Aviation careers
Aviation Jobs Besides Airline Pilot: Which Ones DGCA Actually Licences
By We One Aviation Academy · · 9 min read
Quick Answer
Which aviation jobs besides pilot are licensed by DGCA?
Five: Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Flight Dispatcher, Flight Engineer, Flight Navigator, Air Traffic Controller. Each has an entry requirement published by the regulator. Cabin crew, ground handling, airport operations and airline management are real aviation careers, but their requirements are set by the employer rather than by DGCA, which is the distinction this page is built around.
What the regulator sets, and what it does not
- •Aircraft Maintenance Engineer: minimum age 16, no maximum, 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
- •AME examination fee ₹1,500 a paper against ₹2,500 for a pilot paper, up to 5 modules a session
- •Pilots need Physics and Mathematics; AME candidates need Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics — DGCA states both side by side in its rejection-reasons list
- •Flight Dispatcher, Flight Engineer and Flight Navigator are DGCA flight crew examination categories on the same portal as pilots
- •Air traffic control holds a Class 3, not a pilot medical class
- •The largest financial difference: a pilot licence requires 200 hours of flying bought at commercial rates, an engineering licence requires none
Most articles on this subject list ten aviation careers in ten cheerful paragraphs and leave you no better able to choose between them. The line that actually matters is simpler and nobody draws it: some of these jobs require a licence from the regulator, and some do not. That single distinction tells you which careers have a published entry requirement you can plan against, and which depend on who is hiring.
Everything below about the licensed roles comes from DGCA’s own published material, checked on 15/09/2026. For the roles DGCA does not licence, this page says so rather than inventing a requirement.
The five roles DGCA licences
These have entry requirements set by the regulator, published, and the same for everyone. You can plan a life around them because they do not change with the hiring market.
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME)
Certifies that an aircraft is fit to fly. The signature that releases an aircraft back to service is an engineer’s, not a pilot’s.
Minimum age: 16
Maximum age: none
Exam fee: ₹1,500 a paper, ₹3,000 on demand
Per session: up to 5 modules
Education: 10+2 passed with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from a recognised board or university, or the equivalent.
Note the subject list. Pilots need Physics and Mathematics; AME candidates need Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. DGCA’s own rejection-reasons list for computer numbers states both requirements side by side.
Governed by CAR 66, the Airworthiness Procedure Manual and the Airworthiness Advisory Circular. Registers and books on the same Pariksha portal as pilots.
Flight Dispatcher (FDEG)
Plans and releases flights with the captain — fuel, route, weather, payload and the legality of the whole operation.
A DGCA flight crew examination category, examined through the same Central Examination Organisation as pilots.
Flight Engineer (FE)
Monitors and manages aircraft systems in flight, on the aircraft types that carry one.
A DGCA flight crew examination category.
Flight Navigator (FN)
Responsible for navigation on aircraft and operations that require a dedicated navigator.
A DGCA flight crew examination category.
Air Traffic Controller
Separates and sequences traffic in the air and on the ground.
Holds a Class 3 medical, which is its own class with its own validity bands rather than the pilot classes.
The three flight crew categories are worth pausing on, because almost nobody mentions them. Flight Dispatcher, Flight Engineer and Flight Navigator sit on the same examination portal as pilots, run by the same Central Examination Organisation, and a candidate applies for them with the same kind of computer number. If you have been reading about the DGCA examination process for pilots, you already understand most of the machinery behind these.
For air traffic control, the entry point people miss is the medical. It is a class 3, not either of the pilot classes, and it lasts longer when you are young: four years up to the age of 40, two years above 40 and up to 50, and one year above 50. The full medical picture is on our Class 1 and Class 2 medical guide, which sets out all three classes side by side.
AME against pilot, honestly
This is the comparison most readers are actually making, and it is usually answered with which one is “easier”. Neither is easy. The differences that matter are structural.
| Pilot (CPL) | AME | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects at 10+2 | Physics and Mathematics | Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics |
| Minimum age | 16 to register for examinations, 18 to hold the licence | 16 to register, no maximum |
| Examination fee | ₹2,500 a paper, ₹5,000 on demand | ₹1,500 a paper, ₹3,000 on demand |
| The big cost | 200 hours of flying, paid at commercial rates | Training and experience, with no flying to buy |
| Medical | Class 2 to train, Class 1 for the licence | No flight crew medical class applies |
The last two rows are the ones that change decisions. A pilot licence has a large, unavoidable cost attached to flying hours and a medical that has to be cleared and then kept. An engineering licence has neither. If a medical finding closes the pilot route, the engineering route is very often still open — and that is worth knowing before you book a medical, not after.
The careers DGCA does not licence
Cabin crew, ground handling, airport operations and airline management are real aviation careers with real career paths, and this page does not list entry requirements for them. DGCA does not licence those roles the way it licences the ones above, their requirements are set by the airline or the airport operator rather than by the regulator, and a requirement we cannot source is one we will not publish.
That is not a smaller list or a lesser one. It is a different kind of career: entry is set by employers, so it moves with the market, and the way in is an employer’s own selection process rather than a published examination. If you see a page quoting exact eligibility criteria for cabin crew or ground staff as though a regulator had set them, ask which document it came from.
Choosing between them
Three questions settle most of it, and none of them is about which job sounds best.
- 1Did you take Chemistry at 10+2? If yes, both the pilot and AME routes are open. If you took only Physics and Mathematics, the pilot route is open and AME needs Chemistry added.
- 2Can you fund flying hours, or would you rather a route without them? This is the largest financial difference in aviation and it has nothing to do with aptitude.
- 3Are you confident about a Class 1 medical? If there is real doubt, find out early — a licensed engineering or dispatch route does not depend on it.
If the pilot route is the one you want, our eligibility guide sets out all five requirements with the rule behind each, and the full route shows the order to do them in.
Frequently asked questions
Which aviation jobs need a licence from DGCA?
Five that this page covers: Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Flight Dispatcher, Flight Engineer, Flight Navigator, Air Traffic Controller. Everything else in aviation — cabin crew, ground handling, airport operations, airline management — is a real career, but its entry requirements are set by the airline or the airport operator rather than by the regulator.
What are the eligibility requirements to become an AME in India?
Minimum age 16. No maximum age to register as an AME candidate. 10+2 passed with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from a recognised board or university, or the equivalent. Note the subject list: Note the subject list. Pilots need Physics and Mathematics; AME candidates need Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. DGCA’s own rejection-reasons list for computer numbers states both requirements side by side.
Is AME easier than becoming a pilot?
It is different, not easier, and the honest comparison is cost and structure rather than difficulty. An AME examination paper costs ₹1,500 in a regular session against ₹2,500 for a pilot paper, and a candidate may apply for up to 5 modules in a session. The much larger difference is that a pilot licence requires 200 hours of flying paid for at commercial rates, and an engineering licence does not.
Can I switch from pilot training to AME?
The subject requirement is the thing to check first. Pilots need 10+2 with Physics and Mathematics from a recognised Board or University; AME candidates need Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. If you took Chemistry as well, both routes are open to you. If you did not, the AME route needs it added.
What medical does an air traffic controller need?
Class 3, which is its own class rather than either of the pilot classes. Four years up to the age of 40, two years above 40 and up to 50, and one year above 50.
Does DGCA examine flight dispatchers?
Yes. Flight Dispatcher, Flight Engineer and Flight Navigator are flight crew examination categories conducted by the same Central Examination Organisation that examines pilots, on the same portal.
Sources
- –AME examination FAQ (DGCA Pariksha)
- –Reasons for rejection of computer number applications — states the Physics and Mathematics requirement for flight crew alongside Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics for AME candidates (DGCA Pariksha)
- –Civil Aviation Requirement, Section 7, Series 'C', Part I, Rev. 6 dated 18 October 2022 — the Class 3 medical for air traffic control and its validity bands
We teach the DGCA ground subjects and arrange flight training with partner flying schools. We do not own aircraft or simulators, we do not employ pilots, and we do not place students into airline jobs — hiring decisions rest with the operator.
We teach the pilot ground subjects. We are not an AME institute and we do not train air traffic controllers, so if this page pushes you towards one of those, we have done our job and you should go and find the right school for it.
Related guides
- If the pilot route is the one you want, start with every eligibility requirement in order
- For the whole path from Class 12 to a licence, see the full route
- For the medical classes, including the Class 3 an air traffic controller holds, see the medical guide
- For the examination portal all of these share, see the DGCA computer number guide
- For what pilot training actually costs, see our cost page