Request Post - Basic Carrier Discussion

I recieved an email from a reader:

Love the supercarrier discussion. Have you done this with the regular carrier?
If you have time could you do a story on what carriers are expected to do and what skills I should have at what level.  What is expected of me?

I'm not going to do a multi-post series covering carriers like I'm doing for the Wyvern, but I will try and cover the big topics in a single post here.

Carriers can do several roles adequately and a carrier pilot should be prepared to jump into any of them at a moment's notice i.e. have the relevant modules on hand to switch out in station or at a ship maintenance array.

1) Rear Logistics - essentially, make use of the bonuses to remote Shield/Armour repair and Cap Energy transfer and the big Capital modules that carriers can fit in that regard to repair POS towers, structures, and station services. This is made even more useful with the ability to fit the Triage module, making a carrier a repairing powerhouse. Tech II logisitics drones come in handy here too.

2) Front Line Logistics - this involves using the same modules but in the thick of combat, either repairing friendly subcapitals in the fight or (more likely) spider tanking with other capital ships to make a nigh unbreakable tanking unit. A spider tanked carrier group, sharing cap energy transfers and remote reps to be cap stable, can still dish out decent damage with its fighters (so you need fighters IV and Carrier IV at least).

3) Freighter - The ship maintenance bay and corporate hangers can carry a large amount of ships and modules/ammo/supplies in a quick jump. Jump Drive Calibration IV is mandatory of course for optimal range. A corp with multiple carriers can move a lot of pilot equipment in a short amount of time in relative safety compared to a jump freighter.

4) Fighter Support - Fighters can be assigned to friendly pilots in fleet and will warp with the pilot to anywhere in system. This can be useful for supporting friendlies while in the safety of a spot just outside a station or POS shields, or in PvE situations.

To summarize, the ideal carrier pilot has Carrier IV, Fighters IV, the appropriate skills for the respective capital Armour Repair or Shield Booster, all skills for capital remote armour and shield repair modules as well as the capital capacitor transfer, and the skills for the Triage module is highly recommended. All jump related skills should be at IV or V, and regular ships skills for cap, tank, agility should be at high levels.