Most Important Skills For A Pilot At U.S. Marine Corps
Mark, a Military College Faculty member at the U.S. Marine Corps, emphasizes that a successful career in aviation demands "focus and commitment," requiring mastery of flight and inclusive leadership, even in solo missions, to effectively collaborate with teams. The career also necessitates continuous learning, making "intellectual curiosity" a key asset for continuous professional development and enjoyment.
Focus and Commitment, Inclusive Leadership, Continuous Learning, Teamwork, Adaptability
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Mark J. Desens
Military College Faculty
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Naval Academy
National Defense University
General Studies / Not Applicable
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense
Education
Honors Student, Veteran, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Focus and commitment are crucial for success, especially in demanding environments such as military flight school and combat.
2. Inclusive leadership is essential, even in solo operations, as pilots constantly interact with teams and rely on collaboration for mission success.
3. Continuous learning is vital, requiring mastery of aircraft, tactics, maintenance, and personnel management throughout one's career.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
First, you need tremendous focus and commitment to get through flight school, master flying an aircraft, and master flying it in challenging environments. Combat, especially against an adversary who doesn't want you there, is difficult. You must be very focused on what you're doing and have a tremendous amount of commitment to stay on track with your training and be ready for missions. So, focus and commitment come first.
Second is inclusive leadership. Even in a single-pilot fighter jet, pilots talk about how inclusive they need to be. You work with other aircraft in your flight or supporting you, and sometimes with ground crew when you have aircraft problems. You need to be inclusive in how you work with a team and bring others in.
In aviation, we operate in squadrons, and the social aspect of getting along is important. The highest praise for a pilot is that they are the kind of person you want in your ready room, someone you want to serve alongside, trust, and value. That’s number two.
Finally, this applies to any profession where you must constantly learn. You have to always be learning. As a young officer, I had to master my aircraft and tactics. I became a maintenance officer and studied every component of the aircraft. Later, I learned how the Marine Corps operates, how to assign and train personnel.
You are always learning through your profession. If you have intellectual curiosity and enjoy learning and new challenges, this career path would be ideal for almost anyone.