Airman vs pilot

The differences between airmen and pilots can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pilot has an average salary of $83,128, which is higher than the $51,612 average annual salary of an airman.

The top three skills for an airman include emergency situations, airmen and logistics. The most important skills for a pilot are PIC, pilot-in-command, and flight operations.

Airman vs pilot overview

	Airman	Pilot
Yearly salary	$51,612	$83,128
Hourly rate	$24.81	$39.97
Growth rate	-	6%
Number of jobs	373	3,049
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	24	44
Years of experience	-	4

Airman vs pilot salary

Airmen and pilots have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Airman	Pilot
Average salary	$51,612	$83,128
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $108,000	Between $58,000 And $118,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	HP
Best paying industry	-	Transportation

Differences between airman and pilot education

There are a few differences between an airman and a pilot in terms of educational background:

	Airman	Pilot
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 31%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Business	Aviation
Most common college	-	SUNY Farmingdale

Airman vs pilot demographics

Here are the differences between airmen' and pilots' demographics:

	Airman	Pilot
Average age	24	44
Gender ratio	Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2%	Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 14.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 6.9% White, 52.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.2% Asian, 2.8% White, 81.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	4%	9%

Differences between airman and pilot duties and responsibilities

Airman example responsibilities.

Coordinate and manage daily briefings with senior military leadership on status of communication infrastructure and open trouble tickets/work orders.
Train EOD teams to recognize common insurgent devices and TTP.
Conduct initial and refresher simulator and classroom instruction in aircraft systems and air warfare tactics for F-14A aircrew.
Damage control operations include general shipboard firefighting, CBR (chemical, biological and radiological) operations, and HAZMAT operations.
Serve as the unit SME for intelligence support to mission planning, briefing/debriefing, threat systems and unit weapons system employment.
Certify & attend refresher courses for HAZMAT requirements.

Pilot example responsibilities.

Pilot company Lear 35 and manage the department.
Manage the UAV payload on the ground and in the air to meet customer expectations.
Serve as a professional pilot managing a flight crew and ensuring safe transportation of VIP's internationally.
Supervise aircraft maintenance activity on P-3C patrol and UH-1N helicopter aircraft.
Transport people and parts to offshore facilities in VFR and IFR conditions
Serve as remote pic and visual observer on a team on various projects involving UAV applications.

Airman vs pilot skills

Common airman skills

Emergency Situations, 8%
Airmen, 7%
Logistics, 5%
Combat, 4%
Law Enforcement, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

Common pilot skills

PIC, 16%
Pilot-In-Command, 13%
Flight Operations, 8%
ATP, 7%
Helicopter, 5%
Federal Aviation, 5%

Airman vs. similar jobs

Airman related careers

Airman related jobs

What similar roles do

Crew Chief responsibilities

Updated January 8, 2025

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