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Pittsburgh Aviation Maintenance Graduates Secure Jobs Before Ceremony
Npr reported that 54 maintenance students at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics completed FAA A&P certification tests on or just after graduation day in late June 2026. Forty-seven passed on the first attempt, and nearly half had job offers in hand. The school now maintains a waitlist after years of open admission.
Jul 9, 5:00 AM·1m read1 source
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Fifty-four aviation maintenance students at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics completed their final FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification exams on graduation day or the morning after in late June 2026, Npr reported. Forty-seven passed on the first attempt, and the remaining seven were expected to pass within days.
Nearly half of the graduates had already accepted job offers before the cap-and-gown ceremony.
At least 15 employers hired from the class, including American Airlines in Pennsylvania and GE Aerospace in Indiana. Approximately 36 percent of PIA graduates begin at regional carriers such as Envoy, Piedmont or Republic Airways. , had interviews scheduled with contractors and SpaceX in Texas.
The commercial aviation industry will need to hire 123,000 aviation maintenance technicians in North America through 2044, according to Boeing's Pilot and Technician Outlook. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted nearly 161,000 such jobs in 2024.
The median salary for an aviation technician reached $79,140 that year, compared with $49,140 for all U.S. jobs. PIA's program lasts less than two years and costs about $42,000. Four years after graduation, PIA alumni earn a median of $80,825, more than twice the median for other U.S.
Certificate-granting colleges, the Department of Education reported. The school, founded in 1929, graduated 60 students this year in maintenance and electronics programs. Nancy Weaver of Canton, Ohio, accepted an offer from Kalitta Air in Michigan after discovering an interest in sheet metal work.
