What is an AMT Aviation Maintenance Technician?
Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) is a licensed professional qualified to work on aircraft and carry out maintenance of aircraft on a regular basis. In recent times, it has emerged as one of the most sought-after career paths for individuals who are interested in the field of aviation but not necessarily interested in becoming pilots.
Even during the time when Covid-19 was on an all-time high, AMTs were not out of job. They were required to maintain the aircraft and ensure that they were in proper working conditions at all times. With international travel back on track, AMTs are now in demand more than ever and if you have a knack for technology and an interest in aviation, then this career path might just be it for you.
But firstly, what do Aviation Maintenance Technicians do? This might seem pretty self-explanatory from the name itself but it is not quite that simple, but we are here to explain it for you.
Aviation Maintenance Technicians are the professionals who are responsible for repairing aircraft and ensuring that they meet FAA regulations for a safe flight. AMTs often work outdoors and have no fixed shift so they are often required to work anytime and are called accordingly.
Being an Aviation Maintenance Technician means that you should know how to solve problems because that would be a great part of your work. AMTs are faced with various issues when dealing with electronic systems and knowing how to troubleshoot these systems makes up for a large chunk of work that the AMTs do.
Being an AMT, you are responsible for the overall maintenance of an aircraft and in some cases, helicopters, as well. AMTs deal with a lot of heavy machinery and for that, you need to have the physical strength to move these heavy parts of the engine around in order to know what is wrong and how to solve it.
Your work includes taking into account everything from the sound of the engine to that particular part which seems slightly skewed, needless to say, attention to detail is a very important aspect of this job and also, versatility. Why? Because without being versatile and having extra knowledge, it is impossible to know how to solve things you may not know about, it is important for an AMT to at least have an idea of things, if not full knowledge, to let their supervisors know what is exactly wrong.
Is being an AMT sounds daunting right, we get it. But you don’t have to stress as everything that an AMT does is taught to them in a lot of detail. Now how do you become an AMT?
To become an Aviation Maintenance Technician, one requires a high school diploma and a valid certification, apart from an aptitude for mechanics.
You need a basic knowledge of machinery and physics, which can be sought from doing extra courses in school or going to college. To become an AMT, you need a license from FAA, and from that, you only have to graduate high school. The FAA courses can be done with specific institutes or specific airlines, as well. You will do all the coursework, which includes theory as well as practical, leaning more towards the latter.
After the coursework, one is required to take exams, after passing which one can become a licensed AMT. The main certification required to become an AMT is called A&P certification and if you work smart enough mixing it with hard work, is quite easy to get.
Once you get this certification, you can apply to many job profiles, Aviation Maintenance Technician being one of them.
Now that you know all about what Aviation Maintenance Technicians do and how do they become what they are, you can now explore this field according to your interests to make an informed decision about the career path you want to take. Aviation Maintenance Technician is certainly a good one if you feel you have aptitude and interest for it!
