Civil Aviation Engineers and Technicians

How to become an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 民用航空器维修与适航工程技术人员

Develops and applies maintenance techniques for civil aircraft and manages their initial and continuing airworthiness.

Main tasks

Drawing up aircraft maintenance programmes and plans for additions, modifications and major special repairs
Researching and analysing major and recurring faults and organising their repair
Carrying out pre flight, post flight, transit and routine checks on civil aircraft
Taking apart, inspecting, reassembling and testing aircraft systems and connectors
Inspecting, repairing and replacing aircraft structural parts
Maintaining, repairing and modifying civil aircraft
Inspecting, dismantling, repairing, reassembling and testing parts and accessories removed from aircraft
Supervising and checking the initial and continuing airworthiness and operational safety of aircraft
Carrying out applied research and technical development in maintenance and airworthiness
Applying for aircraft nationality registration certificates, airworthiness certificates and export airworthiness certificates

Ways in

University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Aerospace Engineering (0820); Materials Science and Engineering (0804); majors such as Composite Materials and Engineering, Composite Materials Forming Engineering, Aircraft Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Physics, Materials Chemistry. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aerospace Composite Forming and Processing Technology (430604). Vocational major 430604 Aerospace Composite Forming and Processing Technology (航空复合材料成型与加工技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Aero Engine Maintenance Technology (260603). Vocational major 260603 Aero Engine Maintenance Technology (航空动力装置维修技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Aero Engine Repair.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology (260602). Vocational major 260602 Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology (飞行器维修工程技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Aircraft Riveting and Assembly.
National qualification: Licence to practise: Aviation Personnel Licence. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Aviation Personnel Licence (航空人员资格), run by Civil Aviation Administration of China. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥79,500 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥55,200 to CN¥123,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥192,300.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥116,181 a year (2025), middle half CN¥77,050 to CN¥175,622.
This is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Engineering and Technical Personnel holds 2.35% of everyone employed in China; 17.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.9% are under 35, 45.1% are 35 to 54 and 6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aerospace Composite Forming and Processing Technology (430604); Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Aero Engine Maintenance Technology (260603).

How much does an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥79,500 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Engineering and Technical Personnel. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥116,181 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026