CompGeo Commercial Pilots Salary Survey Benchmark Job Description and Competencies - Transportation Occupation Group

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Air Transportation

Benchmark Title: Commercial Pilots

Summary Job Description

Tasks

Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-winged aircraft on nonscheduled air carrier routes, or helicopters. Requires Commercial Pilot certificate. Includes charter pilots with similar certification, and air ambulance and air tour pilots.

Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.

Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.

Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.

Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.

Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.

Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.

Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes.

Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments.

Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.

Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly.

Request changes in altitudes or routes as circumstances dictate.

Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.

Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control, and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.

Write specified information in flight records, such as flight times, altitudes flown, and fuel consumption.

Teach company regulations and procedures to other pilots.

Instruct other pilots and student pilots in aircraft operations.

Co-pilot aircraft, or perform captain's duties if required.

File instrument flight plans with air traffic control so that flights can be coordinated with other air traffic.

Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.

Rescue and evacuate injured persons.

Supervise other crew members.

Perform minor aircraft maintenance and repair work, or arrange for major maintenance.

Fly with other pilots or pilot-license applicants to evaluate their proficiency.

Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports.

Pilot airplanes or helicopters over farmlands at low altitudes to dust or spray fields with fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides.

Check the flight performance of new and experimental planes.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Air Transportation

Benchmark Title: Commercial Pilots

Important Knowledge Competencies

Competency Description

Transportation

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Public Safety and Security

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.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

English Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Geography

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.

Law and Government

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Physics

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.

Psychology

Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Telecommunications

Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Engineering and Technology

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Air Transportation

Benchmark Title: Commercial Pilots

Important Skill Competencies

Competency Description

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Operation Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Science

Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Persuasion

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Negotiation

Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Management of Personnel Resources

Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Air Transportation

Benchmark Title: Commercial Pilots

Important Ability Competencies

Competency Description

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity

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.

Response Orientation

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.

Far Vision

The ability to see details at a distance.

Depth Perception

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.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Multilimb Coordination

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.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Manual Dexterity

The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

Reaction Time

The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Perceptual Speed

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.

Rate Control

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.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Spatial Orientation

The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.

Finger Dexterity

The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.

Hearing Sensitivity

The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.

Flexibility of Closure

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Time Sharing

The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Visualization

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Glare Sensitivity

The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting.

Auditory Attention

The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.

Night Vision

The ability to see under low light conditions.

Peripheral Vision

The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

CompGeo Occupation Group: Transportation

Job Family: Air Transportation

Benchmark Title: Commercial Pilots

Tools/Technology Example

Product Category

AV8 software