Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

187k

Average Age

44.1

Average Salary

$145,437

Average Male Salary

$147,944

Average Female Salary

$109,262

About

Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are most often employed by the Air transportation industry. The average yearly wage for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers was $145,437 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aircraft pilots & flight engineers by wage are Personal financial advisors, Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers, and Economists.

Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are part of the Transportation Occupations, along with Supervisors of transportation & material moving workers, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Flight attendants, Ambulance drivers & attendants, except emergency medical technicians, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Santa Rosa County PUMA, FL, Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL, and Dothan City PUMA, AL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL, Fayette County PUMA, GA, and Santa Rosa County PUMA, FL.

Photo by Alexander Mueller

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Aircraft pilots & flight engineers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Air transportation is the industry that employs the most Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by average wage, is Couriers & messengers. Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are paid most in Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Malibu & Westlake Village Cities PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Coffee, Covington, Butler & Crenshaw Counties PUMA, AL.

Yearly Wage

$145,437

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,977

In 2020, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers earned an average of $145,437, $89,483 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Personal financial advisors make somewhat more than Aircraft pilots & flight engineers while Economists make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Aircraft pilots & flight engineers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.365

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.365, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by number of employees, are Air transportation, U. S. Air Force, National security & international affairs, U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, Couriers & messengers, Business, technical & trade schools and training, Other health care services, U. S. Marines, Services incidental to transportation, and Aircraft & parts manufacturing.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by average wage, are Couriers & messengers, Truck transportation, and Other motor vehicle dealers.

Industries by Share

187k

2020 Workforce

± 10,613

5.29%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 7.72%

The number of people employed as Aircraft pilots & flight engineers has been growing at a rate of 5.29%, from 177,700 people in 2019 to 187,095 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers employed by various industries. Air transportation employs the largest share of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers at 61.3%, followed by U. S. Air Force with 7.14% and National security & international affairs with 3.7%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the US. The average age of male Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the workforce is 44.3 and of female Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 41.2, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

175k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 10,264

12.1k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,703

93.5% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Two or More Races (Non-Hispanic)

85.3% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 4.74% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

Age by Sex

44.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.724

41.2

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.88

The median age of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 44.1, and Male employees are generally 3.1 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is Transportation but a relatively high number of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers hold a major in Transportation.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Aircraft pilots & flight engineers need many skills, but most especially Operation and Control. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Aircraft pilots & flight engineers need more than the average amount of Operation and Control, Science, and Operation Monitoring.