Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Requires Federal Air Transport certificate and rating for specific aircraft type used. Includes regional, national, and international airline pilots and flight instructors of airline pilots.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Reading Comprehension
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Transportation
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- Geography
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Physics
What the work involves
- Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor.
- Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions.
- Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings.
- Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
- Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers.
- Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed.
- Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
- Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (61% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (32.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (40.9%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Lower on dealing with the public than 53% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 75% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 68% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 92% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very high | Higher on conflict situations than 84% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 68% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 95% of occupations compared | 77% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: very high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 15.52%
- Contact with others about half the time: 1.1%
- Contact with others most of the time: 8.33%
- Constant contact with others: 75.05%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 10.63%
- Fairly important: 15.02%
- Important: 23.86%
- Very important: 30.46%
- Extremely important: 20.04%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 10.54%
- Very important: 24.12%
- Extremely important: 65.33%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 12.14%
- Limited freedom: 0%
- Some freedom: 30.18%
- A lot of freedom: 57.68%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.72%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 3.01%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 17.1%
- Every day: 72.17%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.51%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 20.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.83%
- Every day: 26.49%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 2.2%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 27.84%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 23.24%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 46.71%
- Every day: 0%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.17%
- Fairly serious: 3.37%
- Serious: 12.14%
- Very serious: 0%
- Extremely serious: 77.33%
n = 30, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 53-2011.00 · SOC 53-2011 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8