Pay on V-1X
How V-1X estimates pay
Every listing on V-1X shows a pay figure. Most come straight from the employer's posting. When an employer states no pay, we show our own estimate instead of hiding the job, and we label it so you can always tell the two apart.
Employer pay
The number is in the employer's own posting: a range, or a single stated rate such as a union starting wage. Bonuses, shift differentials, "up to" amounts and referral payments are never counted as pay.
V-1X estimate
The employer stated no pay. Our figure comes from comparable postings that do state pay, or from federal wage data, and each listing says which. It is a guide for job seekers, not an offer and not an employer statement.
Conservative by design
- Every estimate runs from the 25th percentile to the median of its comparison set. It never goes above the median.
- Captain roles use the 10th to 25th percentile, because captain pay swings widely with aircraft size. First officer and flight instructor roles do the same when the fallback is federal data, which does not separate regional from mainline pay.
- Seniority words in a title ("Senior", "Lead", "III") never raise an estimate.
- Contract and staffing postings are kept separate from direct-hire comparables so hourly contract rates do not inflate salaried estimates.
- Low ends are rounded down.
Where the comparables come from
Each job is grouped by title (captain, first officer, flight instructor, A&P mechanic, avionics, line service, ramp, dispatcher, and so on). The first tier with enough data is used:
| Tier | Comparison set | Needs | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same employer, same state | That employer's own stated pay for the same kind of role in the same state | 3+ postings | none |
| Same employer, national | That employer's stated pay for the same role anywhere | 3+ postings | BLS state factor |
| Same state | Other employers' stated pay for that role in the state | 5+ postings from 3+ employers | employer-balanced |
| National | Other employers' stated pay anywhere | 8+ postings from 4+ employers | employer-balanced + BLS state factor |
| BLS fallback | Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025 state wages for the role's occupation code | used when nothing above applies | US value if the state is suppressed |
"Employer-balanced" means each employer carries equal weight, so one large poster cannot set the number. The BLS state factor is the state median divided by the national median for the occupation, limited to 0.85–1.15.
Limits
- Comparables are postings, not payroll. Pay-transparency states are over-represented, which is one reason for the state factor and the low-end percentile.
- Federal wage data does not separate regional airline pay from mainline, or instructor pay from other commercial pilots.
- Estimates are refreshed with each import and recomputed from that run's employer-stated pay.
Employers: replace the estimate with your real range
Claim your listing and the estimate disappears the moment you add pay. Listings with employer-stated pay get the badge, and candidates filter for it. Manage your listings or post a job.