Pilots and flight attendants make up 31 percent of air transportation employment. Pilots are some of the highest paid professionals in the country. The median salary for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers was $126,840 in 2002.
Working conditions for pilots vary depending on the place of employment. Commercial pilots tend to perform tasks such as crop dusting, monitoring traffic, fire fighting, flight instructing and rescue missions. They work erratic hours, but are rarely away from home overnight.
Airline pilots deal with a different set of duties. They transport passengers and cargo for major airlines on jets and turboprops. The pilot and copilot share duties such as flying, communicating with air traffic controllers and monitoring instruments.
By law, pilots are restricted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to flying no more than 100 hours a month and 1,000 hours a year. Most work a variable schedule with several days on and several days off. They also work overnight, as most airlines operate flights at all hours of the day and night. International pilots have to deal with jetlag as a result of flying back and forth through different time zones.
Most airline pilots are trained in aviation in the military, but a growing number are aviation college graduates with aviation training at FAA certified aviation flight schools. However they are trained to fly, being a pilot has many perks. In addition to standard benefits such as health and life insurance, pilots and their families receive free or reduced fare on their own and other airlines. They also receive an expense allowance for every hour they are away from home when on duty.
If you dream of taking to the skies in the cockpit of an aircraft, a job as a pilot is for you.
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