How To Become A Flight Commander: What It Is and Career Path

What is a flight commander and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Get ready to soar high above the crowd. That's what you'll do if you become a flight commander. A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations. Flight commander is also the title of the officer commanding a ground-based flight. Being a flight commander gives you a chance to demonstrate your leadership skills, while also helping to develop technical experts. As a flight commander, your key goal will be to guide those under you into becoming top-notch pilots.

Flight commanders need to be multi-dimensional, striving to balance technical competence with strong leadership principles. Flight commanders should exhibit keen situational awareness as well as the ability to remain calm. Other beneficial skills for flight commanders include confidence, clear communication, and self-discipline. Since a flight commander may encounter unexpected situations, decisiveness and quick thinking skills are also needed. Those interested in becoming flight commanders should pursue flight-level leadership courses.

ScoreFlight CommanderUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,672

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.8

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.26%

Asian 2.75%

Black or African American 2.66%

Hispanic or Latino 6.94%

Unknown 5.52%

White 81.86%

Gender

female 20.34%

male 79.66%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

9.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.4

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.4

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a flight commander

Explore flight commander education requirements

Most common flight commander degrees

Bachelor's

70.8 %

Master's

18.8 %

Associate

7.4 %

Start to develop specific flight commander skills

Skills	Percentages
Combat	12.74%
Logistics Support	7.28%
USAF	6.22%
AFB	6.22%
Training Programs	5.73%

Complete relevant flight commander training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New flight commanders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a flight commander based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real flight commander resumes.

Research flight commander duties and responsibilities

Develop and administer a continuity of operations plan which lead to fully survivable ISR network operations.
Lead several Russian inspectors during a highly-visible reentry vehicle inspection on-site inspection - commend for superb leadership
Provide quality maintain F-22A and F-15C/D fighter aircrafts on a worldwide basis.
Raise over $250K through special events and other fundraising activities for Eglin AFB.

Prepare your flight commander resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your flight commander resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a flight commander resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Flight Commander Resume templates

Build a professional Flight Commander resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Flight Commander resume.

Apply for flight commander jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a flight commander job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams