Avionics Technician
Snapshot
Avionics technicians install, test, inspect and adjust electrical and electronic equipment, such as navigation, communication and flight control systems in aircrafts and spacecrafts. They carry out maintenance and repair work. They perform functional tests, diagnose problems and take corrective action.
Avionics technicians play a vital role in the aviation and space industries. Your daily work involves a combination of hands-on troubleshooting, precise adjustments, and rigorous testing. You'll be working with complex navigation, communication, and flight control systems, ensuring they meet stringent safety standards. This requires a strong understanding of electrical and electronic principles and meticulous attention to detail.
- • Installing and configuring avionics equipment, including navigation, communication, and flight control systems.
- • Performing routine inspections and preventative maintenance on aircraft and spacecraft electronic systems.
- • Diagnosing and repairing faults using diagnostic tools and technical manuals.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Electrical and electronic trades workers — 42 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia and 8 more.
Longest-running shortage: Norway, 4 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $82,280 2025-05 | +8.2% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +19.2% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Shortage reported Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
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Future Outlook for avionics technician
The outlook for avionics technician reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could avionics technician change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- wear appropriate protective gear
- apply health and safety standards
- apply soldering techniques
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- read standard blueprints
- read engineering drawings
- assemble electrical components
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Supply Chain & Transportation
A typical day as an avionics technician
09 09:00 · Morning read engineering drawings
10 10:30 · Mid-morning apply health and safety standards
12 12:00 · Midday apply soldering techniques
14 14:00 · Afternoon assemble electrical components
15 15:30 · Late afternoon install electrical and electronic equipment
17 17:00 · Wrap-up operate soldering equipment
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
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apply soldering techniques
Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of soldering, such as soft soldering, silver soldering, induction soldering, resistance soldering, pipe soldering, mechanical and aluminium soldering.
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solder electronics
Operate and use soldering tools and soldering iron, which supply high temperatures to melt the solder and to join electronic components.
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operate soldering equipment
Use soldering equipment to melt and join together pieces of metal or steel, such as a soldering gun, soldering torch, gas-powered iron, and others.
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wear appropriate protective gear
Wear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.
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apply health and safety standards
Adhere to standards of hygiene and safety established by respective authorities.
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read standard blueprints
Read and comprehend standard blueprints, machine, and process drawings.
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read engineering drawings
Read the technical drawings of a product made by the engineer in order to suggest improvements, make models of the product or operate it.
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troubleshoot
Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.
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assemble electrical components
Assemble switches, electrical controls, circuit boards and other electrical components by using hand and soldering equipment.
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install electrical and electronic equipment
Install equipment which is dependent on electric currents or electromagnetic fields in order to work, or equipment to generate, transfer or measure such currents and fields. This equipment includes switchboards, electric motors, generators or direct current systems.
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test electronic units
Test electronic units using appropriate equipment. Gather and analyse data. Monitor and evaluate system performance and take action if needed.
aircraft flight control systems
The setting, features and operation of aircraft flight control systems such as flight control surfaces, cockpit controls, connections, and operating mechanisms required to control the flight direction of an aircraft.
common aviation safety regulations
The body of legislation and regulations that apply to the field of civil aviation at regional, national, European and International levels.
electrical systems used in transportation
The functioning of electrical systems, their specifications, and application in operations and systems for the transportation of freight and people.
electronics principles
The study of electric energy, more specifically electron, control and its prominent principles regarding integrated circuits and electrical systems.
engineering processes
The systematic approach to the development and maintenance of engineering systems.
- electrical engineering
- electrical wiring plans
- electricity
- electronics
- CAD software
- CADD software
- CAE software
Path to become an avionics technician
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Upper secondary education
1,907 programmes in 30 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 530 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Kouvolan Ammattiopisto Eduko · Finland
BEng in Aviation Technology
Technological University Dublin · Ireland
Higher Certificate in Engineering in Aircraft Systems
South East Technological University · Ireland
Master of Engineering (Applied Research) - [Electrical]
Engineering Institute of Technology Pty Ltd · Australia
Unitec Institute of Technology · New Zealand
Electronic Fundamentals in Security Technology (Electrical and Electronic Systems Maintenance)
Singapore
These are 6 of 2,437.
Sources
- 1. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 2. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 3. Source: Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Education), CRICOS, data.gov.au, CC BY 2.5 AU. Data as at 01/09/2026. Adapted by NexPath.
- 4. Source: Study with New Zealand (studywithnewzealand.govt.nz), Education New Zealand. Copyright in the material is owned by Education New Zealand (All content (c) Education New Zealand). Listings are provided by the education providers, are for information and promotional purposes only, and are not endorsed by Education New Zealand; each provider is responsible for its own content.
- 5. Contains information from MySkillsFuture Course Run accessed on 2026-09-28 from data.gov.sg which is made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0 (https://data.gov.sg/open-data-licence)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does avionics technician fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of training is required to become an avionics technician?
Are there specific safety regulations I need to be aware of?
What are the working conditions like for an avionics technician?
How much does Avionics Technician pay in the United States?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data