How To Become A Captain/Check Airman: What It Is and Career Path

What is a captain/check airman and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a captain/check airman. For example, did you know that they make an average of $34.88 an hour? That's $72,550 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 7,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCaptain/Check AirmanUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $72,550

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.26%

Asian 2.78%

Black or African American 2.73%

Hispanic or Latino 7.20%

Unknown 5.57%

White 81.47%

Gender

female 5.65%

male 94.35%

Age - 44

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 - 44

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a captain/check airman

Explore captain/check airman education requirements

Most common captain/check airman degrees

Bachelor's

79.5 %

Master's

8.4 %

Associate

6.0 %

Start to develop specific captain/check airman skills

Skills	Percentages
FAA	56.68%
Line Checks	28.40%
PIC	14.92%

Complete relevant captain/check airman training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New captain/check airmen 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 a captain/check airman based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real captain/check airman resumes.

Research captain/check airman duties and responsibilities

Project manage the initial fielding of the RQ-11 tactical UAV system.
Perform FAA type ratings, initial, recurrent training & evaluation check rides.
Expand operations specifications to include world wide authority, including MNPS and RVSM certification.
Fly line trips on a regular basis, conduct initial operating experience on the B737.

Prepare your captain/check airman resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your captain/check airman 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 a captain/check airman resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable captain/check airman resume templates

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