Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors
What Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors Do
Supervise and coordinate the activities of ground crew in the loading, unloading, securing, and staging of aircraft cargo or baggage. May determine the quantity and orientation of cargo and compute aircraft center of gravity. May accompany aircraft as member of flight crew and monitor and handle cargo in flight, and assist and brief passengers on safety and emergency procedures. Includes loadmasters.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 0.8%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.7/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 4.4/5
- Transportationimportance 4.3/5
- English Languageimportance 4.3/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.8/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.7/5
- Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 3.5/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.5/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Telephone Conversations5.0/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
- Contact With Others4.9/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.8/5
- Time Pressure4.7/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Surveyors96% skill match
- Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists95% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers95% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers94% skill match
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians93% skill match
- Forest and Conservation Technicians93% skill match
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers93% skill match
- Food Science Technicians92% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Management of Personnel Resourcesimportance 3.8/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.6/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.5/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.4/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.3/5
- Instructingimportance 3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Other Software Used
- Cargo tracking system software
- Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
- Warehouse management system WMS
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Leadership Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
- Integrity
- Self-Control
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticMedium
- SocialLow
- InvestigativeLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where aircraft cargo handling supervisors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Kahului-Wailuku, HI13.87× national avg
- 2Anchorage, AK11.65× national avg
- 3Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN6.60× national avg
- 4Omaha, NE-IA4.63× national avg
- 5Boise City, ID4.46× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersCareer Change
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction WorkersCareer Change
- Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention SpecialistsCareer Change
- First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention WorkersCareer Change
See the full career path from Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors →