Career profile Commercial Pilot

Table of Contents

• What does a Commercial Pilot do?
• What is a typical salary for a Commercial Pilot?
• What personality traits are common among Commercial Pilots?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Commercial Pilots need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Commercial Pilot do?

Commercial Pilots pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters.

In addition, Commercial Pilots

• requires Commercial Pilot certificate,
• includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots,
• excludes regional, national, and international airline pilots.

What kind of tasks does a Commercial Pilot perform regularly?

Commercial Pilots are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
• Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
• Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
• Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
• Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
• Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
• Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes.
• File instrument flight plans with air traffic control so that flights can be coordinated with other air traffic.
• Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly.
• Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
• Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments.
• Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.
• Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
• Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control, and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.
• Request changes in altitudes or routes as circumstances dictate.
• Write specified information in flight records, such as flight times, altitudes flown, and fuel consumption.
• Supervise other crew members.
• Fly with other pilots or pilot-license applicants to evaluate their proficiency.

The above responsibilities are specific to Commercial Pilots. More generally, Commercial Pilots are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Commercial Pilot salary?

What personality traits are common among Commercial Pilots?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Commercial Pilot are usually higher in their Realistic, Investigative, and Enterprising interests.

Commercial Pilots typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Commercial Pilots typically have moderate Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Commercial Pilots typically have moderate Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Commercial Pilot tend to value Support, Independence, and Recognition.

Most importantly, Commercial Pilots very strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Commercial Pilots very strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Commercial Pilots very strongly value Recognition. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Commercial Pilots must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and cooperation.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Commercial Pilots, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Commercial Pilots need?

Commercial Pilots often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Commercial Pilots usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Commercial Pilots

• 0.6% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 4.6% completed high school or secondary school
• 13.0% completed some college coursework
• 7.2% earned a Associate's degree
• 57.2% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 14.6% earned a Master's degree
• 2.7% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Commercial Pilots

Important Abilities needed by Commercial Pilots

Commercial Pilots must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Commercial Pilots need abilities such as problem sensitivity, control precision, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Commercial Pilots, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Commercial Pilots

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Commercial Pilots frequently use skills like operation and control, operations monitoring, and critical thinking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Commercial Pilots, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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