Airfield Operations Specialists
Transportation and Material Moving · SOC 53-2022
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 53-2022 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 4.8%
- Medium · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 59/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $56,850
- H-1B offered wage $49,634; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- 1,100
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +4.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 4
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 2,189 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
Best transitions from here
Explore all pathways→Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
AI could do ~36.6% of this role but only ~4.8% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
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.
Common titles: Airfield Operations Specialist, Airport Operations Agent, Airport Operations Coordinator, Airport Operations Officer, Airport Operations Specialist, Flight Follower
Representative Tasks
- •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.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Inspect facilities, equipment or supplies to ensure conformance to standards.
- •Inspect facilities.
- •Plan flight operations.
- •Assist others during emergencies.
- •Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with security or safety regulations.
Tools & Technologies
Related Occupations
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 4.8% | 0.2% |
| Outlook | Bright ↗ | 20% Bright |
| Median Salary | $56,850 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 95/100 | N/A |