Airline Industry Salary Tools

Determine your worth with airline salary tools

By Mary Beth Doyle
Airline industry salaries can vary greatly due to several factors including job type, experience level, airline company and location. Deciphering what you’re worth can be dizzying – especially if you’re just starting out in the industry or have stayed in the same position for many years. Fortunately, there are a variety of airline salary tools available via Internet that are easy to use and typically provide accurate information on airline industry compensation.

Whether you are considering relocation, an internal job switch or are trying to break into the airline industry, finding average airline industry pay scales for your position is imperative to ensure you make the right career move. Here are tips to help you get the airline salary information you need:

1. Calculate fair airline salaries using online salary calculators.

2. Use cost of living calculators to factor location into airline industry compensation.

3. Find average aviation salaries by researching current postings on job boards.

 

Find average airline pay based on your job description

Airline salary calculators can get as specific as necessary. The difference in pay between a novice pilot working for a small airline and a seasoned pilot with a major carrier is quite drastic, so fill in as many variables as you can on salary tools to get the most accurate information possible.
Try: PayScale provides a graph that shows median airline employee salaries for such positions as flight attendant, chief pilot and project engineer. You can also find out what you’re worth based on job location and other variables on this website. Use Salary.com’s Salary Wizard to find a salary range for your given field in the airline industry. Avjobs.com provides a list of airline industry salaries, noting minimum, average and maximum pay.

Determine fair airline pay based on your area's cost of living

Location, location, location. It's the biggest factor in real esate, but it also plays a major part in job compensation too. If you're considering a job relocation or just searching for aviation jobs throughout the country in general, use cost of living calculators to help you find median airline salaries.
Try: AirlineCareer.com and Bankrate have cost of living calculators to help you figure out what you should make in one city versus another.

Use job boards for researching airline industry salaries

Relying on calculators and other salary tools is one route, but you can also conduct your own research to find average airline industry pay. Take a look at the salaries listed with aviation job postings in your area to figure out the going rate.
Try: Industry-specific job boards, such as AviaNation, are good places to find airline salaries. New jobs are locked from non-members for 13 days, but if the search is strictly for information gathering, just view older posts. Industry-wide job boards, like AOL Jobs, are another great resource. This site lets you search for airline jobs based on type. Research all postings that fit in your job description for a few weeks to come up with an average aviation pay scale.

 

  • Airline salary tools are a great way to choose a career path. As you're researching aviation salaries, use the information you've gathered to set realistic goals for yourself. Reevaluate those goals every couple of years to make sure you stay on track.