Which Government Agencies hire pilots?

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WannaBePiloto

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WannaBePiloto
Trying to figure out what all Government Agencies hire on pilots. (fixed-wing or helicopter)
I've googled around but I'm sure there are more out there than the typical ones that pop up.

Really appreciate any feedback! Thanks!
 
A prior DE in Tucson was a pilot for the border patrol.


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Usajobs.gov

LOTS of them do. FBI, CIA, Dept of Ag, Dept of Air Force, Army, Dept of Interior, FAA, DOT, CBP, ANG, off the top of my head.

Navy contracts… don’t know about USCG.
 
For pilot jobs, be aware that if the agency is related to law enforcement, pilots are required to qualify as LEOs as well. With the FBI that’s somewhat obvious, but not so much with CBP, DEA, ATF, etc.
 
NASA has a few pilots. Not all of them are astronauts.
 
Jim_R said:
NASA has a few pilots. Not all of them are astronauts.
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A friend of mine was a NASA pilot. She flew the Vomit Comet and was a T-38 IP.

But for all Federal Jobs, usajobs.gov is the place to start.
 
bflynn said:
For pilot jobs, be aware that if the agency is related to law enforcement, pilots are required to qualify as LEOs as well.
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And usually several years of LEO experience first. Their mistake is trying to make pilots out of cops. Much easier to make cops out of pilots.

Cop: I am a cop and I can do anything I want.

Pilot: I am a pilot and I know and follow the rules.

Accident Agusta A109E Power N606SP, Tuesday 9 June 2009

On June 9, 2009, about 2135 mountain daylight time, an Agusta A109E helicopter, N606SP, impacted terrain following visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions nea...
asn.flightsafety.org
 
The FAA for one.

As mentioned, usajobs.gov is the source for all (most?) federal hiring.

The job series for pilot (useful for searches) is 2181.
 
Pinecone said:
I would word search. There are number of series for various pilot jobs
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Are there? I was only aware of 2181, which is actually "Aircraft Operations". Certainly there are other job series where a pilot could fill, but they're not actual flying jobs, are they? I am happy to be proven wrong, but I don't see any that stand out when looking at the list of job series. (Note that 2181 doesn't have the word "pilot" in it either.)

If you search for "pilot", though, you won't just get pilot jobs. You'll get jobs that have the word "pilot" in the description, whether it's an admin position at the Test Pilot School or the head of a new "pilot program".

That's why I recommend searching by the job series if the interest is actually in flying an airplane.
 
RussR said:
Are there? I was only aware of 2181, which is actually "Aircraft Operations". Certainly there are other job series where a pilot could fill, but they're not actual flying jobs, are they? I am happy to be proven wrong, but I don't see any that stand out when looking at the list of job series. (Note that 2181 doesn't have the word "pilot" in it either.)

If you search for "pilot", though, you won't just get pilot jobs. You'll get jobs that have the word "pilot" in the description, whether it's an admin position at the Test Pilot School or the head of a new "pilot program".

That's why I recommend searching by the job series if the interest is actually in flying an airplane.
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ART (Air Reserve Technician) jobs come to mind, but those are ubique.

About a decade back, some of the agency special hiring authority programs had unique, non-USAJobs webpages, if I can dig up one of those that’s still active and usedtoday, I’ll post it.
 
You can walk into any federal flight department and ask if they’re hiring. It happens. Not common.
 
RussR said:
Are there? I was only aware of 2181, which is actually "Aircraft Operations". Certainly there are other job series where a pilot could fill, but they're not actual flying jobs, are they? I am happy to be proven wrong, but I don't see any that stand out when looking at the list of job series. (Note that 2181 doesn't have the word "pilot" in it either.)

If you search for "pilot", though, you won't just get pilot jobs. You'll get jobs that have the word "pilot" in the description, whether it's an admin position at the Test Pilot School or the head of a new "pilot program".

That's why I recommend searching by the job series if the interest is actually in flying an airplane.
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Also 1825 Aviation Safety

1881 Customs Air Interdiction

0132 Intelligence (CIA Pilot)

MOST are 2181 but not all.
 
Pinecone said:
Also 1825 Aviation Safety

1881 Customs Air Interdiction

0132 Intelligence (CIA Pilot)

MOST are 2181 but not all.
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Perfect! Thank you.

Although I'd respectfully quibble a bit on 1825 - all the jobs currently listed for 1825's are "Aviation Safety Inspectors", i.e. FSDO employees. Unless other agencies use the same job series for actual flying-pilot jobs that just don't have any openings now (totally possible of course), the FSDO employees certainly don't qualify in my mind as a "pilot" position. Yes, technically they fly, but a very extremely limited amount (like barely enough to maintain currency). It's certainly not what most people would think of when applying for a pilot position.
 
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