Engineering & technical · Analyzing & Problem-solving
Aircraft maintenance engineer: what the job actually is
Inspecting, repairing and signing off aircraft as safe to fly, where your signature is the legal point of the job.
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The work
What this job actually is
- Maintaining, inspecting and repairing aircraft: airframes, engines, propellers, structures and electronic systems. Job Bank says those who sign maintenance releases and certify airworthiness need an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer licence issued by Transport Canada.
- The licence is federal, not provincial. Transport Canada lists the categories as M1, M2, E (avionics), S (structures) and balloons, and each is its own licence with its own training and exams.
- The work is procedural. You follow manuals, record every action, and sign for what you did. Writing it down properly is as important as doing it.
- Inspections and troubleshooting are the daily bread: finding a crack, a leak or a faulty system before it matters.
- Aircraft work is schedule-driven. An aircraft on the ground costs money, and maintenance often happens overnight or in hangars at odd hours.
A Tuesday
What a normal day looks like
Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.
- 6:00 — Shift handover. Read what was done and what is open on the aircraft in the hangar.
- 6:20 — Plan the day's tasks against the manual and the work cards.
- 7:00 — Open an access panel and inspect a system against the checklist, with a torch and a mirror.
- 9:00 — Find a worn component, replace it with a part whose paperwork you check first, and torque it to specification.
- 10:30 — Break. A call comes in about another aircraft that needs a fault looked at.
- 11:00 — Troubleshoot: follow the fault procedure step by step, test, and rule out.
- 12:30 — Lunch.
- 13:00 — Record the work: what was done, which parts, which manual reference.
- 14:30 — An inspector or a licensed engineer reviews your work before it is signed off.
- 15:30 — Handover notes for the next shift, written so nothing is assumed.
Honestly
Who loves this, and who should not do it
The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.
- You like following a rigorous procedure and are comfortable being accountable for a signature.
- You like working out faults in complex systems and then fixing them properly.
- You enjoy aircraft and being around them, including the dull bits.
- You can pay close attention for long stretches, including to paperwork.
- You are willing to put in years of training and logged experience for a licence.
- Documentation bores you. The record of the work is part of the work, and a missing entry is a serious problem.
- You do not want to wait. Transport Canada says you must be at least 21 for the licence, and experience requirements run for years.
- Hangars, ramps and flight lines in weather and at night would wear you down.
- The weight of the signature worries you. If you certify something, you answer for it.
- You dislike being checked and re-checked. Aviation builds in oversight on purpose.
The route in
How you actually get there in Ontario
Understand the licence first
Transport Canada's categories are M1, M2, E, S and balloons. For each of the four main categories the minimum age is 21 and the page lists required exams: for M1 and M2 they are Airframe, Powerplant, Standard Practices and Regulations; for E, Avionics, Standard Practices and Regulations; for S, Structures, Standard Practices and Regulations.Complete approved basic training
Transport Canada lists 1,000 hours of theory for M1 and M2, 1,000 hours of electronics for E, and 550 hours of structures for S. Job Bank says a college diploma in aircraft maintenance or a four-year apprenticeship is usually required, and several years of on-the-job training.Log the experience
Transport Canada lists 48 months total experience for M1, M2 and E, with 12 months in the specialty and 6 months in civil aviation. For S it lists 36 months total, 24 months in the specialty and 6 months civil.Pass the exams and apply
You also need to pass the technical and regulatory exams and submit the licence application with documentation. Check Transport Canada's page for the current process before you plan.
Where this comes from: Transport Canada — Canadian AME licensing general information · Job Bank — Aircraft mechanics and inspectors: requirements in Ontario
The money
What it pays in Ontario
Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.
- $22.00
- Low (hourly)
- $38.00
- Median (hourly)
- $52.66
- High (hourly)
Ontario, NOC 72404. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.
Source: Job Bank — Aircraft maintenance engineer wages in Ontario
Where it is heading
The outlook for the next three years
Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.
Good4 out of 5 stars
- Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
- Several positions will become available due to retirements.
- There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.
What is changing in this work
- Significant investments in the aerospace cluster
- Steady improvement in the level of global air travel
- Demand for aircraft mechanics and inspectors in defence services depends on military spending
Who hires for it
- Airlines and support services such as repair, maintenance, and inspection
- Aerospace product and parts manufacturers
- Federal government defence services
- 7,200
- people work in this job in Ontario
- 5%
- are women (48% across all jobs)
Source: Job Bank — Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors job prospects in Ontario (NOC 72404). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.
Before you leave school
Things you can do now
- Take physics, maths and technology courses. Aviation maintenance is applied physics and careful reading.
- Ask whether your school or board offers an aviation or aerospace programme, or a visit to one. We did not verify specific programmes, so ask your guidance counsellor.
- Visit a local airport or flying club on an open day and ask what the maintenance people do.
- Read the requirements on Transport Canada's page and write down which category would interest you and why.
Test it
Do this before you decide anything
Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.
Read a real maintenance procedure and see if you can stay with it
About 60 minutes- Find a free video of an aircraft inspection or a walk-around being done to a checklist. Follow along with the checklist order.
- Read the Transport Canada AME licence page and write down, in your own words, the difference between M, E and S.
- Do a careful record-keeping task at home: write down every step of a routine chore in order, with a time, as if someone had to sign it.
- Phone or email a local flight school or airport maintenance shop and ask what a new maintenance trainee should know first.
What it tells you. If following the checklist and writing it down felt satisfying and the licence rules made you want to know more, the careful, accountable style may suit you. If the records felt like a waste of time, that attitude is the one aviation is built to catch.
Better than any article
Questions for somebody who does this job
Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.
- “Which licence category do you hold and why did you choose it?”
- “How did you get your logged experience?”
- “What does it feel like to sign off an aircraft?”
- “What is the most tedious part of the job, and why is it necessary?”
- “What are the shift patterns like?”
- “What would you tell someone who is 16 and interested in aviation maintenance?”
Could you own one of these?
The part other career sites never mention
Sometimes. Licensed engineers can work as contractors or run small maintenance operations, but doing maintenance for others is tightly regulated and needs the right licences and approvals, and we have not verified the details here. Treat it as a later stage after years of experience, not a starting plan.
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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.