Also called: Experimental Test Pilot, Flight Test Pilot
Flies brand-new or modified aircraft to find out how they really perform, including at their limits.
Before a flight you sit with engineers to plan exactly what maneuvers to fly and what data to collect. Then you take the aircraft up and carefully push it toward stalls, high speeds, or engine failures while sensors record everything. Afterward you write a detailed report on how it handled.
Estimated; pay at Boeing, Lockheed, Gulfstream, and eVTOL startups varies widely.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 8 years after high school. Usually an engineering or science degree plus thousands of flight hours; many graduate from military test pilot schools (Edwards AFB, Pax River) or the National Test Pilot School.
Ways in: 4-year college, Military, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics.
Growing about average. A very small field; openings come from new aircraft programs like eVTOL air taxis and military jets.
Low risk for 10 years. AI and simulators cut some test flights, but flying new aircraft to their limits stays human, and slots are few.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Calculus, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-2012.
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.