Occupation salary profile

Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

SOC 17-3021 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used to launch, track, position, and evaluate air and space vehicles. May record and interpret test data.

National median · BLS
$82,890
▲ +3.83% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$102,066
▲ +26.63% YoY · 15 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$91,310
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
11,280
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 15 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$59,050$97,365
25th$67,680$97,365
Median (50th)$82,890$102,066
75th$111,280$115,357
90th — top pay$125,160$121,643
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $102,066 for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians — 23.1% above the BLS national median of $82,890.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

BLS projects employment of aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians to grow 11.9% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 1,100 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
11,600 → 12,900
+1,400 jobs
Projected change
+11.9%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
1,100
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.2% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 3)
Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need an associate's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $102,066
Change vs prior year +26.63%
After inflation (CPI-U) +22.79%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level IV 13 86.7% $97,365 $102,066 $115,440
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

The 1 most-filed job titles inside SOC 17-3021, from 15 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer 10 66.67% $97,365 $97,552 $100,984 —

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Operations Monitoring3.8
  • Quality Control Analysis3.8
  • Reading Comprehension3.8
  • Active Listening3.6
  • Speaking3.6
  • Complex Problem Solving3.5
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Troubleshooting3.3
  • Monitoring3.1
Top knowledge areas
  • Mechanical4.5
  • Engineering and Technology4.3
  • Mathematics3.9
  • Production and Processing3.8
  • Customer and Personal Service3.7
  • English Language3.4
  • Administrative3.4
  • Physics3.3
Software and technology used
Apache HadoopAtlassian JIRAAutodesk AutoCADC++Dassault Systemes SolidWorksExtensible markup language XMLJavaScriptJUnitLinuxMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft SQL ServerMicrosoft Visio

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What aerospace engineering and operations technologists and technicians do

  • Test aircraft systems under simulated operational conditions, performing systems readiness tests and pre- and post-operational checkouts, to establish design or fabrication parameters.
  • Identify required data, data acquisition plans, and test parameters, setting up equipment to conform to these specifications.
  • Inspect, diagnose, maintain, and operate test setups and equipment to detect malfunctions.
  • Confer with engineering personnel regarding details and implications of test procedures and results.
  • Operate and calibrate computer systems and devices to comply with test requirements and to perform data acquisition and analysis.
  • Record and interpret test data on parts, assemblies, and mechanisms.
  • Adjust, repair, or replace faulty components of test setups and equipment.
  • Fabricate and install parts and systems to be tested in test equipment, using hand tools, power tools, and test instruments.
Also called
Engineering TechnicianInstrumentation TechnicianSystems Test TechnicianTest TechnicianAvionics Installation TechnicianAvionics Test TechnicianEngineering Test TechnicianFlight Test Instrument Technician
More job titles for this occupation (20)
AerographerAerospace AssemblerAerospace Engineering TechnologistAerospace MechanicAerospace Operations TechnologistAerospace Physiological TechnicianAerospace TechnicianAircraft Research MechanicAltitude Chamber TechnicianData Acquisition TechnicianEngineering SpecialistFlight Data TechnicianFlight Readiness TechnicianFlight TechnicianFlight Test Data Acquisition TechnicianResearch MechanicTest Equipment MechanicTest SpecialistWind Tunnel MechanicWind Tunnel Technician

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.