What does a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer do?

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Day to day that includes work like use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor and Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.

What skills should a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes AeroPlanner, Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC, AirSmith FlightPrompt, CoPilot Flight Planning & E6B, and Document Object Model DOM Scripting. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer work?

O*NET records 26 titles for this occupation, including Airline Captain, Captain, First Officer, and Pilot. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 61% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer resume example

A resume for a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer needs to show the work itself: pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Day to day that means work like this: use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor; start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Airline Captain
Captain
First Officer
Pilot
Airbus Captain
Airline Pilot
Check Airman
Co-Pilot
Commercial Airline Pilot
Line Pilot
FO Pilot
Air Force Pilot
Aircraft Captain
Aircraft Pilot
Airline Pilot Flight Instructor
Airline Transport Pilot
Airplane Pilot
Army Helicopter Pilot

O*NET records 26 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor.
Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings.
Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions.
Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists.
Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed.
Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers.
Check passenger and cargo distributions and fuel amounts to ensure that weight and balance specifications are met.
Confer with flight dispatchers and weather forecasters to keep abreast of flight conditions.
Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.

24 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

AeroPlanner
Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC
AirSmith FlightPrompt
CoPilot Flight Planning & E6B
Document Object Model DOM Scripting
doXstor Flight Level Logbook
Electronic aircraft information databases
IFT-Pro
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Visio
Microsoft Word

24 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Aileron trim switches
Airborne collision avoidance systems ACAS
Aircraft data loaders
Anti-skid control systems
Attitude heading reference systems AHRS
Autobrakes
Automatic direction finder ADF radio systems
Automatic landing systems
Autopilot systems
Brake management systems
Brake pedals
Cockpit displays of traffic information CDTI

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

pilot aircraft
AeroPlanner
Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Operation and Control
02Operations Monitoring
03Active Listening
04Critical Thinking
05Monitoring
06Judgment and Decision Making
07Reading Comprehension
08Time Management
09Active Learning
10Speaking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Transportation
English Language
Public Safety and Security
Geography
Mechanical
Mathematics
Computers and Electronics
Physics

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

61%Bachelor's Degree
18%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
8%Less than a High School Diploma

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer do?: Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Day to day that includes work like use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor and Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
What skills should a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Operation and Control, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes AeroPlanner, Airline Pilots Daily Aviation Log PPC, AirSmith FlightPrompt, CoPilot Flight Planning & E6B, and Document Object Model DOM Scripting. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer work?: O*NET records 26 titles for this occupation, including Airline Captain, Captain, First Officer, and Pilot. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 61% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.