Air Traffic Controllers

Also Called:

Enroute Air Traffic Controller (Enroute ATC),

Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS),

Air Traffic Controller (ATC),

Certified Professional Controller (CPC)

What they do: 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.

icon

Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
  • Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
  • Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.

Attention to Detail

Stress Tolerance

Dependability

Adaptability/Flexibility

Persistence

Achievement/Effort

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

See Related Jobs

Conventional

See Related Jobs

Realistic

See Related Jobs

Enterprising

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Transportation

  • Movement of people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Education and Training

  • Teaching and course design

Safety and Government

  • Public safety and security

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Attention

  • Pay attention to something without being distracted

  • Do two or more things at the same time

Visual Understanding

  • Quickly know what you are looking at

  • See hidden patterns

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Talking to others

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one

  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Working Conditions

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop