Aircraft mechanics are below average when it comes to happiness.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, aircraft mechanics rate their career happiness 3.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 29% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy aircraft mechanics are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Ship engineer | 3.0 | $82k |
| Power plant operator | 3.0 | $81k |
| Auto repair technician | 3.0 | $47k |
| Water engineer | 3.0 | $97k |
| HVAC technician | 3.0 | $49k |
| Aircraft mechanic | 3.0 | $65k |
| Facility maintenance mechanic | 3.0 | $60k |
| Electrician | 3.0 | $60k |
| Elevator mechanic | 2.9 | $98k |
| Rotary drill operator | 2.9 | $56k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are aircraft mechanics happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do aircraft mechanics find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as aircraft mechanics?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are aircraft mechanic’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are aircraft mechanics making the best use of their abilities?
Are aircraft mechanics happy with their salary?
Aircraft mechanics rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.0/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most aircraft mechanics having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked aircraft mechanics how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.0 out of 5 stars
794 aircraft mechanics
13% of aircraft mechanics rated their compensation 5 stars
26% of aircraft mechanics rated their compensation 4 stars
29% of aircraft mechanics rated their compensation 3 stars
19% of aircraft mechanics rated their compensation 2 stars
14% of aircraft mechanics rated their compensation 1 stars
Do aircraft mechanics find their jobs meaningful?
On average, aircraft mechanics rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most aircraft mechanics aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked aircraft mechanics how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
793 aircraft mechanics
15% of aircraft mechanics rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
21% of aircraft mechanics rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
24% of aircraft mechanics rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
20% of aircraft mechanics rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
20% of aircraft mechanics rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as aircraft mechanics?
Aircraft mechanics rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of aircraft mechanics find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked aircraft mechanics how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
858 aircraft mechanics
28% of aircraft mechanics rated their career fit 5 stars
38% of aircraft mechanics rated their career fit 4 stars
22% of aircraft mechanics rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of aircraft mechanics rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of aircraft mechanics rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is an aircraft mechanic’s work environment?
As a whole, aircraft mechanics rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of aircraft mechanics enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an aircraft mechanic.
We asked aircraft mechanics how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
854 aircraft mechanics
22% of aircraft mechanics rated their work environment 5 stars
30% of aircraft mechanics rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of aircraft mechanics rated their work environment 3 stars
15% of aircraft mechanics rated their work environment 2 stars
9% of aircraft mechanics rated their work environment 1 stars
Are aircraft mechanics making the best use of their abilities?
Former aircraft mechanics on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most aircraft mechanics are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked aircraft mechanics how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
852 aircraft mechanics
20% of aircraft mechanics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
22% of aircraft mechanics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
24% of aircraft mechanics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
21% of aircraft mechanics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
14% of aircraft mechanics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars