Also called: Air Force 1A1, Helicopter flight engineer, Navy aircrew flight engineer
Enlisted aircrew member who monitors engines, fuel, and systems in flight and helps pilots on large aircraft and helicopters.
Flight engineers run preflight checks, calculate weight and fuel, watch engine gauges, and troubleshoot problems in the air on planes like the C-17 or special operations helicopters.
RMC (base pay + housing/food allowances + tax advantage) for typical E-1 to E-7 ranks, 2026 estimate, plus the special-duty, hazardous-duty, flight, dive, jump, or language pays this specialty usually earns. Enlistment/reenlistment bonuses for this field can be large.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma and ASVAB, then basic training plus about a year of aircrew and aircraft job training. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Aviation Maintenance Technology.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Newer aircraft already automate the flight engineer's panel; the job is shrinking to older planes and helicopters.
Classes: Physics, Algebra, Auto / diesel tech CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 55-3011.
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.