To help fund the cost of tuition to launch a career as an aviation maintenance technician, Aviation Institute of Maintenance‘s 14 campuses within the United States are providing a limited number of Aviation Ambassador Scholarships for students who graduated from a career and technical education high school program. The Aviation Ambassador Scholarship will be administered via the Trades Workforce Foundation, an organization that seeks to enhance the opportunities of students who wish to enter a career in the trades. Working in the trades requires specialized training; however, it’s commonly much cheaper than a typical 4-year university degree and generally the turnaround time to entering the workforce is a lot quicker. Many aviation technicians can complete their training in less than 2 years. Note what the ATEC 2021 Pipeline report says about tuition costs:

“Tuition costs are not generally seen as a barrier to starting an aviation technical career, given the relatively low cost of A&P programs when compared to income potential. ATEC research and analysis of published tuitions for all AMTS found the average tuition for an A&P program is $16,328, or $17,247 if the training comes with an associate degree. The rates are lower for public community colleges, with average tuition costs of $8,779, or $11,864 when paired with an associate degree. The average time it takes for a student to complete an A&P program is 22 months…”

On average graduates can expect to enter the workforce earning a median salary of $60,000, though that number is likely to increase due to the incredible demand for new technicians. Current projections place the 20-year global shortage of aviation technicians near 800,000 by the year 2041. Stay tuned for more information. If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out to Tim Chernicky at tchernicky@tradesworkforce.org.