Professional Pilot

Alternative Job Titles for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Airbus Captain
• Airline Captain
• Airline Pilot
• Captain
• Check Airman
• Co-Pilot
• Commercial Airline Pilot
• First Officer
• Line Pilot
• Pilot

Job Tasks and Activities for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Arrange maintenance activities.
• Brief crews about flight details, such as destinations, duties, and responsibilities.
• Check passenger and cargo distributions and fuel amounts to ensure that weight and balance specifications are met.
• Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
• Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.
• Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
• Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.
• Confer with flight dispatchers and weather forecasters to keep abreast of flight conditions.
• Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
• Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.
• Coordinate flight control or management activities.
• Direct activities of aircraft crews during flights.
• Evaluate other pilots or pilot-license applicants for proficiency.
• Evaluate performance of applicants, trainees, or employees.
• File instrument flight plans with air traffic control to ensure that flights are coordinated with other air traffic.
• Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists.
• Inspect aircraft or aircraft components.
• Instruct other pilots and student pilots in aircraft operations and the principles of flight.
• Maintain locomotives or other rail equipment in good working condition.
• Make announcements regarding flights, using public address systems.
• Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
• Monitor engine operation or functioning.
• Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
• Monitor equipment gauges or displays to ensure proper operation.
• Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed.
• Monitor work environment to ensure safety or adherence to specifications.
• Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
• Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
• Perform minor maintenance work, or arrange for major maintenance.
• Pilot aircraft.
• Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports.
• Plan flight operations.
• Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
• Record in log books information, such as flight times, distances flown, and fuel consumption.
• Record operational details of travel.
• Report vehicle or equipment malfunctions.
• Resolve issues affecting transportation operations.
• Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions.
• Respond to transportation emergencies.
• Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
• Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers.
• Test performance of aircraft equipment.
• Train transportation or material moving personnel.
• Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor.
• Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings.

Interests for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Realistic
  Designing, building, or repairing equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors.
• Conventional
  Following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting.
• Enterprising
  Managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations.

Skills for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

In order of importance

• Operation and Control
  Using equipment or systems.
  Importance: 97/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 91/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 78/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 78/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 78/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 75/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 72/100
• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 72/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 69/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 69/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 66/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 66/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 56/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 56/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 56/100
• Troubleshooting
  Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
  Importance: 53/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 53/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 53/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 53/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 50/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 50/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 47/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 47/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 44/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 44/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 41/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 28/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 22/100
• Equipment Maintenance
  Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
  Importance: 19/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 16/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 16/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 13/100
• Repairing
  Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
  Importance: 3/100

Knowledge for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

In order of importance

• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 95/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 73/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 68/100
• Public Safety and Security
  Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Importance: 68/100
• Geography
  Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
  Importance: 68/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 60/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 59/100
• Physics
  Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
  Importance: 58/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 57/100
• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Importance: 53/100
• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Importance: 53/100
• Engineering and Technology
  Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  Importance: 47/100
• Psychology
  Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  Importance: 46/100
• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Importance: 41/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 37/100
• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  Importance: 22/100
• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  Importance: 21/100
• Chemistry
  Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  Importance: 20/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 19/100
• Administrative
  Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  Importance: 17/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 15/100
• Philosophy and Theology
  Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  Importance: 10/100
• Therapy and Counseling
  Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  Importance: 10/100
• Medicine and Dentistry
  Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  Importance: 9/100
• Foreign Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
  Importance: 8/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 8/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 8/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 7/100
• Building and Construction
  Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
  Importance: 5/100
• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  Importance: 4/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 2/100

Physical Abilities for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

In order of importance

• Response Orientation
  Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
  Importance: 97/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 94/100
• Control Precision
  Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
  Importance: 91/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 81/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 81/100
• Reaction Time
  Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
  Importance: 81/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 78/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 78/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 78/100
• Rate Control
  Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
  Importance: 78/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 75/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 75/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 75/100
• Spatial Orientation
  Knowing where things are around you.
  Importance: 75/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 75/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 75/100
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  Keeping your arm or hand steady.
  Importance: 75/100
• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 75/100
• Multilimb Coordination
  Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
  Importance: 75/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 75/100
• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 75/100
• Peripheral Vision
  Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
  Importance: 72/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 69/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 69/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 69/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 66/100
• Glare Sensitivity
  Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
  Importance: 66/100
• Manual Dexterity
  Holding or moving items with your hands.
  Importance: 63/100
• Night Vision
  Seeing at night or under low light.
  Importance: 60/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 60/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 60/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 56/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 56/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 53/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 53/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 53/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 53/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 50/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 50/100
• Sound Localization
  Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
  Importance: 47/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 47/100
• Speed of Limb Movement
  Quickly moving your arms and legs.
  Importance: 44/100
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
  Importance: 44/100
• Extent Flexibility
  Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  Importance: 38/100
• Static Strength
  Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
  Importance: 28/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 28/100
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  Keeping your balance or staying upright.
  Importance: 25/100
• Dynamic Strength
  Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
  Importance: 22/100
• Gross Body Coordination
  Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
  Importance: 19/100
• Stamina
  Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
  Importance: 16/100
• Explosive Strength
  Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
  Importance: 13/100

Tools and Technology used by Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Aerospace cockpit display panels
• Aerospace head up display HUDs
• Aircraft anti skid controls
• Aircraft braking systems
• Aircraft communication systems
• Aircraft cooling fans
• Aircraft drag chutes
• Aircraft environment controllers
• Aircraft escape or ejection systems
• Aircraft fire control or extinguishing systems
• Aircraft fuel management systems
• Aircraft guidance systems
• Aircraft hydraulic systems
• Aircraft navigation beacons
• Aircraft onboard defrosting or defogging systems
• Aircraft oxygen equipment
• Aircraft power supply units
• Aircraft steering controls
• Aircraft warning systems
• Desktop computers
• Fire extinguishers
• Flight computer systems
• Landing gear assemblies
• Notebook computers
• Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
• Pneumatic aircraft accumulators
• Point plotting recorders
• Analytical or scientific software
  • Pilot Navigator Software Load Balance
• Calendar and scheduling software
  • SBS International Maestro Suite
• Data base user interface and query software
  • AirSmith FlightPrompt
  • Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC
  • CoPilot Flight Planning & E6B
  • Electronic aircraft information databases
  • MJICCS PilotLog
  • Nimblefeet Technologies Captain's Keeper
  • Polaris Microsystems AeroLog Pro
  • Polaris Microsystems CharterLog
  • RMS Technology Flitesoft
  • Skylog Services Skylog Pro
  • doXstor Flight Level Logbook
• Electronic mail software
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Information retrieval or search software
  • AeroPlanner
  • Notam Development Group Airport Insight
• Object or component oriented development software
  • Document Object Model DOM Scripting
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Process mapping and design software
  • Microsoft Visio
• Route navigation software
  • IFT-Pro
  • Navzilla
• Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel
• Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word

Employment Industries for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Scheduled air transportation
  82,400 employed
• Couriers and express delivery services
  4,400 employed
• Federal government, excluding postal service
  3,000 employed
• Support activities for air transportation
  1,900 employed