Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$65,380

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$58,600 – $83,410

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

34,020

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-5.6%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

3,100

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Assemble, fit, fasten, and install parts of airplanes, space vehicles, or missiles, such as tails, wings, fuselage, bulkheads, stabilizers, landing gear, rigging and control equipment, or heating and ventilating systems.

Main tasks

• Read blueprints, illustrations, or specifications to determine layouts, sequences of operations, or identities or relationships of parts.
• Inspect or test installed units, parts, systems, or assemblies for fit, alignment, performance, defects, or compliance with standards, using measuring instruments or test equipment.
• Assemble parts, fittings, or subassemblies on aircraft, using layout tools, hand tools, power tools, or fasteners, such as bolts, screws, rivets, or clamps.
• Mark identifying information on tubing or cable assemblies, using etching devices, labels, rubber stamps, or other methods.
• Adjust, repair, rework, or replace parts or assemblies to ensure proper operation.
• Attach brackets, hinges, or clips to secure or support components or subassemblies, using bolts, screws, rivets, chemical bonding, or welding.
• Assemble prefabricated parts to form subassemblies.
• Clean aircraft structures, parts, or components, using aqueous, semi-aqueous, aliphatic hydrocarbon, or organic solvent cleaning products or techniques to reduce carbon or other harmful emissions.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

High school diploma or equivalent

Training once hired: moderate-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 1–2

Little to some preparation

Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 3 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Engine and Other Machine Assemblers

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• Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters

  $51,330 median · -6.2% projected

• Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic

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• Avionics Technicians

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• Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians

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• Sheet Metal Workers

  $61,800 median · +2.5% projected