Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 53-2022

Airfield Operations Specialists

The published band from $35,870 to $102,120 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Airfield Operations Specialists: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers ($232K) , Flight Attendants ($64K) , Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers ($69K) , Wellhead Pumpers ($70K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Airfield Operations Specialists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 53-2022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Inspect airfield conditions to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements
  2. 2. Implement airfield safety procedures to ensure a safe operating environment for personnel and aircraft operation
  3. 3. Conduct inspections of the airport property and perimeter to maintain controlled access to airfields
  4. 4. Assist in responding to aircraft and medical emergencies
  5. 5. Initiate or conduct airport-wide coordination of snow removal on runways and taxiways
  6. 6. Manage wildlife on and around airport grounds
  7. 7. Coordinate communications between air traffic control and maintenance personnel
  8. 8. Coordinate with agencies to meet aircrew requirements for billeting, messing, refueling, ground transportation, and transient aircraft ma…
  9. 9. Perform and supervise airfield management activities, including mobile airfield management functions
  10. 10. Plan and coordinate airfield construction
  11. 11. Monitor the arrival, parking, refueling, loading, and departure of all aircraft
  12. 12. Use airfield landing and navigational aids and digital data terminal communications equipment to perform duties

Airfield Operations Specialists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 53-2022 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Public Safety and Security. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.0
  2. 2. Monitoring 4.0
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  4. 4. Speaking 3.8
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.8
  6. 6. Coordination 3.8
  7. 7. Writing 3.4
  8. 8. Complex Problem Solving 3.4

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Public Safety and Security 4.5
  2. 2. Transportation 4.3
  3. 3. English Language 4.2
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  5. 5. Education and Training 3.7
  6. 6. Telecommunications 3.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$35,870 to $102,120
median $56,850 · ~2.8× spread
$57K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
1,600
Annual openings
15,190
Estimated US jobs
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $232K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Top Paying States for Airfield Operations Specialists

1. Alabama $78,590
2. Arizona $77,570
3. Georgia $66,790
4. New Mexico $69,090
5. Colorado $77,500
6. Washington $84,050
7. Alaska $71,510
8. Virginia $72,250
9. Kentucky $123,290
10. Oregon $75,130

Other Transportation and Material Moving Occupations titles

  1. 1. Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers $68,840
  2. 2. Flight Attendants $63,580
  3. 3. Wellhead Pumpers $69,960
  4. 4. Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers $232,140
  5. 5. Locomotive Engineers $81,410
  6. 6. Transportation Inspectors $92,100

The OEWS band for Airfield Operations Specialists runs from $35,870 (10th) to $102,120 (90th), about 2.8× wide, with median $56,850. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,600 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Alabama at $78,590. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers at $232,140. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Airfield Operations Specialists pay-rank #24 in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations

Airfield Operations Specialists sits at pay-rank #24 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 53-2022 · national median $56,850 · middle third of Transportation and Material Moving Occupations (#24/50). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Airfield Operations Specialists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 53-2022

Alabama · top state for Airfield Operations Specialists

$79K published median

Arizona · #2 state pay

$78K · behind Alabama

Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs Airfield Operations Specialists · $232K

Flight Attendants

Lower-pay peer beside Airfield Operations Specialists · $64K

Compare Airfield Operations Specialists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Airfield Operations Specialists with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Airfield Operations Specialists mid-table among Transportation and Material Moving Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #24 of 50 detailed Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Hoist and Winch Operators ($56K), Rail Transportation Workers, All Other ($56K), Bridge and Lock Tenders ($58K), Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors ($58K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do airfield operations specialists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Airfield Operations Specialists. Leading ones include: 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. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for airfield operations specialists? ▼
For SOC 53-2022, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.0), Monitoring (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.8), Speaking (3.8). Knowledge areas emphasize Public Safety and Security, Transportation, English Language. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Airfield Operations Specialists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $35,870 and the 90th at $102,120 for Airfield Operations Specialists (2.8× spread). The national median is $56,850. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Airfield Operations Specialists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Airfield Operations Specialists is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 1,600. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Airfield Operations Specialists? ▼
BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Airfield Operations Specialists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Airfield Operations Specialists? ▼
Alabama ($78,590), Arizona ($77,570), Georgia ($66,790) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Airfield Operations Specialists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 53-2022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Airfield Operations Specialists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics