Air Traffic Controllers
US occupation · SOC 53-2021
Job titles people report: ATCS (Air Traffic Control Specialist), Center ATC (Center Air Traffic Controller), Certified Professional Controller (CPC), Developmental Air Traffic Controller, Developmental ATCS (Developmental Air Traffic Control Specialist), Enroute ATCS (Enroute Air Traffic Control Specialist), Radar Air Traffic Controller, Terminal ATC Specialist (Terminal Air Traffic Control Specialist), Terminal Radar Approach Controller, Tower ATC (Tower Air Traffic Controller)
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $148,080
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $104,520 – $190,570
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 22,510
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +1.7%
- Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 2,100
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Associate's degree
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
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.
Main tasks
- 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.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Associate's degree
- Training once hired: long-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Enterprising: leading, persuading and making business decisions
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 1 programme to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Transportation and Materials Moving
- Air Traffic Controller
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Airfield Operations Specialists
$56,850 median · +7.8% projected
- Commercial Pilots
$123,220 median · +5.2% projected
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers
$232,140 median · +8.3% projected
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters
$78,000 median · +0.9% projected
- Traffic Technicians
$59,090 median · +4% projected
- Locomotive Engineers
$81,410 median · +0.5% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk