Also called: Wind Tunnel Instructor, Tunnel Flight Instructor
Teaches first-time flyers and skydivers to float on a powerful column of air inside a vertical wind tunnel.
She stands at the edge of a glass tunnel as the fans spin to 120 mph and guides a nervous 10-year-old into the air, holding his harness to keep him stable. Between classes she flies herself, practicing spins that help her coach pros. Her day ends with a safety check of the tunnel netting.
Estimate; top coaches earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. No degree; months of tunnel training and IBA instructor certification.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Kinesiology, Recreation Management.
Growing faster than average. Indoor skydiving centers have spread to many big cities.
Low risk for 10 years. Holding and coaching flyers in the air stays human.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to iFLY as an instructor trainee; they pay for your instructor training First: IBA instructor rating, earned in a few weeks of paid training
Classes: Physical education, Physics, Health.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.