How To Become A De-Icer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a de-icer 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 de-icer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.18 an hour? That's $50,285 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -17,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDe-IcerUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,285

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%

Asian 8.34%

Black or African American 10.00%

Hispanic or Latino 18.44%

Unknown 4.41%

White 57.99%

Gender

female 11.63%

male 88.37%

Age - 46

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 - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a de-icer

Explore de-icer education requirements

Most common de-icer degrees

High School Diploma

39.1 %

Associate

26.6 %

Bachelor's

23.4 %

Start to develop specific de-icer skills

Skills	Percentages
De-icing	60.74%
Aircraft Wings	16.26%
Airplanes	14.21%
Safety Procedures	8.79%

Complete relevant de-icer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New de-icers 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 de-icer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real de-icer resumes.

Research de-icer duties and responsibilities

Follow GMP and EPP rules and regulations without sacrificing the quality of the product.
Operate a de-icing boom truck with air brake assist and remove debris from the tarmac.
Work with others as a team to deice airplanes before takeoff.
Perform aircraft de-icing operations, including detail documentation and radio correspondence.

Prepare your de-icer resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable de-icer resume templates

Build a professional de-icer 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 de-icer resume.