Nigerian Pilot Salary: What do pilots earn in Nigeria? This is a question that readily pops up in people’s heads. In this article, you will find out the average salary of a Nigerian pilot in 2018. You will also get to compare what Nigerian pilots earn and pilots in other countries say, USA.
How much does Nigerian pilots earn per month in 2018?
It is believed that pilots are well paid in Nigeria as well as other countries. However, the average salary of a Nigerian pilot depends on a number of factors which include:
- How experienced the pilot is
- Flying hours (how many hours he/she has flown)
- Pilot’s personal ranking
- Rating types
- Company (the airline the pilot works for)
The younger the pilot is in terms of hours/years of experience, the lower the salary.
- Salary of commercial pilots with license
Every new pilot (who has no experience and has just graduated from an aviation college) usually has a NCAA license (it is called CPL or Commercial Pilot License) but does not have a rating yet.
He/she may have problems with finding a job right after the graduation and can only hope for 200,000 Naira or might be lucky to receive up to 500,000 Naira (in a good airline company) per month. This can only happen if the employer will send their new pilot to Type Rating courses.
- Salary of FO and SFO
Pilots who are first officers (FO) and senior first officers (SFO) meaning they do have their Type Rating can expect their salaries to be between 300,000 – 800,000 Naira per month.
In their situation, the amount of money they are paid absolutely depends on the company that offers them a job, their experience and flying hours.
- Salary of Captain
Local captains can expect a higher salary than new pilots. Their average monthly salary depends on the company and their working hours. Depending on these factors, these Nigerian pilots might be paid from 500,000 Naira to 1.5 million Naira a month.
If a captain is working for an international company, he can earn 1-2 million Naira per month.
Aviation jobs in Nigeria
There are over 500 pilots who have the license to fly, less than 1000 engineers and even more cabin personnel.
What aviation jobs can you find in Nigeria? Here is a list of some of them:
- Helicopter pilots
- Airplane pilots
- Cabin staff members
- Engineers
- Service providers
- Air traffic service providers
- Training instructors
- Airport workers
You can work for private companies and in commercial organizations. Civil aviation is an interesting industry for a good-paid future profession.
International pilots salaries
Pilot salary in Nigeria vs the USA
As incredible as the figures listed above for Nigerian pilots are, let’s try to compare it to what pilots earn in the United States of America.
If a Nigerian pilot can expect to receive from 300,000 Naira to about 2 million Naira per month depending on his experience, hours of flight and company, his USA colleagues usually earn from approximately 2,000 U.S. dollars or over 700,000 Naira (the beginners) to 10,000-12,000 U.S. dollars or 3.6-4.3 million Naira per month.
As you can see, the gap is quite significant. Also, pilots of local airlines earn less than their colleagues from international airlines. In all, the profession is a very lucrative one.