Aircraft pilots & flight engineers

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2019 Workforce

209k

Average Age

44.4

Average Salary

$148,010

Average Male Salary

$151,812

Average Female Salary

$86,789

About

Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are most often employed by the Air transportation industry. The average yearly wage for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers was $148,010 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Aircraft pilots & flight engineers by wage are Actuaries, Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers, and Personal financial advisors.

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 Escambia County (South) PUMA, FL, Enid City PUMA, OK, and Fayette County PUMA, GA. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are Enid City PUMA, OK, Fayette County PUMA, GA, and Escambia County (South) PUMA, FL.

Photo by Alexander Mueller

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations Transportation & Material Moving Occupations Transportation Occupations

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 Fulton County (Central)Atlanta City (North) PUMA, GA but are relatively concentrated in Enid City PUMA, OK.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$148,010

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,801

In 2019, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers earned an average of $148,010, $92,486 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Petroleum, mining & geological engineers, including mining safety engineers make somewhat more than Aircraft pilots & flight engineers while Actuaries 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

0.379

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.379, 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.

Industries

Most Common

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

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, by average wage, are Couriers & messengers, Farming, and Air transportation.

Industries by Share

209k

2019 Workforce

± 11,216

12.1%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 6.97%

The number of people employed as Aircraft pilots & flight engineers has been growing at a rate of 12.1%, from 186,435 people in 2018 to 208,995 people in 2019.

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 59.8%, followed by U. S. Air Force with 8.98% and U. S. Navy with 3.69%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the US. The average age of male Aircraft pilots & flight engineers in the workforce is 44.5 and of female Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 42.4, and the most common race/ethnicity for Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

197k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 10,884

12.2k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,714

94.2% 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)

86.4% of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 5.22% 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

44.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.699

42.4

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.46

The median age of Aircraft pilots & flight engineers is 44.4, and Male employees are generally 2.07 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.