Your logbook holds most of your flying career, and your resume has to condense it into a page. Recruiters and chief pilots read it for a career that keeps moving up, toward larger aircraft, more responsibility and bigger operations. Fitting years of hours and ratings on 1 page, with every total easy to find, means giving each section one clear job.
How to Write a Pilot Resume - Key Takeaways
- Put your jobs newest first, in reverse-chronological order, on 1 page; captains with several type ratings or a training role can use 2.
- Put total time, pilot-in-command time and time in type in your summary, with the month you totaled your logbook.
- Write the seat and the aircraft in every job title line, such as First Officer, Embraer E175, and the operation in its first bullet.
- Make your highest FAA pilot certificate the top line of Certificates, with its category, class and type ratings, then your medical class.
- Back every bullet with a figure a chief pilot already counts: legs flown, block hours, airports served, dual given or checkrides passed.
- Test the final file in an ATS resume checker before you upload it to an airline's careers portal.
What airline recruiters and chief pilots look for in a pilot resume
A recruiter or chief pilot reads your resume to settle 3 things: which certificates and ratings you hold, how much time you have and in what aircraft, and whether your training record is steady. The BLS lists checking that the aircraft is balanced and below its weight limit, verifying fuel and weather, preparing flight plans for air traffic control and responding to weather events and emergencies as core pilot duties. O*NET adds working as part of a flight team, especially during takeoffs and landings. Each bullet should place that work in a named aircraft and a named operation.
Build the page from these sections, under headings that airline application systems parse cleanly:
- Name, headline (for example, First Officer, ATP, Embraer E175 Type Rating) and contact details
- Summary with your flight time totals, printed at the top without a heading of its own
- Work Experience, newest first, with the seat and aircraft in each job title
- Certificates: your pilot certificate and ratings first, then the FAA medical and instructor certificates
- Skills, including the flight planning software you use
- Education
- Optional: Languages, and either Key Achievements (awards, safety recognition) or Volunteer Experience
Best format for a pilot resume
Use the reverse-chronological resume format: newest job first, each with your seat and aircraft, the operator and its location, with every date written as MM/YYYY. A pilot career is read as a climb in seat, aircraft size and type of operation, from instructor to first officer to captain, and this order shows every step. If you flew more than 1 fleet for the same operator, keep 1 entry and name each aircraft with its dates in a bullet.
- Best for most pilotsReverse-chronologicalYour jobs, newest first, with your results under each one.Best for: A steady work history in your field
- FunctionalSkills grouped up top, with a short work history below.Best for: Gaps or very little experience
- CombinationA skills section first, then your full work history.Best for: A career change with strong skills
Keep it to 1 page while you have flown 1 or 2 aircraft types for pay. A 2-page resume suits captains and check pilots with several type ratings, a military flying career before the airline, or training and management roles, provided your certificates and flight times sit on page 1.
| Setting | What to use |
|---|---|
| Length | 1 page; 2 for captains with several type ratings or a training role |
| Dates | MM/YYYY for each job and certificate, and Present for the seat you hold now |
| Job title line | Seat plus aircraft: First Officer, Airbus A320 |
| Flight times | Totals in the summary, dated to the month you totaled your logbook |
| Photo and personal data | No photo for most US and Canadian operators; leave off your age and your FAA certificate number |
| File type | A PDF saved under your name, unless the operator's portal asks for Word |
Most US and Canadian resumes carry no photo. Airlines and charter operators take most applications through online portals that copy your resume into their own fields, so standard headings and consistent dates help your hours and ratings land in the right boxes.
Pilot resume summary vs. objective
Write a resume summary once you have flown for an airline, a charter operator or a corporate flight department: your certificate, your total time, your time in type and 1 result. Write a resume objective if you are still building hours or moving from instructing or the military into a first airline seat: the seat and operation you want, the certificate you hold or are close to, and your hours. Either way, every number in it must match your Certificates section and your logbook.
Pilot resume summary formula
Certificate pilot with total hours total time and hours in aircraft. Type of operation, with 1 result and a number. Type ratings, or the next certificate or seat you are aiming for.
Example
ATP-certificated first officer with 5,850 hours total time and 4,300 in the Embraer E175. Flies about 70 legs a month in Part 121 regional service from a Nashville base, with every line check passed since 2021. Holds an E175 type rating and bids for captain upgrade in 2027.
Don't
Dedicated and safety-minded pilot seeking to bring my passion for aviation to a growing company.
Do
Part 135 captain with 3,900 hours total time and 2,100 in the Citation CJ3, flying on-demand charter for a fleet of 6 jets. Flew 140 trips last year to 85 airports. ATP with a Citation CJ3 type rating.
This version gives the seat, the operation, the hours and the type rating a chief pilot screens for.
How to write pilot work experience bullets with numbers
Give your current job 3 to 4 bullets and each older one 1 to 3. Open with the aircraft, the operation and your time in it, since a chief pilot reads every later figure against them. Then add what your operation already counts: legs and block hours, airports and routes, training given, checkride results and duties beyond the flight deck. Give each seat and aircraft its own MM/YYYY dates, as you would when listing work experience on a resume in any field, so an upgrade reads as a step.
| Area | What to count | Example bullet |
|---|---|---|
| Flight time | Hours in type, legs, total time in the seat | Logged 2,200 hours in the Airbus A320 across 1,150 legs on domestic and Caribbean routes. |
| Operations | Trips, airports, short or demanding runways | Flew 220 trips a year into 75 airports, 12 of them with runways under 5,000 feet. |
| Training given | Dual hours, students, checkride results | Recommended 24 students for private and instrument checkrides; 21 passed on the first attempt. |
| Standards | Proficiency checks, line checks, repeat items | Completed 6 consecutive proficiency checks and line checks with no repeat items. |
| Fuel and efficiency | Single-engine taxi, APU use, fuel saved | Used single-engine taxi on 80% of eligible departures, saving about 9,000 gallons of fuel a year. |
| Leadership | IOE flown, crews mentored, committee work | Flew initial operating experience with 15 new captains as a line check pilot. |
Here is one pilot's entry with those figures in place. The aircraft, the operation and the time in type lead, and the instructing job before the airline keeps a single line.
Work Experience
- Fly about 70 legs a month in Part 121 regional service across 38 airports in the eastern US, with 4,300 hours in the E175.
- Passed 5 annual proficiency checks and 2 line checks on the first attempt since initial training.
- Teach the systems review module to new-hire first officers as a base ground instructor; 26 trained in 2025.
- Gave 1,300 hours of dual instruction in Cessna 172 and Piper Seminole aircraft and wrote the school's instrument stage check syllabus.
Don't
Flew passengers safely to various destinations.
Do
Flew 64 legs a month as first officer on the Airbus A321 from a Phoenix base, logging 2,400 hours in type on routes to 41 airports.
Now the bullet carries the seat, the aircraft, the base and the volume.
Don't
Handled trip planning for charter flights.
Do
Planned and flew 130 on-demand charter trips a year in a King Air 350, checking weight and balance, weather and runway length for each of 70 airports.
Pilot skills and flight planning software for your resume
Pick 6 to 8 hard skills for your resume that the job ad requests and your bullets already show. Instrument flying and crew resource management belong on nearly every pilot resume; mountain flying, oceanic procedures or cargo loading only when you have flown them for pay.
Hard skills for pilots
- Instrument flight (IFR) operations
- Crew resource management (CRM)
- Flight and fuel planning
- Weight and balance calculations
- Preflight inspection
- Flight management system (FMS) programming
- Autopilot and automation management
- Abnormal and emergency procedures
- ATC communications
- Threat and error management
Soft skills chief pilots value
- Calm decisions under time pressure
- Clear flight deck communication
- Situational awareness
- Checklist discipline
- Teamwork with cabin and ground crews
- Flexibility with schedule changes
List the flight planning and electronic flight bag (EFB) software you use with your skills, then show it in a bullet. If a posting names its EFB or dispatch system, write that name exactly, and give the avionics or flight management system of each aircraft in its job entry.
Pilot certificates, type ratings and FAA medical on a resume
Your pilot certificate is the first line a recruiter checks. The BLS states that all pilot crews of a scheduled commercial airliner must have ATP certificates, and the FAA's rule in 14 CFR 61.159 sets the usual ATP minimum at 1,500 hours of total time, including 500 hours of cross-country, 100 hours of night and 75 hours of instrument time. A restricted ATP (R-ATP) lowers the total to 750 hours for military pilots, 1,000 hours with a qualifying aviation bachelor's degree and 1,250 with a qualifying aviation associate degree. Put certifications on your resume with the highest pilot certificate first, then its ratings, the medical and any instructor certificates.
| Credential | Issued by | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Pilot Certificate (Airplane) | Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) | At least 250 hours of flight time for the single-engine rating, including 100 hours as pilot in command, plus a knowledge test and a checkride. |
| Instrument Rating | FAA | At least 40 hours of instrument flight experience and 50 hours of cross-country time as pilot in command, per the BLS. |
| Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) | FAA | 1,500 hours of total time and a minimum age of 23; the ATP CTP course (30 classroom hours and 10 simulator hours) comes before the multiengine knowledge test. |
| Restricted ATP (R-ATP) | FAA | 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, depending on the military or aviation degree route, and a minimum age of 21. |
| Type rating | FAA | Required to act as pilot in command of a large aircraft (over 12,500 pounds maximum certificated takeoff weight) or any turbojet-powered airplane. |
| First-Class Medical Certificate | FAA | Needed for ATP pilot-in-command privileges; for those privileges it lasts 12 months under age 40 and 6 months from age 40. |
How to write your certificate and type rating line
Write the certificate, then its category and class as they appear on the card, then each type rating on its own line with the month it was issued. Add commercial privileges and instructor certificates after it, and finish with your medical class and the month of your latest exam. Leave the certificate number off; the operator asks for it on its own application.
Certificates
- Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), Airplane Multiengine Land, Federal Aviation Administration, 02/2021
- Type rating: Embraer E175, Federal Aviation Administration, 05/2021
- Commercial privileges, Airplane Single-Engine Land, Federal Aviation Administration, 08/2016
- Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Airplane Single and Multiengine, Instrument Airplane, Federal Aviation Administration, 05/2017
- First-Class Medical Certificate, Federal Aviation Administration, 09/2026
How to list an aviation degree or flight training on a pilot resume
Per the BLS, the usual requirement for airline pilots is a 4-year degree in any field, with transportation, engineering and business among them. An aviation degree can also cut the hours you need: under 14 CFR 61.160, a graduate of a qualifying aviation bachelor's program with 60 semester credit hours of aviation coursework may apply for a restricted ATP at 1,000 hours. If your degree qualifies, say so in your summary or objective while you are under 1,500 hours.
List your education by degree name, college, location and graduation month, and add the concentration when it was a pilot track. Under the degree, name the pilot certificates you earned in the program; once you fly for an airline, drop that line. Flight training at a Part 61 or Part 141 school outside a college shows up as the certificates it earned, under Certificates.
Education
Private, instrument, commercial and flight instructor certificates earned through the program's flight training.
Flight instructor, military and career-change pilot resumes
Most civilian pilots reach their first airline seat after building time, and some, as the BLS points out, work as flight instructors or on-demand charter pilots, jobs that usually require less experience. Use an entry-level resume layout only while you have no paid flying. Once you instruct or fly charter, that job gets its own Work Experience entry with its aircraft, hours and results.
- Flight instructing (CFI, CFII, MEI): hours of dual given, the aircraft, students trained and checkride results.
- Part 135, cargo, banner, survey or ferry flying: the aircraft, your hours in it and the number of trips or flights.
- Military flying: each aircraft, total and pilot-in-command hours, and any instructor or evaluator role, in civilian words.
- Civil Air Patrol or charity patient flights: under Volunteer Experience, with the number of flights and hours.
Don't
Motivated pilot looking for a first officer position where I can grow my career.
Do
CFII with 1,080 hours, 140 of them multi-engine, seeking a first officer seat at a regional airline. Eligible for a restricted ATP through an aviation bachelor's degree; completed the ATP CTP in 07/2026.
Even a first-seat objective needs hours, the seat you want and the step that makes you eligible.
Military pilots can apply for a restricted ATP at 750 hours, and the BLS notes they may apply directly to airlines. Translate the service record into airline terms: aircraft, total and pilot-in-command hours, crew size and instructor or evaluator roles, with every acronym spelled out, and see the military-to-civilian resume for the layout. Coming from another career, keep reverse-chronological order, lead with your certificates and hours, and keep older bullets that show transferable skills such as following procedures or making decisions under time pressure. The career-change resume examples show how that looks, and 1 short paragraph of your cover letter can explain when and why you started flying.
Pilot resume FAQ
Should I list my flight hours on a pilot resume?
Yes. Put total time, pilot-in-command time and time in your current type in your summary, with the month you totaled them, and give hours in type again in each job's first bullet. Recruiters compare these figures with your application and logbook, so they must match.
How do I list a restricted ATP on my resume?
List it under Certificates as Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), Airplane Multiengine Land, restricted per 14 CFR 61.167, with the issue date. If you are not yet at the minimum, give your route and hours in your objective instead, such as aviation degree route, 940 of 1,000 hours.
Do I put my FAA medical certificate on a pilot resume?
Yes, as the last line under Certificates: the class and the month of your latest exam. For ATP pilot-in-command privileges a first-class medical lasts 12 months under age 40 and 6 months from age 40, so a current date tells an operator you can fly now.
How long should a pilot resume be?
1 page for most first officers, instructors and charter pilots. Captains, check pilots and pilots with a military career before the airline can use 2 pages, provided their certificates and flight times sit on page 1.
Should I list every aircraft I have flown?
No. Name every aircraft you flew for pay or hold a type rating in, each inside the job where you flew it. Training aircraft from your private and instrument days need no line of their own unless you instructed in them.
Does flight instructor time help on an airline pilot resume?
Yes. Instructing is how many civilian pilots build the hours an ATP needs, and it shows judgment and briefing skill. List it as a full job with your dual hours, the aircraft, the number of students and their checkride results.
How do military pilots write a resume for an airline job?
Lead with your FAA certificates and your total and pilot-in-command hours, then list each aircraft and unit as a job in civilian words. Spell out every military acronym, and name instructor, evaluator or flight lead roles, since they show you have trained and checked other pilots.
Do you need a college degree to be an airline pilot?
Not by FAA rule, but the BLS describes a 4-year degree in any field as the usual requirement for airline pilots. A qualifying aviation bachelor's degree also lets you apply for a restricted ATP at 1,000 hours instead of 1,500.
What is the median salary for airline pilots?
Airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers had a median annual pay of $232,140 in May 2025, per the BLS, against $123,220 for commercial pilots. Pay follows seniority, seat and aircraft; leave it off your resume and discuss it when an offer comes.
Next steps
Start from the example that matches your seat and aircraft, then replace every figure with totals taken from your logbook on the same date. Our resume builder and templates handle the layout, and your cover letter should name the operator, the seat you want and your time in type.