How To Become An Aircraft Dispatcher: What It Is and Career Path

What is an aircraft dispatcher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an aircraft dispatcher. For example, did you know that they make an average of $21.41 an hour? That's $44,527 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAircraft DispatcherUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,527

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.75%

Asian 5.32%

Black or African American 8.94%

Hispanic or Latino 18.14%

Unknown 7.57%

White 59.29%

Gender

female 29.81%

male 70.19%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an aircraft dispatcher

Explore aircraft dispatcher education requirements

Most common aircraft dispatcher degrees

Bachelor's

54.5 %

Associate

20.5 %

Certificate

8.7 %

Start to develop specific aircraft dispatcher skills

Skills	Percentages
Flight Operations	13.69%
Maintenance Control	10.36%
On-The-Job Training	10.34%
Aircraft Maintenance	9.10%
Air Traffic Control	6.00%

Complete relevant aircraft dispatcher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New aircraft dispatchers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an aircraft dispatcher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real aircraft dispatcher resumes.

Research aircraft dispatcher duties and responsibilities

Schedule flight crews for assignments, mange corporate aircraft fleet, manage charter customer base, manage record keeping for FAA requirements
Monitor airborne aircraft and communicate weather, NOTAMS, and airfield updates to the crew.
Plan flights with consideration of weather, NOTAMS, aircraft capabilities, company requirements and aircraft airworthiness.
Originate and disseminate flight information to others in the company including stations and reservations.

Prepare your aircraft dispatcher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your aircraft dispatcher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an aircraft dispatcher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable aircraft dispatcher resume templates

Build a professional aircraft dispatcher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your aircraft dispatcher resume.