PITTSBURGH — As one graduate after another crosses the stage, cheers and applause ring out, a ritual that celebrates hard work and points to the future.
For graduates in aviation maintenance at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, it's a literal transition: After shifting their tassels and hugging their parents, they head to a nearby building for one last test.
"Every one of the 54 Maintenance students took their final test graduation day or the morning after," says Derek Vrabel, the student services coordinator at PIA.
The test isn't for a class grade. It's to earn the Federal Aviation Administration's Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certification for mechanics to work on plane airframes and engines. The coveted credential offers a foothold in an industry eager for new hires: Even before putting on their cap and gown in late June, nearly half of the graduates had already locked in new jobs, while others were narrowing down their choices. Options range from small regional airlines to loftier aspirations.
"I do have a couple of interviews next week with a couple of contractors, and SpaceX in Texas," says class salutatorian Jon Wojcik, from Buffalo, N.Y. "I'd be applying my airframe skills for that, for the assembly of Starship rockets."
As for how the new graduates did on the series of oral, practical and written exams that make up the test, Vrabel says 47 of them succeeded on their first attempt. He expects the remaining seven to pass in the coming days.
How do aviation jobs stack up?
Students have long groaned at adults' questions about what they'll do after graduation. But few grads have faced as many challenges as the current crop, such as disruptions from remote work, fears of a K-shaped economy, and the spread of AI.
Aviation maintenance is a rare bright spot against that grim backdrop, a field of skilled physical labor that needs a new generation of workers.
"There's a shortage for both pilots and mechanics," Wojcik says. "All these people are retiring, I think the average age is 57, of mechanics."
The commercial aviation industry will need to hire 123,000 aviation maintenance technicians in North America through 2044, according to a forecast in Boeing 's widely cited Pilot and Technician Outlook. Compare that to nearly 161,000 U.S. jobs in the field as of 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Many of the awaiting jobs promise good wages. The median salary for an aviation technician was $79,140 in 2024, according to federal data. That's $30,000 above the median wages for all jobs — quite a leap for a program that takes less than two years to complete and costs about $42,000 at PIA.
'I want to do hands-on'
"I've wanted to do this since I was about 6 years old," says PIA student Kira Friedel of Indiana, Pa., who's halfway through the aviation maintenance program. Friedel says her father's interest in history and World War II led to lots of museum visits -- where she peppered technicians with questions about how they restored vintage planes.
Learning about schools like PIA during a college fair at her high school was a revelation and fed into her love for shop work, Friedel says. So when she graduated last year, she headed to Pittsburgh.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, I want to do this.' I knew college wasn't my thing, but I want to do hands-on, definitely."
"I'm the first person in my family right now that's in a trade school," Friedel says. "My dad does IT and my mom's a nurse."
Other students switched to aviation after studying somewhere else. There's a handful of veterans among the grads. And some are using trade school to trade careers. That includes Nancy Weaver.
"I graduated a while back for film, and then I decided it wasn't for me," she says.
At her new school, Weaver found that handling sheet metal was, well … riveting.
"I was expecting to like working on engines, but I really like doing the sheet metal," Weaver says moments after she graduated.
The Canton, Ohio, native has a job offer in hand from Kalitta Air in Michigan. She says she originally wanted to be closer to home but now wants to branch out.
"I mean, after all, I'm working in aircraft. Why not just hop on a plane and go back when I need to?" she says.
Seeing a positive return on students' investment
PIA was founded in 1929; the 60 graduates this year focused on two main programs: maintenance and electronics.
The program combines classroom theory along with practical work on machinery and a fleet of older planes used for practice at an air field on Pittsburgh's outskirts.
The class of 2026 is one of PIA's largest. At least 15 employers, from American Airlines in Pennsylvania to GE Aerospace in Indiana, have already snapped up new graduates. And many new hires will likely continue to move around, according to PIA Executive Vice President Steven Sabold.
"Approximately 36% of our graduates end up starting their first job in a regional air carrier like Envoy, Piedmont, Republic Airways," he says. "And then after two or three years, [they] move on and work with a major air carrier."
There are about 220 aviation mechanic schools around the country, according to the FAA. They range from specialized schools like PIA to programs at community colleges, which usually cost less, and at universities.
Data from the U.S. Department of Education puts the cost of attending PIA at well above the mid-point for U.S. certificate-level colleges. But the agency's College Scorecard also reports that, four years after graduating, PIA's graduates earn a median of $80,825 — more than twice the wages of other certificate-granting colleges.
As with other colleges and universities, PIA students can use the standard federal application, or FAFSA, to find financial aid and scholarships. Some also use money they've saved or rely on part-time jobs.
New graduate Benjamin Soto says that to get by, he used a mix of scholarships and savings from his former job in commercial electricity.
"It might not have been, you know, the most luxurious thing," he says. "I only spent like $100 every week on my groceries, but it lasted me through the whole two years, with some help from my parents."
A massive spike in student interest
Although U.S. demand for aviation technicians outpaced supply for years, the labor shortage hasn't garnered as many headlines as others in aviation, for pilots and air traffic controllers.
"Five, ten years ago, our biggest struggle was awareness" among prospective students, says Sabold, who joined PIA in 2005. Now, he says, "we've gone so far past that, we can't accept all of the applicants that we're getting."
Until recently, the school admitted any student who qualified, using criteria such as a high school diploma or GED, along with math and problem-solving assessments. Now PIA has a waitlist.
Other trade schools and community colleges are reporting similar spikes in interest, as more students look for alternatives to four-year universities.
Citing capacity concerns, Sabold has advice for anyone considering a trade school like his.
"The awareness is shifting," he says. "So now, if you're interested in it, jump on it."
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