24 Key Attributes Airline Pilots, Copilots, And Flight Engineers Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Noah Smith

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Requires Federal Air Transport certificate and rating for specific aircraft type used. Includes regional, National, and international airline pilots and flight instructors of airline pilots. In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 100%

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 96.4%

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 95%

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 95%

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 92.6%

The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 92.6%

The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 87.6%

The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 87.6%

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 86.4%

The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

The ability to see details at a distance.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 85%

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.6%

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.6%

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 80.2%

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%