Airline dispatcher vs transportation director

The differences between airline dispatchers and transportation directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a transportation director has an average salary of $51,314, which is higher than the $45,071 average annual salary of an airline dispatcher.

The top three skills for an airline dispatcher include FAA, and . The most important skills for a transportation director are DOT, logistics, and CDL.

Airline dispatcher vs transportation director overview

	Airline Dispatcher	Transportation Director
Yearly salary	$45,071	$51,314
Hourly rate	$21.67	$24.67
Growth rate	1%	-
Number of jobs	4,408	23,622
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	38	45
Years of experience	-	4

Airline dispatcher vs transportation director salary

Airline dispatchers and transportation directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Airline Dispatcher	Transportation Director
Average salary	$45,071	$51,314
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $78,000	Between $30,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Zulily
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between airline dispatcher and transportation director education

There are a few differences between an airline dispatcher and a transportation director in terms of educational background:

	Airline Dispatcher	Transportation Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Aviation	Business
Most common college	SUNY Farmingdale	Stanford University

Airline dispatcher vs transportation director demographics

Here are the differences between airline dispatchers' and transportation directors' demographics:

	Airline Dispatcher	Transportation Director
Average age	38	45
Gender ratio	Male, 77.8% Female, 22.2%	Male, 76.0% Female, 24.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 7.2% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 4.9% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	7%	5%

Differences between airline dispatcher and transportation director duties and responsibilities

Airline dispatcher example responsibilities.

Manage dot hrs for drivers as far as what tasks can be done in a certain amount of time.
Dispatch aircraft in accordance with FAA regulations and company define policies.
General terminal maintenance including minor electrical, mechanical, and plumbing repairs.
General terminal maintenance including minor electrical, mechanical, and plumbing repairs.

Transportation director example responsibilities.

Manage RFP process to outsource truck maintenance resulting in headcount reduction of 32, and total savings of $880K annually.
Manage inventory of inbound ocean containers, coordinate and schedule TL operations, supervise yard hostlers and manage outbound trailer traffic.
Perform OSHA forklift and domestic HAZMAT shipping training per regulatory guidelines.
Convert fleet on-board computer system from Cadec to GPS base Xata.
Install time-management Synovia GPS tracking and cameras on all school buses provide constant security to passengers.
Develop routing procedures for LTL, truck load, air freight, partial package, and inter modal shipments.

Airline dispatcher vs transportation director skills

Common airline dispatcher skills

FAA, 100%

Common transportation director skills

DOT, 18%
Logistics, 11%
CDL, 7%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Transportation Services, 5%
Transportation Operations, 4%

Airline Dispatcher vs. similar jobs

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Airline Dispatcher vs Transportation Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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