How To Become A Co Pilot: What It Is and Career Path

What is a co pilot 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 co pilot. For example, did you know that they make an average of $45.05 an hour? That's $93,703 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 7,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCo PilotUS Average

Salary

7.3

Avg. Salary $93,703

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 2.73%

Black or African American 2.63%

Hispanic or Latino 6.79%

Unknown 5.49%

White 82.11%

Gender

female 16.22%

male 83.78%

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 co pilot

Explore co pilot education requirements

Most common co pilot degrees

Bachelor's

58.6 %

Associate

17.1 %

Master's

11.7 %

Start to develop specific co pilot skills

Skills	Percentages
FAA	44.30%
PIC	40.36%
Flight Operations	8.34%
SIC	3.42%
ISR	2.13%

Complete relevant co pilot training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New co pilots 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 co pilot based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real co pilot resumes.

Research co pilot duties and responsibilities

Lead performance analysis, plan test sequences, document test details, and liaise with engineers and FAA representatives.
Operate company-owned aircraft in compliance with all FAA regulations and international procedures.
Assist with all aspects of administration, logistics and equipment inventory, ensuring successful financial execution.
Conduct pilot proficiency and standardization evaluations in both A320 aircraft and simulator.

Prepare your co pilot resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable co pilot resume templates

Build a professional co pilot 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 co pilot resume.