Marines · 6273
As a Helicopter Airframes Mechanic, you maintained and repaired complex aircraft systems to exacting airworthiness standards. That transfers directly to civilian aviation maintenance, field service, and aerospace careers—with a clear FAA credential bridge.
There's no one-to-one civilian crosswalk for 6273—the Department of Labor doesn't map a single job title to it. These are the specific civilian roles Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience genuinely maps to: what each pays, what it involves, and why it fits.
$75,020/yr mediantypical $46k–$115k~138K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Diagnose, adjust, repair, or overhaul aircraft engines and assemblies, such as hydraulic and pneumatic systems.
Why it fits: Your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience maps directly onto the aviation & aircraft side of this role.
$77,420/yr mediantypical $47k–$107k~21K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Install, inspect, test, adjust, or repair avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles.
Why it fits: Your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience maps directly onto the maintenance, repair & installation side of this role.
$61,420/yr mediantypical $42k–$86k~413K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems.
Why it fits: Your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience maps directly onto the maintenance, repair & installation side of this role.
$66,680/yr mediantypical $42k–$101k~58K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Repair, test, adjust, or install electronic equipment, such as industrial controls, transmitters, and antennas.
Why it fits: Your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience maps directly onto the maintenance, repair & installation side of this role.
$64,020/yr mediantypical $44k–$97k~39K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, test, or adjust machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
Why it fits: Your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience maps directly onto the engineering & technical design side of this role.
$61,240/yr mediantypical $40k–$93k~30K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
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…
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$39,110/yr mediantypical $32k–$54k~25K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Service aircraft with fuel. May de-ice aircraft, refill water and cooling agents, empty sewage tanks, service air and oxygen systems, or clean and polish exterior.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the transportation & logistics side—a natural next step.
$50,270/yr mediantypical $36k–$72k~48K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: High-school diploma plus short on-the-job training
Construct, assemble, or rebuild machines, such as engines, turbines, and similar equipment used in such industries as construction, extraction, textiles, and paper manufacturing.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the manufacturing & production side—a natural next step.
$77,830/yr mediantypical $50k–$114k~11K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Operate, install, adjust, and maintain integrated computer/communications systems, consoles, simulators, and other data acquisition, test, and measurement instruments and equipment, which are used…
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the engineering & technical design side—a natural next step.
$49,990/yr mediantypical $35k–$74k~23K U.S. jobs
★ Bright Outlook — Rapid growth
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Repair and adjust electrical and mechanical equipment of inboard or inboard-outboard boat engines.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the maintenance, repair & installation side—a natural next step.
$65,080/yr mediantypical $44k–$105k~15K U.S. jobs
Typical entry: Associate degree, apprenticeship, or vocational training
Operate, test, maintain, or adjust unmanned, automated, servomechanical, or electromechanical equipment.
Why it fits: Closely related to your Helicopter Airframes Mechanic occupations on the engineering & technical design side—a natural next step.
Roles selected from the O*NET occupations that fit Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience; the Department of Labor doesn't publish a one-to-one crosswalk for this code. Pay is BLS OEWS (May 2023). See the O*NET crosswalk.
Adjacent and stretch fields where your experience gives you a credible starting point.
$75,020/yr medianAircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (representative)
Why it fits: Aircraft maintenance transfers to civilian airframe/powerplant work.
What it takes: An FAA A&P certificate is required; military experience may support eligibility.
Explore this route →$58,970/yr medianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (representative)
Why it fits: Diagnostics and repair fit field-service roles.
What it takes: OEM/product training.
Explore this route →$45,850/yr medianInspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers (representative)
Why it fits: Inspection discipline supports aerospace production and quality.
What it takes: ASQ credentials help.
Explore this route →$75,020/yr medianAircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (representative)
Why it fits: Platform knowledge supports DoD and contractor roles.
What it takes: Search by airframe; clearance may apply.
Explore this route →$58,970/yr medianBus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists (representative)
Why it fits: Mechanical and hydraulic troubleshooting transfers to industrial equipment.
What it takes: OEM certification helps.
Explore this route →Why it fits: Documented experience supports federal aviation series.
What it takes: Target the specialized experience.
Explore this route →Use the level that reflects what you actually did—not rank alone. Two people with the same code and very different experience should not submit the same résumé.
Lead with hands-on tasks, tools, equipment, qualifications, safety discipline, and the conditions in which you performed. Do not inflate supervisory scope.
Add team leadership, training, inspections, work allocation, quality control, readiness, and the people or assets you directly supervised.
Emphasize multi-team operations, schedules, resource forecasting, safety systems, policy enforcement, advising leaders, and organization-level results.
A translated title isn't enough. These four moves turn Helicopter Airframes Mechanic experience into evidence a civilian hiring manager can act on.
List the systems, vehicles, equipment, and tools you personally operated as Helicopter Airframes Mechanic—plus qualifications, certifications, and the recurring high-stakes tasks you owned.
Marines led, dollar value of equipment you were accountable for, workload, readiness rates, and safety or quality outcomes. Scope beats adjectives.
For any target role, name the license, degree, or software it requires and start now—your GI Bill and credentialing assistance can cover most of it.
Recruiters rarely search “6273.” Search job boards by the equipment, skills, and outcomes above as much as by “Helicopter Airframes Mechanic.”
You don't have to make this jump alone. These programs exist specifically to move service members into civilian careers—most are free, and several pay you while you train.
Train or intern with a civilian employer during your last ~180 days on active duty—at full military pay.
Earn a paycheck while you train for a trade or technical role; USMAP can credit the military training you already have.
Corporate fellowships and hiring events that place transitioning service members and military spouses.
Free career training and nationally recognized certifications for service members, veterans, and spouses.
VA-funded high-tech training (IT, cyber, data, software) that does not touch your GI Bill entitlement.
Free local career centers plus certification and state-by-state license finders for any field.
Registered apprenticeships in the skilled trades—your discipline is the prerequisite.
Maintenance, logistics, and operations pathways that actively recruit veterans.
How to use this: Treat these as targets, not limits. Your exact duties depend on your assignments, so lead with what you actually did—and remember that regulated careers require their own license, certification, or degree.