Also called: Line Check Pilot, Simulator Instructor Captain, Chief Pilot
Senior airline pilot who trains and tests other pilots in simulators and on real flights.
Some days you sit behind two pilots in a full-motion simulator and throw engine fires and hydraulic failures at them. Other days you ride in the jump seat on a real flight, grading their decisions. You sign off whether they're ready to fly passengers.
Estimated; usually captain pay plus training premiums.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 15 years after high school. Years as an airline captain plus company and FAA approval as an evaluator.
Ways in: 4-year college, Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Aviation / Professional Pilot, Aeronautical Science.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Follows airline pilot hiring (BLS 4%).
Low risk for 10 years. Simulators get better at scoring pilots, but training and certifying airline crews stays human.
Classes: Physics, Speech, Algebra II.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-2011.
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.