Commercial Pilots

People in this career often have these skills:

• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
• Response Orientation - The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Depth Perception - The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
• Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
• Reaction Time - The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
• Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
• Spatial Orientation - The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
• Time Sharing - The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• Rate Control - The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

People in this career often do these activities:

• Pilot aircraft.
• Monitor engine operation or functioning.
• Inspect aircraft or aircraft components.
• Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
• Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.

• Review work orders or schedules to determine operations or procedures.
• Inspect cargo to ensure it is properly loaded or secured.
• Resolve issues affecting transportation operations.
• Plan flight operations.
• Assist others during emergencies.
• Coordinate flight control or management activities.
• Record operational details of travel.
• Direct passenger or freight transport activities.
• Train transportation or material moving personnel.
• Evaluate performance of applicants, trainees, or employees.
• Arrange maintenance activities.
• Maintain vehicles in good working condition.
• Test performance of aircraft equipment.

• Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels

• Airfield Operations Specialists

• Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

• Forest and Conservation Technicians

• Forest and Conservation Workers

• Firefighters

• Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

• Agricultural Inspectors

• First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers