How to become a flight engineer

Official title: Flight engineer

Flight engineer makes pre-flight and post-flight inspection of aircraft engine, other equipment and fuselage as well as observes gauges, meters and other aircraft instruments during flight to detect technical irregularities. He/she monitors fuel gauges and consumption and engine performance, regulates engine speed according to pilot’s instructions and keeps pilot-in-command informed if any defects or difficulties occur during flight.

Main tasks

• Applying knowledge of principles and practices of flying in order to identify and solve problems arising in the course of their work
• Controlling the operation of mechanical, electrical and electronic equipment and ensuring that all instruments and controls work properly
• Examining maintenance records and conducting inspections to ensure that aircraft are mechanically sound, maintenance has been performed and that all equipment is operational
• Signing necessary certificates and maintaining official records of flight

Ways in

• University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 4 universities in Singapore

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Commercial airline pilot
• Aircraft pilot (excluding commercial airline and air force)
• Flying instructor (excluding air force)

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Questions people ask

How do I become a flight engineer?

Ways in include: Engineering degrees.

Will AI change the work of a flight engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026