Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Occupation · SOC 53-2011.00
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.
Also called: Airline Captain · Captain · First Officer (FO) · Pilot · Airbus Captain · Airline Pilot · Check Airman · Co-Pilot · Commercial Airline Pilot · Line Pilot · Air Force Pilot · Aircraft Captain
Job family: Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-53-2011-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+3.9% by 2034)
- 11,700 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $226,600/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
39th-percentile task overlap — yet about 11,700 openings a year (+3.9% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 43rd | -0.2 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 50th | 0.6 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 31st | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.4), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.2 · 33rd percentile among occupations · Low
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports. | 0.3% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +3.9% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 11,700 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 100,000 → 103,900 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers sits at the 51st percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
27% mean task exposure (2025)
51st percentile of 427 placed occupations
+3 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft Pilots and Related Associate Professionals · 3153 | 27% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 26 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor. Core · importance 4.9
- Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures. Core · importance 4.9
- Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings. Core · importance 4.9
- Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions. Core · importance 4.9
- Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists. Core · importance 4.8
- Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment. Core · importance 4.8
- Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights. Core · importance 4.7
- Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed. Core · importance 4.7
- Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers. Core · importance 4.7
- Check passenger and cargo distributions and fuel amounts to ensure that weight and balance specifications are met. Core · importance 4.6
- Confer with flight dispatchers and weather forecasters to keep abreast of flight conditions. Core · importance 4.4
- Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control and inform crew members of flight and test procedures. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights. Core · importance 4.3
- Brief crews about flight details, such as destinations, duties, and responsibilities. Core · importance 4.2
- 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. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- File instrument flight plans with air traffic control to ensure that flights are coordinated with other air traffic. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Perform minor maintenance work, or arrange for major maintenance. Supplemental · importance 4.0
- Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights. Core · importance 4.0
- Direct activities of aircraft crews during flights. Core · importance 4.0
- Evaluate other pilots or pilot-license applicants for proficiency. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Instruct other pilots and student pilots in aircraft operations and the principles of flight. Core · importance 3.7
- Record in log books information, such as flight times, distances flown, and fuel consumption. Core · importance 3.7
- Make announcements regarding flights, using public address systems. Core · importance 3.2
- Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports. Supplemental · importance 3.1
- Load smaller aircraft, handling passenger luggage and supervising refueling. Supplemental
- Test and evaluate the performance of new aircraft. Supplemental
Work activities
- Pilot aircraft.
- Report vehicle or equipment malfunctions.
- Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
- Respond to transportation emergencies.
- Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
- Monitor equipment gauges or displays to ensure proper operation.
- Inspect aircraft or aircraft components.
- Monitor work environment to ensure safety or adherence to specifications.
- Monitor engine operation or functioning.
- Coordinate flight control or management activities.
- Resolve issues affecting transportation operations.
- Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
- Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
- Record operational details of travel.
- Provide transportation information to passengers or customers.
- Arrange maintenance activities.
- Maintain locomotives or other rail equipment in good working condition.
- Train transportation or material moving personnel.
- Test performance of aircraft equipment.
- Evaluate performance of applicants, trainees, or employees.
- Plan flight operations.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Transferable skills
| Operation and Control | 4.9 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 4.6 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.0 | |
| Time Management | 3.9 |
Abilities
| Response Orientation | 4.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.8 | |
| Control Precision | 4.6 | |
| Reaction Time | 4.3 | |
| Near Vision | 4.3 | |
| Far Vision | 4.3 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.1 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 4.1 | |
| Rate Control | 4.1 | |
| Depth Perception | 4.1 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 4.0 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 4.0 | |
| Spatial Orientation | 4.0 | |
| Selective Attention | 4.0 | |
| Time Sharing | 4.0 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 4.0 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 4.0 | |
| Peripheral Vision | 3.9 | |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.8 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.8 |
Knowledge
| Transportation | 4.8 | |
| English Language | 3.9 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.7 | |
| Mechanical | 3.7 | |
| Geography | 3.7 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 4.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 | |
| Monitoring | 4.1 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Speaking | 3.8 | |
| Active Learning | 3.8 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Preparation level
- SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Transportation and Materials Moving . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Bachelor's Degree | 61.0% | |
| High School Diploma | 18.2% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 8.0% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 6.3% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.1% | |
| Some College Courses | 1.4% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 10.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 9.0 | |
| Integrity | 8.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 7.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 6.0 | |
| Self-Control | 5.0 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 4.0 | |
| Perseverance | 3.0 |
Interest areas
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 6.3 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 3.9 | |
| Engineering | 3.8 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.7 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 4.7 | |
| Conventional | 4.7 | |
| Enterprising | 3.8 | |
| Investigative | 3.1 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $98,560 |
| 25th percentile | $154,360 |
| Median (50th) | $226,600 |
| 75th percentile | — |
| 90th percentile | — |
| People employed | 99,300 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 93,290 | — |
| Educational Services · Sector | 560 | $68,870 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 90 | $94,720 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 80 | $93,660 |
| Ambulance Services · National industry | 80 | $93,660 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 40 | $162,290 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | — | $141,540 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | — | $85,610 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 19.6× | 93,290 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 0.06× | 560 |
Related occupations
Part of the Supply Chain & Transportation career cluster.
- Commercial Pilots · 53-2012.00 Compare →
- Air Traffic Controllers · 53-2021.00 Compare →
- Airfield Operations Specialists · 53-2022.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Service Attendants · 53-6032.00 Compare →
- Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels · 53-5021.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians · 49-3011.00 Compare →
- Aviation Inspectors · 53-6051.01 Compare →
- Locomotive Engineers · 53-4011.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants · 53-1044.00 Compare →
- Aerospace Engineers · 17-2011.00 Compare →
- Flight Attendants · 53-2031.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors · 53-1041.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Bachelor's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Transportation and Materials Moving · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 51st percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers show 39th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 11,700 annual U.S. openings
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers rank in the 39th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 11,700 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+3.9%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $226,600, across about 99,300 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers show 39th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 11,700 annual U.S. openings • Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers rank in the 39th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 11,700 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+3.9%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $226,600, across about 99,300 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2011-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2011-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2011-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-53-2011-00,
title = {Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2011-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.