What is a First Officer?

First officers, also referred to as co-pilots, are the second in command of the aircraft after the captain. They assist the captain in flight preparation and in overseeing the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft. They are also the people on hand to fly the plane in the event of incapacitation of the captain. Generally, a first officer is an extremely essential member of the cabin crew in any aircraft.

Successful first officers should have strong relevant technical skills. Other essential skills include good communication skills, attention to detail, good report writing skills, and good visual acuity. They should also have a good working relationship with the captain and other members of the flight crew as well as the ground crew.

First officers don't generally have a regular work schedule. Their work depends on the flight schedules, and they may work in shifts.

What Does a First Officer Do

There are certain skills that many first officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed empathy, good judgment and leadership skills.

Learn more about what a First Officer does

How To Become a First Officer

If you're interested in becoming a first officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 71.0% of first officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.7% of first officers have master's degrees. Even though most first officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a First Officer
Top First Officer Jobs Near You

First Officer Career Paths

As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a first officer can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as operations manager, progress to a title such as terminal manager and then eventually end up with the title airport manager.

First Officer

Average Salary for a First Officer

First Officers in America make an average salary of $82,510 per year or $40 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $119,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $56,000 per year.
Average First Officer Salary
$82,510 Yearly
$39.67 hourly
See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

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States With The Most First Officer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active first officer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where first officers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of First Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Texas1,700$85,303
2Illinois1,408$100,744
3New York1,294$104,483
4Virginia1,242$62,334
5Massachusetts1,194$83,298
6Georgia1,192$68,562
7Pennsylvania1,022$90,675
8North Carolina860$71,113
9Minnesota830$74,766
10Ohio828$91,388
11New Jersey815$87,891
12Arizona802$78,725
13Maryland753$81,420
14Michigan729$77,227
15Colorado715$78,326
16Washington711$97,767
17Indiana689$80,972
18Wisconsin585$61,087
19Tennessee547$60,820
20Missouri540$69,710
21Alabama466$73,520
22South Carolina431$67,437
23Iowa399$79,331
24Oregon364$79,990
25Kentucky335$65,234
26Connecticut326$102,237
27Idaho315$60,071
28Oklahoma311$66,290
29Louisiana307$65,731
30Nevada302$77,853
31Kansas272$59,214
32Mississippi269$98,233
33California257$90,214
34Arkansas253$62,998
35Nebraska220$68,358
36New Mexico215$69,419
37Florida203$76,288
38New Hampshire163$84,958
39Rhode Island149$84,537
40West Virginia146$86,859
41Maine144$70,609
42North Dakota116$86,527
43South Dakota102$57,975
44Vermont85$76,732
45Utah14$73,124
46Montana12$63,456
47Alaska7$89,153
48Delaware6$80,188
49Hawaii6$82,932
50Wyoming3$61,791

First Officer Education

First Officer Majors

Aviation
44.9 %
Business
14.4 %
Aerospace Engineering
9.3 %

First Officer Degrees

Bachelors

71.0 %

Associate

13.8 %

Masters

7.7 %

Top Colleges for First Officers

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,306

Enrollment

9,394

2. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$15,094

Enrollment

32,974

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. Baylor University

Waco, TX • Private

In-State Tuition

$45,542

Enrollment

14,159

5. University of Minnesota - Crookston

Crookston, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,822

Enrollment

1,834

6. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

7. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. Siena Heights University

Adrian, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$27,124

Enrollment

2,035

10. Arizona State University at the Polytechnic Campus

Mesa, AZ • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,840

Enrollment

4,495

Top Skills For a First Officer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 31.7% of first officers listed faa on their resume, but soft skills such as empathy and good judgment are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable First Officer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use First Officer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your First Officer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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First Officer diversity

First Officer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
88%
Female
Female
12%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among first officers, 12.1% of them are women, while 87.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among first officers is White, which makes up 61.5% of all first officers.

  • The most common foreign language among first officers is Spanish at 41.0%.

Online Courses For First Officer That You May Like

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Best States For a First Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a first officer. The best states for people in this position are New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and Mississippi. First officers make the most in New York with an average salary of $104,483. Whereas in Connecticut and Illinois, they would average $102,237 and $100,744, respectively. While first officers would only make an average of $98,233 in Mississippi, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Mississippi

Total First Officer Jobs: 269
Highest 10% Earn:
$149,000
Location Quotient:
1.47

$98,233

Avg. Salary

View 269 First Officer Jobs In MS

2. Illinois

Total First Officer Jobs: 1,408
Highest 10% Earn:
$153,000
Location Quotient:
1.37

$100,744

Avg. Salary

View 1,408 First Officer Jobs In IL

3. New York

Total First Officer Jobs: 1,294
Highest 10% Earn:
$153,000
Location Quotient:
1.17

$104,483

Avg. Salary

View 1,294 First Officer Jobs In NY
Full List Of Best States For First Officers

How Do First Officers Rate Their Jobs?

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Top First Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For First Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Boeing$81,809$39.3314
2Prosperity Bank$81,755$39.3150
3American Airlines$81,511$39.1916
4Southern Air$80,813$38.8514
5United$79,796$38.3624
6CommutAir$77,686$37.3592
7Comair Services$77,420$37.2239
8ExpressJet Airlines$77,271$37.1579
9Frontier Airlines$77,192$37.1113
10Piedmont Airlines$77,168$37.1040
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First Officer Videos

Building a Career and a Future with Qatar Airways

Becoming a First Officer FAQs

First Officer Vs. Captain

A first officer is the right-hand man or woman of the captain and their main role is to assist with flying the aircraft, looking after its systems, and talking with air traffic control, while the captain is responsible for overseeing all of the operations of the crew, loading of the aircraft, and operation of the aircraft.

Have more questions? See all answers to common protective service questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023