How To Become A Ground School Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a ground school instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Rodney Foster

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a ground school instructor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $27.67 an hour? That's $57,550 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 5,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a ground school instructor?

Rodney Foster

Instructor - Aviation Maintenance Technology Instructor - Airframe & Powerplant Technology, Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College (OCC) teaches Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) and Avionics. Although the Government has dampened air travel by putting up restrictions to prevent a Covid-19 spread, there is still a certified mechanic/skilled labor shortage. I believe all our students will have permanent jobs within a six-month search. OCC AMT is listed as an essential workforce by the state of California and is back in classes full-time, Face-to-face labs, and online lectures. Our next semester registration maximum filled in two days and still has over 35 additional students per class on the waiting list.

ScoreGround School InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.5

Avg. Salary $57,550

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.26%

Black or African American 7.19%

Hispanic or Latino 10.24%

Unknown 4.94%

White 66.09%

Gender

female 14.47%

male 85.53%

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

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a ground school instructor

Explore ground school instructor education requirements

Most common ground school instructor degrees

Bachelor's

56.4 %

Associate

22.3 %

Master's

17.0 %

Start to develop specific ground school instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
FAA	21.20%
Training Courses	12.92%
CFI	11.06%
Flight Operations	9.03%
Flight Training	8.51%

Complete relevant ground school instructor training and internships

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

Research ground school instructor duties and responsibilities

Utilize blackboard management system to encourage online discussions and manage grades.
Ensure compliance with FAA, manufacturer and corporate requirements.
Identify appropriate techniques for teaching and responding to literature, and ways to effectively use literacy to positively impact diversity education.
Evaluate effectiveness of aviation training syllabus.

Prepare your ground school instructor resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable ground school instructor resume templates

Build a professional ground school instructor 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 ground school instructor resume.