Cut progress so far starting weight 172 current weight 148, 30min cardio 4-5x a week 12incline 2-2.3 speed. Diet is ground beef and rice or frozen pasta 23g protein <340cal. Creatine daily. Am I doing something wrong????
I’m curious about pay transparency in the aircraft maintenance field, especially from people who have their A&P and have been in the industry for a few years.
I’m currently working full-time as an unlicensed aircraft/avionics technician at an Air National Guard base. I make about $45/hr, but after taxes, deductions, benefits, etc., my actual take-home ends up being around $60k a year.
I’m working toward getting my A&P, and I’m trying to figure out how much of a financial difference the license can realistically make.
For those willing to share:
A&P or avionics?
Years of experience?
Major airline, regional, MRO, government, defense contractor, etc.?
Hourly rate/base salary?
How much do you actually gross per year with OT?
Roughly how much do you take home?
What state/area are you in?
Is overtime readily available?
Did getting your A&P noticeably increase your earning potential?
I see people talking about $100k–$150k+ in aircraft maintenance, but I’m curious how common that actually is versus people needing a ton of OT to reach those numbers.
At $45/hr without my A&P, I know I’m already in a decent position. I’m mainly trying to determine whether getting licensed and eventually moving to a major airline, defense contractor, or overseas contract position would be a significant jump financially.
Would especially like to hear from anyone who started in military/Guard aircraft maintenance and transitioned to civilian A&P work.
I’m 23 and recently found this community, so I wanted to post where I’m currently at and get some advice from people further along in the process.
My current take-home income is around $4,100/month, or roughly $49k/year after taxes.
Financially, I’ve been able to build up roughly $40,000 between savings and investments/cash reserves.
Earlier this year I started investing pretty aggressively. At one point I had around $25k in the market, primarily spread between:
VOO
QQQ
SCHD
VXUS
Some VTI/VYMI
A smaller crypto position, mainly BTC, with some previous exposure to ETH/SOL
I eventually decided to sell my investments and pull the money back into cash. I made some profit along the way, but now I’m basically reconsidering how I want to deploy the money instead of blindly putting everything back into the market.
My long-term goal is obviously the $1 million net-worth mark, but my nearer-term goal is getting to $100k as quickly as reasonably possible without doing something reckless.
I’m interested in a combination of long-term investing, increasing my income, and eventually owning cash-flowing assets/businesses rather than relying entirely on my paycheck.
For people who were in a similar position in their early 20s: If you were 23 with around $40k saved and ~$49k/year take-home income, what would you focus on next?
Would you prioritize rebuilding the investment portfolio, keeping a larger cash position for opportunities, starting a business, real estate, or putting most of your energy into increasing income first?
Open to criticism/advice. I’m here to learn.
I’m looking for some career advice from people already in the industry.
I’m 23 and have 4 years in the Air National Guard as a C-17 Avionics Systems Craftsman (2A954), including 360+ days on Title 10 active-duty orders (not including my initial technical training/OJT) and have been a full-time Title 32 technician since 2025. My experience includes troubleshooting integrated avionics, flight controls, navigation systems, LRUs, wiring, schematics, BIT diagnostics, oscilloscopes, signal generators, and supporting aircraft generation. I’ve also completed two deployments supporting mission readiness in high-tempo environments.
Current qualifications:
Active DoD Secret Clearance
FCC GROL
FAA General Written – Passed
FAA Powerplant Written – Passed
Airframe Written scheduled soon (working toward full A&P)
My term goal is defense/overseas contracting in the next year but I’m open to civilian aviation as well.
My question is:
Should I start applying now with my military experience, active Secret clearance, GROL, and A&P writtens, or should I wait until I complete my full A&P or even finish an associate’s degree in avionics?
I’m 5’5 started at .5mg weekly this week will be my 3rd week but i started at 158lbs im down to 152 i feel like im losing definition and not gut feel like im losing gains and somehow keeping stomach fat should i hop off and bulk up or stay on?