A&P hourly wage.

brien23

brien23

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With UAW wage demand, seems like everyone except GA A&P wages are going up. With McDonald's paying $15hr what are A&P in your area making per hour for GA work.
 
brien23 said:
With UAW wage demand, seems like everyone except GA A&P wages are going up. With McDonald's paying $15hr what are A&P in your area making per hour for GA work.
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$125/hr from the shop. Not sure what the individuals are making.
 
Mine is self employed and charges $85. I'm lucky to have him! I'm sure it helps that his rent is like $400 a month because the airport wants to assure that a shop remains there, so charges below-market rate.
 
I saw an advertised posting in a shop near me looking for A&Ps starting at $27 an hour, considerably less for a mechanic without a cert. The shop rate is over $125 an hour.

This is in a major metropolitan area with a high cost of living.
 
The most we could pay for our most senior guys was appx half of shop rate. I'd guess that metric still holds, since the cost of rents/insurance/pubs is certainly keeping pace with inflation.
 
And are mechanics paid for sitting there on lunch break or for billable hours only ?

Then there’s the multi-tasking, are you billing multiple jobs at the same time? Doesn’t matter what the hourly rate is if the number of hours were overbilled.
 
Doc Holliday said:
What are you making?
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I work for a small flight school 6 planes part time for something to do as a A&P/IA and a CFII for $30hr. I retired years ago and this gives me something to do.
 
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I’ve never asked the A&P/IA what they make ,shop rate is 125 an hour.
 
brien23 said:
I work for a small flight school 6 planes part time for something to do as a A&P/IA and a CFII for $30hr. I retired years ago and this gives me something to do.
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Retirement aside, I don't know how anyone could work those jobs for that kind of pay. Do you get 1099'd at the end of the year too? :p
 
Straight hourly rate is fine at your own hangar or airport.

Road Warriors contend with some jobs that will kill the day regardless how small the task is.

I once drove 2 hours just to torque ONE spark plug for a good friend!

There have been times I’ve wondered what I would have actually charged someone.
 
RyanB said:
Retirement aside, I don't know how anyone could work those jobs for that kind of pay. Do you get 1099'd at the end of the year too? :p
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We have new CFI's all the time, soon as they get 1500hr their gone to the airlines and stand in line to get the CFI job for $30hr. As for the Mechanic position, no medical or dental so only another old retired part time mechanic will work for $30hr for something to do. The club is a 141 school so as the IA I have a FAA inspector looking over what I do all the time. And yes the club has great insurance to cover me and great hangar working conditions and we set our own time and schedule.
 
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The dollar amount is only part of the working experience.

A sense of accomplishment should be high on the list as well.

The satisfaction of helping others succeed is very rewarding also.

That could be aspiring pilots , mechanics or the Flight School.

Many retirees volunteer to help at different orgs for this reason .

Some seem to love doing dirty jobs.

If I ever slow down I‘d probably just hangout at the airport.

I can’t picture working as a whopper flopped or a greeter!
 
I did a lot of jobs before going to A&P school. Left a $6+hr job to head to A&P school. First A&P job paid me $!.65/hr. I did it for the love of flying and airplanes. The A&P kept us from starving in the lean years, since I could do almost anything any tradesman could do, only better (maybe not faster). But as for pay, it wasn't for the money for sure. Of the 12 who started A&P school with me, only 2 were working in aviation several years later. The money was much better doing almost anything else, with much less responsibility. Has anything changed?
 
Getting the A & P is a beginning, not an end.

Where you go with it is up to you.

Many of us have traveled a similar road to Old and finally found a home.

All is often it is not Light Aircraft though.

You may want to know that an A & P played a significant role

with the F-22, F-35 and Shuttle Programs.

It seems a growing segment of Light Aircraft relies more and more

on part - timers.

There is not a vow of poverty with certification!
 
Oldmanb777 said:
I did a lot of jobs before going to A&P school. Left a $6+hr job to head to A&P school. First A&P job paid me $!.65/hr. I did it for the love of flying and airplanes. The A&P kept us from starving in the lean years, since I could do almost anything any tradesman could do, only better (maybe not faster). But as for pay, it wasn't for the money for sure. Of the 12 who started A&P school with me, only 2 were working in aviation several years later. The money was much better doing almost anything else, with much less responsibility. Has anything changed?
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Only 5 out of 23 in my A&P class are in aviation.....
 
Doc Holliday said:
And when you have people working for subpar pay to "have something to do", it affects the ones that are working for a living.
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No it doesn’t….. There is PLENTY of work to go around. Just because some get a good deal, it doesn’t mean the work is dried up. I own a flight school and I contract on jets. That statement is the most over used garbage I see. For pilots and mechanics.
 
Skymac said:
No it doesn’t….. There is PLENTY of work to go around. Just because some get a good deal, it doesn’t mean the work is dried up. I own a flight school and I contract on jets. That statement is the most over used garbage I see. For pilots and mechanics.
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That statement I made is very true. Supply and demand. Throw in the subpar and it affects everyone, in multiple ways.
 
Skymac said:
There is PLENTY of work to go around.
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Perhaps some perspective.
How many A&P openings do you currently have? How many A&P resumes do you receive on a monthly basis? How much is your starting A&P wage and what is the top out? And what is the cost-of-living index for your location?
 
A & P school nearby will reduce wages.

Supply and demand.

There has been talk of the coming A & P shortage for nearly 50 years.

In many areas that time is now.
 
brien23 said:
With UAW wage demand, seems like everyone except GA A&P wages are going up. With McDonald's paying $15hr what are A&P in your area making per hour for GA work.
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90$, but he does it as a second job when he is able
 
Doc Holliday said:
That statement I made is very true. Supply and demand. Throw in the subpar and it affects everyone, in multiple ways.
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Yeah. Those willing to work for less should not work at all and make nothing so the rest can make more money. And those working for free are downright thieves.

This is so stupid it makes me angry.
 
Salty said:
Yeah. Those willing to work for less should not work at all and make nothing so the rest can make more money. And those working for free are downright thieves.

This is so stupid it makes me angry.
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LOL.
 
I’ll guess a lot of part timers do this for reasons other than money.

Some folks figure that it’s better to fix your buds Cessna and let him do

his thing on your Toyota. Of course ; having a doctor available at 3 am

with a sick kid is priceless!
 
Sorry, the whingeing about "hobbyist" or "below market" pilots/mechanics has always been odd to me.

Aviation is WAY cooler than crawling up some karen's backed-up plumbing, driving the trash truck around, or trying to correctly make me a mocha lava java latte with extra firm foam.

Supply will always be "above par", despite the numerous hurdles to certification, and this will depress wages in the aggregate. Finding some niche specialty (particularly things other pilots/mechanics don't want to do) helps support a higher rate. Shaming/complaining about those who do things for less or for fun -- does not.
 
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Salty said:
Yeah. Those willing to work for less should not work at all and make nothing so the rest can make more money. And those working for free are downright thieves.

This is so stupid it makes me angry.
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You don't want to engage an airline pilot on that topic then. Part-time work (bona fide, they have no problem keeping the seniority-subsidized de facto version of the same) is a touchy subject. As to the dynamic being 'stupid', don't look now but you are effectively complaining about organized labor. I think that's gonna get this thread locked faster than a convicted ice cream van driver in a school zone. :D

For the record, before the 121ers jump me (per usual) for misunderstanding my point, I fully support organized labor, even as someone legally barred from it by indenture.

schmookeeg said:
Sorry, the whingeing about "hobbyist" or "below market" pilots/mechanics has always been odd to me.

Aviation is WAY cooler than crawling up some karen's backed-up plumbing, driving the trash truck around, or trying to make me a mocha lava java latte with extra firm foam.
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It's not complicated, it merely comes from the notion that those singularly motivated by catharsis may not be grounded enough to make public safety decisions at the expense of not getting their rocks off. The irony doesn't escape me of course (FMS, RNAV/PBN potato, automation-steered flight controls, heck cruise flight.....*yawn*). I'm just making the devil's argument for the sake of spurring the discussion btw.

At any rate, it's also the reason behind that inane perennial repeat threads on here about private pilot pro-rata fearmongering. Those regulations didn't come out of a vacuum. Good bad or indifferent, the powers that be realize that pilots are apparently too infantile to police themselves, so everybody gets to wear diapers via regulatory proxy. Living by #YOLO has externalities? This is my shocked face. lol

As to the second bolded, I understand the catharsis dynamic you're pointing at, but I think the motivation is misplaced. I wouldn't do my job for enlisted money, to say nothing of the more relevant fact I couldn't afford to, and I love what I do mind you. Of course most people would say "move over, I will!". But then that reminds me of the dynamics of the lost decade. Namely, everybody was an aspiring airline pilot until the market tanked again and the job was ewww, again. They all scurry back to their IT jobs like Peter after denying Jesús. The second that job paid a nickel more than yesterday, it's gates open! at the Belmont again. IOW, it's a tacit admit they in fact wouldn't do the job for free either. So people can spare me the hypocrisy of the 'catharsis' motivator.

Lastly, I find it telling pilot work gets reflexively juxtaposed against an alternative of unskilled labor in the service economy. Weird flex indeed, I'm sure Freud would have plenty to say about that. I do agree with you on that subconscious utterance: most pilots I know don't have the academic endurance to become general surgeons; many can't even muster a ho hum STEM degree. The jokes about Home Depot or DoorDash while furloughed are not without merit either, in fact they are literal in many recent instances.

/devil's adv
 
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I really wanna have a beer or two with you someday. Love to hear you talk in person.
 
I think my AMP/AI charge is about $50 an hour. He is retired and part time, But because he is in the partnership, he charges 2/3 of his usual rate. I am very lucky. I try and take very good care of him.
 
hindsight2020 said:
you are effectively complaining about organized labor
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I'm well aware of that. I've seen the insane waste created by organized labor. But I will not discuss that.

I will say that if I were in a field that a few people charging less were, in reality, actually impacting my pay (I don't for one second believe this is actually true in this case BTW), I'd find a way to stand out in the crowd, or find a new career. Simple as that, problem solved. What I would not do is act like people willing to work for less are somehow doing me harm. That's stupid.

The bottom line is, if there are so many people willing to do your job for less that it makes a difference to you, then the reality is that your job is worth less than you think it is. Period.
 
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So, if I'm doing FAR 43 Appendix A Preventative Maintenance, Who do I pay and how much ? :confused2:
 
MauleSkinner said:
And yet, people have trouble finding a mechanic to work on their airplanes.
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I didnt say it would be adequate. :)

I have trouble sourcing all manner of contractor right now. Restaurant waits are high with a half-empty dining room. Morons are preparing my espresso drinks incorrectly.

I think I could find a willing A&P before a willing plumber. Especially if i am seeking those in a mirror. :D
 
schmookeeg said:
I didnt say it would be adequate. :)

I have trouble sourcing all manner of contractor right now. Restaurant waits are high with a half-empty dining room. Morons are preparing my espresso drinks incorrectly.

I think I could find a willing A&P before a willing plumber. Especially if i am seeking those in a mirror. :D
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And its not just that A&Ps don’t make enough…they don’t make enough because if you paid GA mechanics enough, GA pilots are cheap enough that the demand would fall, and you’d have a surplus.
 
Perhaps the topic should be. “ how much does the A & P / Shop charge for

a common task. ie Mag change on an Archer or 100 Hour on same ?

Corp folks want the red Carpet, lounge and cute receptionist.

Guy with a T- Craft in a barn could care less.

Well; maybe the receptionist!
 
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