Commercial Pilots

What the job really is

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Requires Commercial Pilot certificate. Includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots. Excludes regional, national, and international airline pilots.

At a glance

• Sector: Transportation & Material Moving
• O*NET-SOC code: 53-2012
• O*NET job zone: 3 — medium preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
• Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
• Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
• Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
• Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
• Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
• Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
• Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments.
• Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
• Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly.
• Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes.
• 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.

Tools and technology

Adobe Creative Cloud software, Microsoft Office software, AeroPlanner, Aeronautical charts, Air conditioning systems, Air data computers, Air pressurization systems, AirSmith FlightPrompt, Airborne collision avoidance systems ACAS, Airdata, Airfield lighting equipment, Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
• Air Traffic Controllers
• Airfield Operations Specialists
• Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
• Aviation Inspectors
• Locomotive Engineers
• Avionics Technicians
• Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 3 (medium preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Commercial Pilots — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.