Commercial Pilots

General Information

Description

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Requires Commercial Pilot certificate. Includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots. Excludes regional, national, and international airline pilots.

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Workplace at a Glance

What you can expect to experience while on the job

  • Responsibility
  • Exposure to job hazards
  • Physical activity
  • Decision making
  • Repetitiveness
  • Level of competition
  • Time pressure

Industry areas

  • Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Job Outlook

Overall employment of airline and commercial pilots is projected to grow 6 percent from 2021 to 2031, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 18,100 openings for airline and commercial pilots are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Salary

Average Salary

Salary

$99,640

Military salary*

$80,508

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State-by-state Salary

Gray states indicate no data available

$130,250
$63,540
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Education

Most Common Education Levels

People in this career achieve this level of education.

  • Bachelor's degree 28%
  • Post-secondary certificate 25%
  • High school 23%
  • Associate's degree 17%
  • Some college 2%
  • Master's degree 2%
  • First professional degree 1%
  • Doctoral degree 0%
  • Post baccalaureate 0%
  • Less than high school 0%
  • Post-doctoral training 0%
  • Post-master's certificate 0%

Related College Majors

Select major to see colleges that offer it

Knowledge

  • Transportation
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Geography
  • Education and Training
  • English Language

Skills at a Glance

Skills helpful in this career

  • Verbal skills
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Equipment operation & maintenance
  • Math & science skills
  • Technology design & control
  • Leadership
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