Career
Airfield operations specialists
Keep airfields safe and running.
$56,850
Median pay
+7.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,500
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
- Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation.
- Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields.
- Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies.
- Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though long-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $56,850 a year and 1,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Air Traffic Controllers$148,080 · +1.7%
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors$58,170 · +9.2%
- First-Line Supervisors of Passenger Attendants
- Commercial Pilots$123,220 · +5.2%
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers$232,140 · +8.3%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.