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What They Do
About This Career
Installs, inspects, tests, adjusts, or repairs avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles.
This career is part of the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics cluster Facility and Mobile Equipment Maintenance pathway.
A person in this career:
- Tests and troubleshoots instruments, components, and assemblies, using circuit testers, oscilloscopes, or voltmeters.
- Keeps records of maintenance and repair work.
- Adjusts, repairs, or replaces malfunctioning components or assemblies, using hand tools or soldering irons.
- Installs electrical and electronic components, assemblies, and systems in aircraft, using hand tools, power tools, or soldering irons.
- Sets up and operates ground support and test equipment to perform functional flight tests of electrical and electronic systems.
- Assembles components such as switches, electrical controls, and junction boxes, using hand tools or soldering irons.
- Connects components to assemblies such as radio systems, instruments, magnetos, inverters, and in-flight refueling systems, using hand tools and soldering irons.
- Lays out installation of aircraft assemblies and systems, following documentation such as blueprints, manuals, and wiring diagrams.
- Interprets flight test data to diagnose malfunctions and systemic performance problems.
- Coordinates work with that of engineers, technicians, and other aircraft maintenance personnel.
Working Conditions and Physical Demands
People who do this job report that:
- You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
- Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
- Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
- Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
- Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
Working in this career involves (physical activities):
- Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
- Seeing clearly up close
- Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
- Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
Work Hours and Travel
- Overtime work
- Rotating shift work
Specialty and Similar Careers
Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:
- Aircraft Electrical Systems Specialist — Diagnoses, maintains, repairs and installs aircraft electrical components, including generation systems and batteries.
- Aircraft Technician
- Aviation Electrical Technician
- Aviation Electronics Technician
- Avionics Electronics Technician
- Avionics Installer
- Avionics Systems Integration Specialist
- Electronic Technician — Lays out, builds, tests, troubleshoots, repairs and modifies developmental and production electronic components, parts, equipment, and systems, such as computer equipment, missile control instrumentation, electron tubes, test equipment, and machine tools.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts national surveys of wage data by occupation in every state and in all industry divisions. These surveys are conducted through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.
The statistics collected for one year are published the next fall. For example, 2013 wage information was published in the fall of 2014.
There are over 800 occupations in the surveys, and these occupations cover the entire U.S. labor market. The surveys ask for reports in a scale of ranges for both hourly wages and annual wages.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics for a broad category, be aware that the salary data for a specific career may differ.
For more details about how wage information is collected and calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm.
Every year the U.S. Department of Labor conducts a national survey of over 400,000
employers in every state and in all industry divisions. This survey is conducted
through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. Every other year the
department publishes outlook information based on these surveys.
Each outlook period covers 10 years. For example, in 2003 the outlook information
was published for 2004-2014. Employers are asked to report the number of employees
in about 770 different occupations that cover the entire U.S. labor market.
From this information, staffing patterns for different industries are established.
Industry growth is projected into the future based on past trends and current economic
conditions. Industry staffing patterns are then applied to the industry projections
to obtain occupational projections.
In many cases, these occupations are broad enough to cover many more detailed specialties
of an occupation. A specific occupation may be included in a broader occupational
category for which labor market data is available. When you look at the statistics
for a broad category, be aware that the employment data for a specific field may
differ.
For more details about how employment information is collected and calculated by
the U.S. Department of Labor, visit their website at http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
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