Flight engineer vs airline transport pilot

The differences between flight engineers and airline transport pilots can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a flight engineer and an airline transport pilot. Additionally, an airline transport pilot has an average salary of $95,279, which is higher than the $85,035 average annual salary of a flight engineer.

The top three skills for a flight engineer include FAA, flight operations and simulator. The most important skills for an airline transport pilot are PIC, FAA, and .

Flight engineer vs airline transport pilot overview

	Flight Engineer	Airline Transport Pilot
Yearly salary	$85,035	$95,279
Hourly rate	$40.88	$45.81
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	2,042	3,433
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Flight engineer vs airline transport pilot salary

Flight engineers and airline transport pilots have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Flight Engineer	Airline Transport Pilot
Average salary	$85,035	$95,279
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $129,000	Between $74,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City	Gilbert, AZ	-
Highest paying state	Arizona	-
Best paying company	Learjet	-
Best paying industry	Technology	-

Differences between flight engineer and airline transport pilot education

There are a few differences between a flight engineer and an airline transport pilot in terms of educational background:

	Flight Engineer	Airline Transport Pilot
Most common degree	Associate Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Aviation	Aviation
Most common college	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Flight engineer vs airline transport pilot demographics

Here are the differences between flight engineers' and airline transport pilots' demographics:

	Flight Engineer	Airline Transport Pilot
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 94.7% Female, 5.3%	Male, 98.3% Female, 1.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 2.7% White, 81.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 2.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 2.8% White, 81.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between flight engineer and airline transport pilot duties and responsibilities

Flight engineer example responsibilities.

Manage and execute all aircraft grind servicing as well as security for USAF assets abroad.
Lead several Russian inspectors during a highly-visible reentry vehicle inspection on-site inspection - commend for superb leadership
Perform operational checks on helicopter systems and subsystems to isolate and facilitate troubleshooting of malfunctions.
Modify airframe for customer options.
Work are performed in compliance with applicable U.S. Government and DoD regulations, guidance, policies and procedures.
Develop flight dynamics math models in FORTRAN for the simulators of FAA approve business class aircraft using flight test data.

Airline transport pilot example responsibilities.

Lead teams into combat situations as well as into austere and commercial locations in nearly every part of the world.
Fulfill FAA compliant record keeping, flight safety and organizational requirements.
Assist with all aspects of administration, logistics and equipment inventory, ensuring successful financial execution.
License in both single-engine and multi-engine airplanes.

Flight engineer vs airline transport pilot skills

Common flight engineer skills

FAA, 10%
Flight Operations, 9%
Simulator, 8%
DOD, 7%
Combat, 5%
Technical Problems, 5%

Common airline transport pilot skills

PIC, 53%
FAA, 47%

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Flight Engineer
Flight Engineer vs Airline Transport Pilot

Updated January 8, 2025

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