Also called: Airport Duty Manager, Airside Operations Manager
Runs day-to-day operations at an airport, from runway inspections to snow removal and emergencies.
An ops manager drives the airfield checking for debris, coordinates the snow team at 3 a.m., manages gate conflicts, and leads the response if a plane has an emergency landing.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in airport management or aviation; certification from airport associations helps.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aviation Management, Airport Management.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 11-3071: Faster than average (5% to 6%).
Low risk for 10 years. AI dashboards track flights and gates; emergencies, snow calls and leading staff stay human.
Classes: Business, Earth science, Speech.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-3071.
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.