Now is the time to consider a career as a professional pilot. A 2022 study by Boeing predicted a need for 602,000 pilots over the next 20 years – that is approximately 30,000 new pilots per year. Given this and other unique market conditions, the civil aviation industry expects to experience a deficit of up to 260,000 pilots within the next 10 years.

Although alarming, this trajectory toward a pilot deficit creates an opportunity that is both exciting and lucrative for those who pick aviation as a career. US News and World Report ranked the pilot career as #10 in best paying jobs. Pilot wages have already begun to increase--in fact, pay rates at Delta Airlines increased by 18% in 2023. Aspiring pilots can begin to fly solo as early as age 16 and can be flying for a commercial airline by age 23.