Air Transportation degree: salary, jobs & colleges

Bachelor's graduates in air transportation earn a median $83,448 four years after finishing, across 52 U.S. colleges. At ages 25-34, people whose degree is in transportation sciences and technologies earn $79,431, $17,382 more than all bachelor's holders. The most common job is aircraft pilots and flight engineers (30%).

Graduates, 4 years out
$83,448

Median across 52 colleges; middle half $75,845–$91,648.

College Scorecard field of study (graduates who received federal aid)

All workers ages 25-34 with this degree
$79,431

Middle half $50,274–$111,678. 1,333 survey respondents.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; field "Transportation Sciences And Technologies"; EducationGuide calculation

Compared with
  • All bachelor's, 25-34$62,049
  • High school, 25-34$35,638
  • This degree vs high school+$43,793/yr

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school

Median federal debt at graduation
$24,500

Median across colleges reporting.

College Scorecard field of study

Jobs air transportation graduates hold

What employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in transportation sciences and technologies actually do, with U.S. wages and the outlook for each job. The first column comes from the Census survey; wages and growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

JobShare of graduatesU.S. median wageJobs growth 2025-35Typical entryInterests
Aircraft Pilots And Flight Engineers30%$210,020+7.3%——
Air Traffic Controllers And Airfield Operations Specialists5%$101,380+4.1%——
Other Managers3%————
Ship And Boat Captains And Operators3%$86,940+4.1%——
Aircraft Mechanics And Service Technicians2%$79,870+5.4%Postsecondary nondegree awardRCI
General And Operations Managers2%$105,770+5.0%Bachelor's degreeEC
Customer Service Representatives1%$44,770-5.3%High school diploma or equivalentCES
Police Officers1%$76,250+3.5%——

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, bachelor's as highest degree, employed); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; O*NET 31.0 interest codes (R realistic, I investigative, A artistic, S social, E enterprising, C conventional).

Air Transportation earnings by state

Two views of pay: recent graduates of the state's colleges four years out (College Scorecard), and everyone ages 25-34 living in the state with this field of degree (Census). States show a figure only with at least 3 colleges or 100 survey respondents.

StateGraduates, 4 yrs (colleges)Ages 25-34 (respondents)
California—$83,958 (107)
Florida$88,612 (4)$81,140 (113)
New York$72,195 (3)—
Ohio$99,701 (9)—
Texas$78,166 (3)$81,220 (125)
Utah$103,989 (3)—

College Scorecard field of study (median of each college's graduates); Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; EducationGuide calculations.

Colleges where air transportation graduates earn the most

In the states we cover so far (Florida, Virginia, California): 10 in Florida, 3 in Virginia, 6 in California offer this major. Open a college to see cost to finish and payback for your income.

#CollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
1Liberty UniversityVA$102,096$24,874
2Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona BeachFL$90,495$22,000
3Everglades UniversityFL$86,730$42,750
4Florida Institute of TechnologyFL$83,243$27,000
5California Baptist UniversityCA$72,629—
6California State University-Los AngelesCA$70,508$15,132

College Scorecard field of study. Colleges meeting our core-data standard; online campuses left out.

Air Transportation degree questions

How much do Air Transportation graduates make?

Air Transportation graduates earn a median $83,448 four years after finishing, across 52 U.S. colleges that report it (the middle half of colleges: $75,845 to $91,648; College Scorecard, graduates who received federal aid). Among all workers ages 25-34 whose bachelor's degree is in transportation sciences and technologies, the median is $79,431 (Census ACS 2020-2024).

Is a Air Transportation degree worth it?

At ages 25-34, people with a bachelor's in transportation sciences and technologies earn a median $79,431: $17,382 more than all bachelor's degree holders ($62,049) and $43,793 more than high school graduates ($35,638). EducationGuide calculation from Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school.

What jobs do Air Transportation graduates get?

Among employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in transportation sciences and technologies, the most common jobs are aircraft pilots and flight engineers (30%), air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists (5%), other managers (3%). Aircraft Pilots And Flight Engineers earn a U.S. median $210,020.

How much do Air Transportation graduates earn in Florida?

Across 4 Florida colleges reporting, Air Transportation graduates earn a median $88,612 four years after graduating; at ages 25-34, Floridians with this field of degree earn $81,140.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey microdata; Bureau of Labor Statistics; O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Method
Data: JSON · Markdown · all degrees
Cite this: “Air Transportation degree: salary, jobs and colleges,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/degrees/air-transportation.