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Airline Pilot

1,500 flight hours × ATP certificate × first-class medical

The ceiling of the table. The median airline pilot earns $232k, and the top tenth more than $464k a year. But look at what it takes: a long certificate ladder, 1,500 logged flight hours, a first-class medical, and usually $80–120k of training before the first airline paycheck. Most new pilots build hours as flight instructors on modest pay first. The payoff is enormous; the entry cost and the time are too.

Method

  1. Private pilot, then instrument ratingThe first certificates, usually 6–12 months.
  2. Commercial certificate and multi-engine ratingNow you can be paid to fly.
  3. Build hours to 1,500Members step
  4. Regional airlineMembers step
  5. Major airline and captainMembers step
The rest of this method is a Members guide

You've got the way in. Members guides cover the next 3 steps and every skill level this method needs: how long each takes, what it costs, and what it pays along the way.

Continue with Members See a full guide first
Watch out:Very high upfront cost, years of low-paid hour building, and a medical that can end a career. Hiring is cyclical and collapses in downturns.

Pay, licensing and demand vary by state, city and timing. Figures are averaged and partly approximate. Skill levels follow each skill's milestones (see Skills). Sources: BLS OOH, Airline and Commercial Pilots (median $232,140; 10th pct $106,710; 90th pct $463,830; May 2025). Something off? Suggest a fix