53636%
6Lively Technical College
Tallahassee, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
55Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician$28,17951%
7Charlotte Technical College
Port Charlotte, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
53Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician51%
8Traviss Technical College
Lakeland, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
52Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$35,21090%
9Tom P. Haney Technical College
Panama City, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
37Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician$30,08861%
10Northwest Florida State College
Niceville, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
32Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician39%
11Eastern Florida State College
Melbourne, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
30Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician52%
12Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and Technology
Fort Pierce, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
27Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$41,582
13Lorenzo Walker Technical College
Naples, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
25Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician$34,37199%
14Universal Technical Institute - South Florida Miramar
Miramar, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician70%$27,594
15Polk State College
Winter Haven, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
1Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician35%

All 15 schools in Florida

Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Florida that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - WorldwideDaytona BeachPrivate not-for-profit4581
National Aviation Academy of Tampa BayClearwaterPrivate for-profit3282
George T Baker Aviation Technical CollegeMiamiPublic2632
Aviation Institute of Maintenance - OrlandoCasselberryPrivate for-profit1722
George Stone Technical CollegePensacolaPublic642
Lively Technical CollegeTallahasseePublic552
Charlotte Technical CollegePort CharlottePublic532
Traviss Technical CollegeLakelandPublic522
Tom P. Haney Technical CollegePanama CityPublic372
Northwest Florida State CollegeNicevillePublic322
Eastern Florida State CollegeMelbournePublic302
Aviator College of Aeronautical Science and TechnologyFort PiercePrivate for-profit271
Lorenzo Walker Technical CollegeNaplesPublic251
Universal Technical Institute - South Florida MiramarMiramarPrivate for-profit71
Polk State CollegeWinter HavenPublic11

What aircraft mechanics and service technicians earn in Florida

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Florida
$76,940
Mean annual
$79,880
Jobs in state
14,850
What the range looks like
10th pct$45,500Median$76,94090th pct$130,190
Versus the national median
-3.7%

U.S. median $79,870. Florida pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.68×

Concentrated here: Florida employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Florida

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
$92,430median
2,380 jobs
Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL
$77,180median
140 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$78,260median
6,460 jobs
Port St. Lucie, FL
$72,800median
170 jobs
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
$71,510median
1,050 jobs
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
$76,730median
140 jobs
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
$75,380median
280 jobs
Naples-Marco Island, FL
$60,990median
90 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.0%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
11,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,600
139,400 → 145,000
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians page.

How to become a Aircraft Mechanic

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

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.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingMonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Florida

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 01.0205Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician
  • 47.0607Airframe Mechanics and Aircraft Maintenance Technology/Technician
  • 47.0608Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing aircraft mechanics and service technicians programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become an Aircraft Mechanic?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Aircraft Powerplant Technology/Technician, which awarded 824 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 51.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Aircraft Mechanic?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 1,604 people a year in Florida.

How much do aircraft mechanics and service technicians earn in Florida?+

The median is $76,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.7% below the U.S. median of $79,870. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for aircraft mechanics and service technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +4.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 11,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+

15 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do aircraft mechanics and service technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Aircraft Mechanic, Aircraft Technician (Aircraft Tech), Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (A and P Mechanic), Aircraft Maintenance Technician (Aircraft Maintenance Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-3011.

Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians in other statesCaliforniaTexasGeorgiaOklahomaIllinoisKansasKentuckyPennsylvania

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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