How To Become A Flight Test Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a flight test supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a flight test supervisor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $36.8 an hour? That's $76,547 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 7,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFlight Test SupervisorUS Average

Salary

6.0

Avg. Salary $76,547

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.3

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.24%

Asian 2.11%

Black or African American 8.34%

Hispanic or Latino 15.90%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.90%

Gender

female 31.60%

male 68.40%

Age - 50

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 - 50

Stress level

9.3

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a flight test supervisor

Explore flight test supervisor education requirements

Most common flight test supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

50.0 %

Associate

29.1 %

Master's

8.2 %

Start to develop specific flight test supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
Safety Procedures	22.35%
FAA	19.24%
Flight Operations	14.91%
Aircraft Maintenance	13.01%
In-Flight	11.97%

Complete relevant flight test supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New flight test supervisors 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 flight test supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real flight test supervisor resumes.

Research flight test supervisor duties and responsibilities

Manage intermediate-level maintenance on fighter aircraft release and gun systems.
Developed/Execute bilateral air component rear area security combat support policy, training directives, and programs target at reducing risks.
Develop annual and strategic corporate business plans that NASA headquarters approve for funding and implementation.

Prepare your flight test supervisor resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable flight test supervisor resume templates

Build a professional flight test supervisor 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 flight test supervisor resume.