Air Traffic Controllers

What Air Traffic Controllers do

You keep planes safely apart, talking pilots through takeoffs, landings and bad weather from a control tower or an indoor radar room.

Air traffic controllers direct aircraft in the sky and on the ground. You watch planes on radar screens, computer displays, or straight out the tower windows, and you tell pilots by radio when to climb, turn, slow down, or land. You warn them about nearby planes, wind, and poor visibility. When something goes wrong, you clear a path to an emergency landing field and alert airport fire and rescue crews.

You work indoors in climate-controlled rooms, mostly sitting, with your hands on a radio switch and keyboard. You are part of a close team, side by side with other controllers, and you hand flights off by phone or radio to nearby towers and to a control center, which is a facility that handles planes once they are away from the airport.

A day in the life

You take over a work station from the controller finishing their shift, listening as they brief you on every plane in the block of sky you are responsible for. Then you talk, almost nonstop. You read wind speed and runway assignments to a departing jet, line up three arrivals so they land with safe gaps, and tell a small plane to circle until there is room. You call the tower next door to arrange passing a plane over to them (a handoff). You accept arriving flights from a control center, the facility that tracks planes between airports. A pilot reports an ill passenger, so you clear a direct route and phone airport emergency services. You step away for a break when you can, then return and do it again.

How people get in

1. 1Finish high school and build strong habits in math, English, and clear speaking, since you will be giving instructions out loud all day
2. 2Look into associate's degree programs in air traffic control, which is the education level most controllers start with
3. 3Apply through the official hiring process, which usually includes an application and screening steps
4. 4Complete long-term on-the-job training, working beside experienced controllers who watch and coach you before you handle traffic alone
5. 5Expect to keep training so you can be approved to work different roles in the tower or radar room as you gain experience
6. 6Consider related work such as airfield operations to learn how airports run while you prepare

Who tends to enjoy it

Official task list

Air Traffic Controllers control air traffic on and within vicinity of airport, and movement of air traffic between altitude sectors and control centers, according to established procedures and policies. Authorize, regulate, and control commercial airline flights according to government or company regulations to expedite and ensure flight safety. (O*NET)

• Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
• Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
• Monitor, direct, or sequence the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
• Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
• Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
• Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
• Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
• Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.

A typical day involves

How much Air Traffic Controllers make

The median pay for Air Traffic Controllers in the U.S. is $148,080 a year ($71.19 an hour). Most earn between $78,420 and $215,610. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)

Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in Virginia ($191,820) and lowest in District of Columbia ($47,760).

Where to study for this

College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.

• Air Traffic Controller 24 colleges

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