Airfield Operations Specialist Career Assessment
Keeping the runway, the ramp, and the whole airfield safe
Welcome
Airfield operations specialists keep the outside part of an airport safe and working. They drive the runways looking for cracks, ice, and birds, they check the lights and signs, they escort trucks across the field, and they talk to the control tower and to the crews who plow and fix things.
This is a real job with a real title, and North Dakota has eight airports with airline service. It is also a small job here, and the pay in North Dakota is well below the national pay. You will see both sides.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Airfield Operations Specialist?
An airfield operations specialist is the airport's eyes on the ground. You drive a marked truck out on the field and inspect the runways, taxiways, lights, signs, and fences. You look for anything that could hurt an aircraft: a loose bolt, a pothole, ice, standing water, deer, or geese. You call the control tower on the radio before you drive anywhere near a runway. You write down what you found and make sure someone fixes it. Most of what you do comes from a federal safety rule called Part 139, which airports with airline service must follow.
The Reality: Look hard at the North Dakota pay before you plan around this job. The middle pay in North Dakota is about $18.05 an hour, or about $37,550 a year. The middle pay for the same job across the country is about $27.33 an hour, or about $56,850 a year. North Dakota is far below. Part of the reason is probably that many airfield jobs in this state are part-time, seasonal, or shared with other airport duties, but that is a guess, not a published number. Ask a real North Dakota airport what a full-time airfield job actually pays before you count on it. This is also outdoor work in North Dakota winter, on nights, weekends, and holidays, and the airport does not close because it snowed.
Your Responsibilities:
- Drive and inspect runways, taxiways, and ramps every shift
- Check runway lights, signs, and markings and report what is broken
- Watch for and chase off birds and deer on the field
- Talk to the control tower on the radio before entering any runway
- Escort contractors, fuel trucks, and vehicles across the airfield
- Check ice, snow, and standing water and call for plows or sand
- Help during aircraft emergencies, fuel spills, and fire drills
- Write inspection logs that a federal inspector may read later
You are the reason a plane full of people rolls onto a clean, safe runway.
A Day in the Life
5:30 AM — Clock in before the first departure. Check overnight notes and the weather.
5:45 AM — Radio the tower, then drive the full airfield inspection. Lights, signs, cracks, ice.
6:30 AM — Find a burned-out edge light. Log it and call the maintenance crew.
8:00 AM — Geese on the north end. Drive out and move them off before the next arrival.
10:00 AM — Escort a contractor truck to a work site near a taxiway and stay with it.
12:00 PM — Lunch in the ops office. Finish the morning inspection log.
1:30 PM — Snow starts. Call out the plow crew and post a runway condition report.
3:30 PM — Second full inspection, then hand off to the next shift with a briefing.
Outdoor driving and inspecting, broken up by paperwork and radio calls. Weather runs your day.
Training in North Dakota
Many airports hire on a high school diploma and train you. A degree moves you up faster. This is one of the few aviation jobs you can enter without paying for a certificate first. O*NET reports that some of these jobs ask for a bachelor's degree, some ask for some college, and some ask only for a high school diploma. What every airport asks for is a clean driving record, a radio voice people can understand, and a person who will still do the inspection right at 2 in the morning in February.
Training Pathways:
- Hire on and learn at the airport (a few months to a year): Start as an airfield or operations agent at a North Dakota airport. You are trained on Part 139 rules, radio work, and the airport's own procedures, and you are paid the whole time. This is the most common way in.
- Four-year aviation management degree (4 years): The University of North Dakota's Aviation Management B.B.A. has an Airport Management track built around airport operations, planning, and consulting. It is the fastest route to supervisor and manager jobs, and its graduates are set up for the national airport credentials.
- Add the airfield credential while you work (under a year): Take the American Association of Airport Executives ACE course in Airfield Operations while you are already working. It is online, it is built straight on the Part 139 rules, and it is the clearest way to prove you know the job.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
- University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) — Aviation Management, B.B.A., 120 credits, about 4 years, on campus. The Airport Management track covers airport operations, planning, and consulting, and prepares graduates for American Association of Airport Executives credentials — und.edu/programs/aviation-management-bba
- University of North Dakota (online) — Aviation Studies, B.S. A degree you can finish while already working at an airport — und.edu/programs/aviation-studies-bs
- American Association of Airport Executives — ACE course in Airfield Operations. Online, built on the federal Part 139 rules. You do not need a degree or a membership to take it — aaae.org/aceops
- North Dakota airports with airline service: Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston, Dickinson, Jamestown, and Devils Lake. Call the airport manager and ask who does the airfield inspections and what they were hired with. That one phone call tells you more than any brochure
Before You Start: High school diploma or GED. A clean driver's license — you will drive on an active airfield, and a bad record ends it there. Clear English on a radio. You must pass a federal background check and get an airport ID badge. Be ready for shift work, snow, and being on call.
Tip: Start with financial aid, scholarships, and any help an employer offers — that is where the money starts. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like training, tools, work boots, or exam fees. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you sign up rather than after. Registered apprenticeships let you earn a paycheck while you learn — see jobsnd.com/job-seeker/apprenticeships for ND programs.
Certification & Licensing
You do not need a federal certificate of your own. The airport holds the certificate, and you help it keep it. This is the part people get wrong. Air traffic controllers are hired and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Airfield operations specialists are not. You are hired by the airport. The airport holds the Part 139 certificate, and your inspections and logs are how the airport proves it still deserves one. What you can earn are national credentials that make you more hireable and move you up.
Credentials That Help You:
- ACE — Airfield Operations (American Association of Airport Executives). Built on the Part 139 rules. A $555 one-time program fee covers electronic study materials and one exam attempt. You have 26 months to finish. No membership required — aaae.org/aceops
- C.M. — Certified Member (American Association of Airport Executives). The next step up, aimed at airport management. You must be an active member, and there is a $265 one-time program fee on top of membership dues — aaae.org/cm
- A.A.E. — Accredited Airport Executive. The top airport management credential. You build toward it after the C.M., and it is what airport directors hold
- Your driver's license and airport badge — not glamorous, but they are the two things that actually let you do the job
- Aircraft rescue and firefighting training — many airports train and expect their ops staff to help in a fire or emergency drill
- A pilot certificate — not required at all, but people who have flown often read the airfield faster
The Exams: The ACE Airfield Operations exam is 100 questions in 2 hours, online with a remote proctor, and you need 70% to pass. The C.M. exam is 180 multiple-choice questions, also online and proctored, and you need 126 of 180 — again 70%.
Cost: ACE Airfield Operations: $555 one-time program fee. C.M.: $265 one-time program fee plus membership dues. Printed study books and review courses cost extra. Check current prices at aaae.org before you plan around these numbers.
Keeping It Current: Airport badges and driver training are renewed by the airport, usually every year, and most airports run Part 139 refresher training every year too. Ask the association about keeping the ACE and C.M. current.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Airfield Operations Specialist Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $17.84–$17.89/hour ($37,120–$37,200/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $18.05/hour ($37,550/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $23.55–$29.10/hour ($48,980–$60,530/year)
What that means: Read the bottom of this range carefully. The 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles in North Dakota sit within about twenty cents of each other — $17.84, $17.89, and $18.05. That flat bottom means most airfield workers in this state are bunched at one low pay level, and only the top quarter breaks away. The national middle for this same job is about $27.33 an hour, so North Dakota pays well under the rest of the country here. The top quarter in North Dakota, around $23.55 to $29.10 an hour, is where the supervisors and the bigger airports sit. If pay is your main reason, look at air traffic controller in this same area: the North Dakota middle there is about $51.92 an hour, though it has a hard age limit you should read before you get attached to it.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 70 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 80 (about 9% growth). Expect about 10 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is about 4% growth — average.
Outlook: Small but steady, and growing a little faster here than nationally. About 70 people do this work in North Dakota now, about 80 by 2034, and roughly 10 openings a year. Ten openings a year across eight airline airports means you should expect to watch and wait for a posting, and to be willing to move to the town where one opens. Truck driving, in this same area, has about 1,300 openings a year if you need work sooner.
Who Hires in ND: City and county airport authorities are the main employers: Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Williston, Dickinson, Jamestown, and Devils Lake all run airports with airline service. Beyond those, fixed base operators, air cargo companies, the Air National Guard, and the two Air Force bases at Minot and Grand Forks hire people who do this kind of work.
Work Setting: Outdoors on an active airfield in every kind of North Dakota weather, plus an operations office for logs and radio work. Shift work around the clock, including nights, weekends, and holidays. Snow means you are called in, not sent home.
Physical Demands: Moderate. Long stretches of driving and sitting, then climbing in and out of a truck in wind and cold, walking pavement, lifting barricades and signs, and standing outside during inspections. You need good hearing, clear speech for the radio, and good eyes for spotting small things on a big field.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 53-2022); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Airfield Operations Agent — Your first job. Inspections, escorts, and radio work.
Path 2: Operations Supervisor — Run a shift and sign off on the inspection logs.
Path 3: Airport Operations Manager — Own the Part 139 program for the whole airport.
Path 4: Safety or Compliance Officer — Prepare the airport for federal inspections.
Path 5: Assistant Airport Director — Move into running the airport as a business.
Path 6: Airport Director — Run the airport. This is where the Accredited Airport Executive credential pays off.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- You can get hired without paying for training first
- Real responsibility from your first year
- A clear ladder from agent to airport director
- Eight North Dakota airports to aim at
- Never a desk job — you are outside and moving
- Aviation work without needing a medical certificate
What's Hard:
- North Dakota pay is well below national pay
- Only about 10 openings a year statewide
- Outdoor work in real winter
- Nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call snow duty
- One driving mistake near a runway is serious
- You may have to move towns to get hired
Be Honest: Can you accept pay that starts near $18 an hour in this state? Can you work outside at night in a North Dakota February? Can you be trusted with a radio and a truck near live aircraft?