# Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

SOC 53-2011. Page: https://educationguide.com/careers/airline-pilots-copilots-and-flight-engineers

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.

## Pay and outlook
- U.S. median wage $232,140 (middle half $182,280–$384,440; BLS May 2025)
- Jobs 2025-35: 8.3%; ~11.2k openings a year; typical entry: Bachelor's degree

## Fields of degree of young workers (ages 25-34, bachelor's+)

## Median wage by state
- AK: $232,140
- AL: $136,990
- AR: $168,970
- AZ: $227,870
- CA: $353,900
- CO: $307,490
- CT: $199,870
- FL: $225,020
- GA: $618,090
- IA: $131,730
- ID: $507,640
- IL: $293,490
- IN: $171,260
- KS: $143,580
- KY: $350,950
- LA: $120,740
- ME: $147,930
- MI: $428,570
- MN: $211,470
- MO: $97,680
- MS: $143,580
- NC: $151,540
- NE: $131,650
- NH: $99,280
- NM: $136,990
- NV: $192,460
- NY: $255,240
- OH: $204,170
- OK: $133,680
- OR: $173,190
- PA: $164,990
- PR: $167,050
- RI: $164,880
- SC: $143,580
- TN: $143,580
- TX: $215,150
- UT: $174,590
- WA: $229,900

Method: https://educationguide.com/how-we-score#careers

Free to reuse with attribution: cite "EducationGuide.com" with a link to the page URL. Most figures are U.S. government data (public domain); loan default rates and athletics come from the Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By 1.0, attribution required) and founding years from Wikidata (CC0). O*NET data: CC BY 4.0, O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA).