Flight Test Engineer
Impact: Problem-solving and innovation
Plan, execute, and analyze flight tests to evaluate the performance and safety of aircraft systems.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 65% Team / 35% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- Minimal
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- On-site Only
- Typical work hours
- 44-55 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $89,000
- Entry-level
- $78,000
- Senior
- $156,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 5% (average)
- Demand
- Growing
- Freelance potential
- Low
- Salary growth potential
- High to 100% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $40,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Thermodynamics
- Circuit Design
- Control Systems
- Process Optimization
- Prototyping
- Material Science
Soft skills
- Interpersonal Skills
- Time Management
- Leadership
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Teamwork
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Bachelor's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 5-7 years
- Years to senior
- 8-9 years
- Career switching
- Hard
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Entry Level
- Mid Level
- Senior Level
- Lead/Manager
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 38% to moderate risk due to specialized skills
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Growing
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 7.4/10
- Meaning
- 7.9/10
- Work-life balance
- 8.3/10
- Prestige
- 7.2/10
- Social perception
- Moderate