What is the job of airplane avionics technician?

An avionics technicians job varies depending on the type of shop they work at. There are bench techs that are generally located in a repair facility away from an airport. These technicians work on the internals of avionics equipment from aircraft. They work on everything from faulty radiOS to ELT's to the phones in aircraft. They are a low cost alternative to paying for new equipment. Usually they are working at the component level of testing and repairing.

There are line maintenance technicians who work at FBO's (fixed base operations) at airports. These guys (or girls) do upgrades, installs and repairs to equipment. This type of job varies depending on the employer and type of aircraft they service. General Aviation aircraft is a different game than Commercial aircraft. In GA there are a lot of upgrades that are done like changing an aircraft over from steam gauges to the new modern "glass cockpit" or installing GPS equipment and antennas. The same goes for Commercial, however, there is a lot more "box swapping".

All of the jobs in the avionics field require a deep understanding of electronic component and how they operate. Most jobs require a degree and licenses. As of right now there are four major licenses that employers look for: NCATT, FCC elements 1,3 & 8. If you would like to know more about avionics and the jobs performed I would recommend checking out

www.aea.net it is a representative group for avionics technicians. The site gives great information about the job, including scholarships and job postings. That way you can get a better feel for avionics as a whole.