second officer

Second officers are responsible for monitoring and controlling various aircraft systems including fixed-wing and rotary wing. They work in close coordination with the two pilots during all phases of flight. They make pre-flight, inflight, and post flight inspections, adjustments, and minor repairs. They verify parameters such as passenger and cargo distribution, the amount of fuel, aircraft performance, and appropriate engine speed according to instructions of pilots.

The most in-demand skills for this role include geographic areas, airport planning, aircraft flight control systems, electrical systems used in transportation, electronics, air transport law. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Our AI-durability model gives second officer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.