“What is the difference between an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and an Aircraft Maintenance Technician?”

Many people seem to be confused about these terms, and I’ve even seen this particular question cause arguments on forums. Many times these arguments are between an “aircraft maintenance technician” working in one country and an “aircraft maintenance engineer” working in another country, with the argument usually centered around which individual “is more educated,” “does more important work,” or is just “better” than the other.

I’ve even seen both sides get angry because their titles weren’t being capitalized, instead being written in lowercase as I wrote them in the last paragraph!

When it comes to working as an “aircraft mechanic” (the general term that many people use to describe individuals who work on aircraft in the United States), there can be a lot of confusion not only for people who already work in this industry, but also (and especially) people who don’t work in this industry.

I think most of this confusion comes from the fact that there is SO much info and different terminology to take in when it comes to this career, the career of “aircraft maintenance.” Or is that “aviation maintenance”...?

The reason there is so much varying information is because aviation, including aircraft and the people who work on them, is not governed by one single organization. Each country abides by a particular aviation authority or similar type of organization or agency.

For example, in the United States the governing organization is the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. Sometimes in the U.S., aircraft mechanics are known as Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, or AMTs. But this isn’t always the case. Some companies, like the company I’m working for at the moment, don’t use the term “Aircraft Maintenance Technician.” Where I work now, I’m just known as an “A&P” or “A&P mechanic.”

Sometimes “AMT” will stand for “Aviation Maintenance Technician,” instead of “Aircraft Maintenance Technician.”

Confused yet? Don’t worry, it gets more confusing! But have no fear, I will clear all of this mess up very shortly...

In other countries around the world, other aviation authorities oversee aircraft maintenance. In many of these countries, the term used to describe a person who works on aircraft is “Aircraft Maintenance Engineer,” or “AME.”

But again, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes companies just use the term “Aircraft Engineer,” or even just “Engineer.” And some companies don’t use these terms at all, and instead just call their “AMEs” “aircraft mechanics.” Or do they call their “aircraft mechanics” “AMEs”...?

Here’s a short list of the common general titles given to individuals who service and maintain aircraft throughout the world:

• Aircraft Engineer

• Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

• Aircraft Maintenance Technician

• Aircraft Mechanic

• Aircraft Technician

• Aviation Engineer

• Aviation Maintenance Engineer

• Aviation Maintenance Technician

• Aviation Mechanic

• Aviation Technician

• Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

Most people who don’t know much about this industry usually just say “airplane mechanic” or “helicopter mechanic.”

Here’s the deal:

Most of the time all of these different terms are interchangeable. For example, and going back to the original question, an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer usually does the exact same type of work as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician.

The path to becoming an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer might be a bit different than the path to becoming an Aircraft Maintenance Technician, but when it’s all said and done and both individuals have completed the journey, they’ll most likely be doing the exact same type of work, even though they’ll each have a different title.

The answer you’ve been searching for...

So, the simple answer to the question—

“What is the difference between an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer and an Aircraft Maintenance Technician?”

—is that there is no difference when it comes to the work one or the other accomplishes.

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