Airline Pilot
Operates commercial aircraft under strict procedure and seniority. Pay and schedule improve almost entirely with seniority.
- Pay band (est.)
- $227k–$363k
- Time to competence
- 6 years
- Licence
- Required
- Setting
- mixed
- Leverage
- low
- Place constraint
- medium
- Physical demand
- 35/100
- Hours burden
- 70/100
Factor percentiles
Percentile against the whole curated set. Higher is better on that factor only.
- Play54th
Absorbing rather than merely paid.
- Specific knowledge29th
A combination of skills that is hard to copy.
- Leverage14th
Output that scales through code, media, capital or crew.
- Demand73th
Durability and shortage, scored conservatively.
- Pay98th
Mid-career floor and the range above it.
- Body55th
Inverse of physical demand and hours.
- Autonomy8th
Control of methods and time.
- People fit77th
Distance from your preferred people level.
- Place flexibility17th
Remote fit and freedom from specific metros.
- Time to skill44th
Inverse of years to competence.
- Meaning load50th
Closeness to the families you marked as meaningful. Your mapping, not ours.
- Downside tolerance69th
Inverse of named risk to body, market or platform.
Downside
Six-figure training cost; medical certificate ends careers.
Examine this against your weights
The percentiles above use the default weights. Set your own on the ranking and this vocation moves with them.
- Place constraint is medium. Where you live is analysed at locationistics.com.
- Hours burden is 70/100 and people intensity 45/100. Who you are with is analysed at relationistics.com.
Source note: BLS OEWS May 2024, Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers (53-2011): median $226,600, 75th percentile (90th not published) $362,560. Outlook from BLS 2025-35 projections, +8.3%. Other scores editorial. All figures are estimates for comparison.