co-pilot
Co-pilots are responsible for assisting captains by monitoring the flight instruments, handling radio communications, watching for air traffic, and taking over for the pilot as needed. They adhere to the pilot's commands, flight plans, and regulations and procedures of aviation national authorities, companies, and airports.
co-pilot co-pilots are responsible for assisting captains by monitoring the flight instruments, handling radio communications, watching for air traffic, and taking over for the pilot as needed. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.47 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include visual flight rules, geographic areas, airport planning, aircraft flight control systems, air transport law.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £82,746 a year for Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 3511). ONS rates this estimate acceptable: it rests on a small sample, so treat it as a rough guide. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Technicians and associate professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only co-pilot, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 3. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Transportation
- Geography
- Public Safety and Security
- Mechanical
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
What you'd actually do
- Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly.
- Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required.
- Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne.
- Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor.
- Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
- Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does co-pilot do?
Co-pilots are responsible for assisting captains by monitoring the flight instruments, handling radio communications, watching for air traffic, and taking over for the pilot as needed. They adhere to the pilot's commands, flight plans, and regulations and procedures of aviation national authorities, companies, and airports.
What skills does co-pilot need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include visual flight rules, geographic areas, airport planning, aircraft flight control systems, air transport law, air traffic control operations. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace co-pilot?
Our AI-durability model gives co-pilot a score of 0.47 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.