undergradly.
Major · Transportation & Materials Moving

One of the highest earnings ceilings of any undergraduate major

Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew prepares students to sit for FAA commercial and airline certifications and to enter the professional piloting labor market. About 1,633 degrees are awarded each year across 118 colleges, and the five-year bachelor's earnings median is $83,993 — already high for an early-career wage. The career ceiling is among the highest of any bachelor's-accessible destination on this site: airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers earn a median of $226,600 with 3.9% projected growth. The catch is structural — flight-hour requirements, equipment-rating progression, and training costs shape the pathway at least as much as the degree itself.

Schools offering
118
Annual completions
1,633
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$82k

About this major

Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew is a specialized training-intensive program built around the Federal Aviation Administration's commercial and airline-transport-pilot certification requirements. The CIP definition covers aircraft design and performance principles, flight systems and controls, flight crew operations and procedures, radio communications, navigation, airways safety and traffic regulations, and the governmental rules pertaining to piloting aircraft. Programs that qualify graduates to sit for FAA commercial and airline aircrew examinations are the core of the major; curricula mix ground-school coursework with increasingly demanding flight training blocks, typically progressing from Private Pilot certification through Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine Rating, and Certified Flight Instructor certifications over the course of the degree.

Program scale is moderate but heavily concentrated at specialized aviation-focused institutions. About 1,633 degrees are awarded each year across 118 colleges, and Utah Valley University alone produces 337 (189 associate's, 148 bachelor's). Other top-ten programs include Purdue University (93 bachelor's), Auburn University (65), Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (52 associate's), the University of Dubuque (49), California Aeronautical University (46), Mt San Antonio College (43 associate's), Jacksonville University (41), Central Oregon Community College (40 associate's), and Central Washington University (40). Leading programs typically feature substantial training fleets, established pathway agreements with regional airlines, and tightly integrated ground-school-plus-flight-training curricula. The related-majors data shows Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General (5,383 completions) as the much larger parent program — many commercial pilots actually major there while pursuing FAA certifications through their school's flight center.

The earnings picture is unusually strong for an undergraduate major, reflecting the degree's tight coupling to a licensed profession with strong labor demand. Associate's completers report a five-year median of $75,518 — higher than most bachelor's majors on this site — and bachelor's completers $83,993. The career list shows two destinations: airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers (SOC 53-2011) at $226,600 median wage with 3.9% projected growth, and commercial pilots (SOC 53-2012) at $122,670 with 5.1% growth. Typical education for the airline-pilot role is listed as a bachelor's but this reflects industry hiring preference rather than regulatory requirement; commercial pilots list 'postsecondary nondegree award,' which is accurate for the certifications themselves. The actual economic gatekeepers are FAA certifications and accumulated flight hours, and the $83,993 five-year bachelor's median captures the early-career flight-instructor-and-regional-first-officer phase on the path toward senior-captain wages at major airlines.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers $227k +3.9% Bachelor's degree
Commercial pilots $123k +5.1% Postsecondary nondegree award
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$82k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$76k

Bachelor's

$84k

Who this major is for

Students certain that professional flying is their intended career, and who understand the structural demands of the profession — FAA medical certification requirements, mandatory retirement age, hours-building and checkride pressure — are the strongest fit. Comfort with intense procedural discipline, mental math, spatial reasoning under time pressure, and rapid decision-making all indicate suitability. Students targeting major-airline careers should prioritize programs with established pathway agreements (UVU, Purdue, Auburn, Jacksonville, and similar), because those agreements can compress the regional-airline phase and reduce time to major-carrier captain. Students with strong STEM backgrounds can often complete the major plus ancillary coursework in aerospace engineering or aviation safety, broadening career optionality into air-traffic-management, airline operations, aviation-safety, or aerospace-industry roles if the piloting path doesn't pan out.

Reconsider this major if there is meaningful uncertainty about the piloting career, because the training investment is narrowly specialized and expensive ($50K–$100K in flight training costs on top of tuition). Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General (CIP 49.0101, 5,383 completions) is the broader alternative that many future pilots actually choose — it covers aviation management, dispatch, unmanned aircraft, and safety alongside flight training, preserving career options in aviation management if flying does not work out. Aviation/Airway Management and Operations (1,211 completions) is the pure management track without flight training. Also verify FAA Class 1 medical certification eligibility before enrolling — certain vision, cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental-health histories disqualify applicants, and the medical exam should happen before the first significant flight-training investment, not after. Finally, budget honestly for flight-training costs, factor in the age-65 mandatory retirement limit for airline captains, and understand that washout during flight training is a real risk with substantial sunk-cost consequences for students who do not complete the full certification pathway.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Utah Valley University Orem, UT 189 148 337
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN 0 93 93
Auburn University Auburn, AL 0 65 65
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL 52 0 52
University of Dubuque Dubuque, IA 0 49 49
California Aeronautical University Bakersfield, CA 2 44 46
Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA 43 0 43
Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL 0 41 41
Central Oregon Community College Bend, OR 40 0 40
Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA 0 40 40
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General

5,383 completions/yr

Aviation/Airway Management and Operations

1,211 completions/yr

Air Traffic Controller

153 completions/yr

Air Transportation, Other

129 completions/yr

Remote Aircraft Pilot

28 completions/yr

Airline Flight Attendant

21 completions/yr

Flight Instructor

20 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

Why do both the bachelor's and associate's credentials pay well in this major?
Because the degree is not the primary gatekeeping credential — the FAA certifications are. Associate's completers report a five-year median of $75,518 and bachelor's completers $83,993, both materially higher than almost any other associate's-accessible major on this site. The explanation is that professional piloting wages are tied to flight certifications (Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot, Multi-Engine Rating, Airline Transport Pilot) and accumulated flight hours, not to academic credentials. Commercial pilots (SOC 53-2012, $122,670 median, 5.1% projected growth) actually list 'postsecondary nondegree award' as typical education. Airline pilots (SOC 53-2011, $226,600 median) list a bachelor's as typical, but this reflects industry hiring preferences at major airlines rather than a regulatory requirement. Both credentials work; the bachelor's premium reflects better access to major-airline career tracks rather than better flying instruction.
What makes the $226,600 airline pilot wage realistic or unrealistic for new graduates?
It is realistic eventually, but not for several years after graduation. The $226,600 median reflects pay across the full airline-pilot workforce, heavily weighted by senior captains at major legacy carriers. Entry-level regional-airline first-officer pay has improved dramatically in recent years (starting salaries around $80K–$120K with signing bonuses at some regionals) but still sits well below the overall median. The typical career trajectory: bachelor's graduation with commercial certification and ~250 flight hours, 1–3 years as a certified flight instructor or charter pilot to build toward the 1,500 hours required for Airline Transport Pilot certification, 3–8 years at a regional airline as first officer then captain, and then transition to a major airline where senior captain wages can exceed $350K. The $83,993 five-year bachelor's median sits squarely in the flight-instructor-plus-early-regional-first-officer range, consistent with this trajectory.
Which schools lead the program, and does program choice matter for airline hiring?
Utah Valley University dominates at 337 total completions (189 associate's, 148 bachelor's), followed by Purdue (93), Auburn (65), Southern Illinois-Carbondale (52), and a mix of specialized aviation schools like California Aeronautical University (46) and Central Washington University (40). The leading programs share common features: substantial fleet sizes for flight training, established relationships with regional airlines for graduate placement, and pathway programs that reduce the minimum flight hours for specific carrier hiring. Program choice matters significantly in the field. Schools with pathway agreements (UVU, Purdue, Auburn, Jacksonville, and similar) can shorten the time from graduation to major-airline employment by 1–3 years. Pure flight-training costs also matter — the total out-of-pocket cost for FAA certifications and rated flight time ranges from $50K to $100K on top of tuition, and schools vary in how efficiently they bundle that training.
How does this major compare with Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General?
The related-majors data shows Aeronautics, General at 5,383 annual completions — more than three times larger than this major and the dominant program in the aviation concentration. The two serve different functions. This major (Airline/Commercial/Professional Pilot and Flight Crew) is the direct pilot-training track, with curriculum built around FAA certifications and flight hours. Aeronautics/Aviation/Aerospace Science and Technology, General is the broader aviation-industry track covering aviation management, dispatch, safety, unmanned aircraft operations, and airline operations alongside flight training. Many students who become commercial pilots actually major in the broader Aeronautics program while pursuing FAA certifications through their school's flight center, keeping options open for aviation-management careers if flying doesn't work out. Aviation/Airway Management and Operations (1,211 completions) is the pure management track with minimal flight training. Students certain about flying as a career often choose the narrow pilot major; students who want optionality often choose the broader Aeronautics major.
What should prospective students know about age, medical, and washout risks?
Three structural risks shape this major more than most. First, FAA Class 1 medical certification is required for airline-transport-pilot work, and conditions like poor vision, insulin-dependent diabetes, certain cardiovascular conditions, and some mental-health treatment histories can disqualify applicants. Prospective students should verify eligibility before investing in training. Second, the mandatory retirement age for Part 121 airline pilots is 65 in the United States (legislation to raise it has been debated but not enacted), which shortens the earnings-peak window relative to most other careers. Third, flight-training washout rates are real — students who struggle with instrument flying, cannot accumulate hours cost-effectively, or do not pass checkrides on schedule can exit the program with substantial training debt and an unfinished credential. The commercial pilot and airline pilot careers are exceptional economically for graduates who complete the pathway; the graduates who do not complete it typically absorb the costliest training debt of any major on this site.