Airfield Operations Specialists
What Airfield Operations Specialists Do
Ensure the safe takeoff and landing of commercial and military aircraft. Duties include coordination between air-traffic control and maintenance personnel, dispatching, using airfield landing and navigational aids, implementing airfield safety procedures, monitoring and maintaining flight records, and applying knowledge of weather information.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- Not available
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 3 of 5Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations.
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 4.5/5
- Transportationimportance 4.3/5
- English Languageimportance 4.2/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.0/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 3.7/5
- Telecommunicationsimportance 3.6/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.6/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 3.4/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Contact With Others4.9/5
- Telephone Conversations4.9/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.9/5
- Consequence of Error4.8/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.8/5
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.
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians97% skill match
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators96% skill match
- Medical Dosimetrists96% skill match
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians95% skill match
- Anesthesiologists95% skill match
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians95% skill match
- Air Traffic Controllers95% skill match
- Transit and Railroad Police94% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.4/5
- Instructingimportance 3.3/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.1/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.1/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Aircraft noise monitoring system software
- Apache HTTP Server
- Decision Support Technologies Propworks
- FileMaker Pro
- Ground transportation management system
- Internet Protocol Television Systems
- Operations scheduling software
- Parking access revenue control system
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Attention to Detail
- Stress Tolerance
- Self-Control
- Integrity
- Cooperation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- InvestigativeMedium
- SocialLow
- 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 airfield operations specialists make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Rapid City, SD8.88× national avg
- 2Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL5.57× national avg
- 3Anchorage, AK5.35× national avg
- 4Sioux Falls, SD-MN4.49× national avg
- 5Salt Lake City-Murray, UT2.69× national avg
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Air Traffic Controller
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide (Daytona Beach, FL)grads earn ~$90,495
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach (Daytona Beach, FL)grads earn ~$90,495
- Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA)grads earn ~$102,096
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND)grads earn ~$104,472
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide (Daytona Beach, FL)grads earn ~$113,161