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-SOC code
53-2021.00 - Preparation Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$148,080
Employment, U.S.22,510
Median hourly wage$71.19
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $78,420 | $104,520 | $148,080 | $190,570 | $215,610 |
By state (43)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 240 | $114,960 | 0.79 |
| Alaska | 490 | $123,950 | 10.35 |
| Arizona | 380 | $136,800 | 0.81 |
| Arkansas | 80 | $109,760 | 0.44 |
| California | 2,290 | $160,080 | 0.87 |
| Colorado | 740 | $177,380 | 1.77 |
| Connecticut | $140,940 | ||
| District of Columbia | 820 | $47,760 | 8.08 |
| Florida | 1,950 | $147,530 | 1.35 |
| Georgia | 970 | $178,420 | 1.37 |
| Hawaii | 210 | $158,700 | 2.26 |
| Illinois | 990 | $181,560 | 1.12 |
| Indiana | 630 | $158,810 | 1.36 |
| Iowa | 120 | $90,790 | 0.55 |
| Kansas | 430 | $159,700 | 2.04 |
| Kentucky | 230 | $127,800 | 0.79 |
| Louisiana | 230 | $99,810 | 0.84 |
| Maine | 70 | $107,270 | 0.77 |
| Maryland | 70 | $131,290 | 0.18 |
| Massachusetts | 120 | $125,060 | 0.22 |
| Michigan | 360 | $118,930 | 0.56 |
| Minnesota | 680 | $176,840 | 1.60 |
| Mississippi | 160 | $88,110 | 0.92 |
| Missouri | 260 | $122,200 | 0.61 |
| Montana | 60 | $101,380 | 0.85 |
| Nebraska | 70 | $111,710 | 0.46 |
| Nevada | 210 | $140,920 | 0.93 |
| New Jersey | 190 | $132,230 | 0.30 |
| New Mexico | 350 | $148,550 | 2.78 |
| New York | 1,150 | $144,960 | 0.82 |
| North Carolina | 410 | $129,230 | 0.57 |
| North Dakota | 100 | $107,990 | 1.69 |
| Oklahoma | 270 | $123,220 | 1.08 |
| Pennsylvania | 460 | $132,350 | 0.53 |
| Rhode Island | 50 | $126,300 | 0.64 |
| South Carolina | 190 | $112,030 | 0.57 |
| Tennessee | 590 | $157,330 | 1.24 |
| Texas | 2,060 | $170,080 | 1.01 |
| Utah | 360 | $158,310 | 1.44 |
| Vermont | 30 | $109,140 | 0.68 |
| Virginia | 1,120 | $191,820 | 1.88 |
| Washington | 620 | $162,570 | 1.20 |
| Wyoming | 40 | $93,580 | 0.89 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airfield Operations Specialists | 3 | 0.945 |
| 2 | Power Distributors and Dispatchers | 3 | 0.924 |
| 3 | Transportation Inspectors | 4 | 0.920 |
| 4 | Agricultural Inspectors | 1-2 | 0.918 |
| 5 | Logistics Analysts | 4 | 0.917 |
| 6 | Environmental Compliance Inspectors | 4 | 0.917 |
| 7 | Traffic Technicians | 3 | 0.916 |
| 8 | Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators | 1-2 | 0.916 |
| 9 | Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters | 1-2 | 0.916 |
| 10 | Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance | 1-2 | 0.913 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Air Traffic Controllers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural Inspectors | Quality Control Analysis | 1.26 | 0.918 |
| Nuclear Monitoring Technicians | Science | 1.62 | 0.908 |
| Travel Guides | Negotiation | 1.13 | 0.905 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand | Management of Personnel Resources | 1.00 | 0.903 |
| Cargo and Freight Agents | Negotiation | 0.87 | 0.897 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Air Traffic Controllers, excluding software Air Traffic Controllers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database | 3 of 20 | 12.6x |
| Global positioning system GPS software | 3 of 20 | 4.1x |
| Tableau | 4 of 20 | 2.5x |
| Geographic information system GIS systems | 3 of 20 | 2.3x |
| Microsoft Windows | 7 of 20 | 1.3x |
| Geographic information system GIS software | 3 of 20 | 2.0x |
| Structured query language SQL | 4 of 20 | 1.2x |
| Database software | 4 of 20 | 1.1x |
| Microsoft SharePoint | 4 of 20 | 1.1x |
| Linux | 3 of 20 | 1.1x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.38 | 4.00 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.25 | 3.88 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.38 | 3.25 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.25 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.12 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 4.18 | 5.20 |
| English Language | 3.93 | 4.09 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.76 | 4.49 |
| Education and Training | 3.75 | 4.88 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.60 | 4.99 |
| Geography | 3.46 | 4.39 |
| Telecommunications | 3.42 | 3.01 |
| Mathematics | 3.28 | 3.54 |
| Computers and Electronics | 2.99 | 3.67 |
| Law and Government | 2.78 | 2.68 |
| Psychology | 2.56 | 2.96 |
| Administration and Management | 2.54 | 2.84 |
| Communications and Media | 2.49 | 2.53 |
| Physics | 2.39 | 2.23 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.26 | 2.14 |
| Administrative | 2.18 | 2.26 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.10 | 2.08 |
| Production and Processing | 1.99 | 1.60 |
| Design | 1.92 | 1.88 |
| Mechanical | 1.63 | 1.05 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.51 | 1.13 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.48 | 0.82 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.40 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.36 | not rated |
| Foreign Language | 1.27 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.22 | not rated |
| Chemistry | 1.21 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.20 | not rated |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.18 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.17 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.15 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.13 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.75 | 4.62 |
| Oral Expression | 4.62 | 4.75 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.62 | 4.62 |
| Selective Attention | 4.50 | 4.88 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.38 | 4.38 |
| Speed of Closure | 4.25 | 4.88 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 4.25 | 4.50 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.25 | 4.00 |
| Time Sharing | 4.12 | 5.62 |
| Perceptual Speed | 4.12 | 4.38 |
| Far Vision | 4.12 | 4.25 |
| Near Vision | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Speech Clarity | 4.12 | 4.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Information Ordering | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Visualization | 3.50 | 4.50 |
| Auditory Attention | 3.50 | 3.88 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.38 | 3.75 |
| Originality | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Written Expression | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Number Facility | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Memorization | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Control Precision | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.88 | 2.75 |
| Depth Perception | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.38 | 2.00 |
| Night Vision | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 2.12 | 1.38 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.75 | 1.12 |
| Reaction Time | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Sound Localization | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Response Orientation | 1.62 | 0.88 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Rate Control | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.12 | not rated |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Outlook in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Adobe Acrobat hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- SAP software hot
- Advanced technologies and oceanic procedures ATOP
- Automated radar terminal systems ARTS
- Center TRACON automation systems CTAS
- Direct-to-tool software
- En route descent advisor EDA
- Expedite departure path EDP software
- Final approach spacing tool FAST
- Flight simulation software
- Multi-center traffic management advisor McTMA
- Really Simple Syndication RSS
- Traffic management advisor TMA software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchorage, AK | 280 | 10.73 | $160,970 |
| Jacksonville, FL | 450 | 4.09 | $170,120 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 1,800 | 3.96 | $174,870 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL | 110 | 3.44 | $142,880 |
| Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 470 | 2.94 | $171,910 |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | 330 | 2.77 | $161,640 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 430 | 2.69 | $161,700 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 620 | 2.20 | $179,670 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 810 | 1.95 | $186,640 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 720 | 1.77 | $162,140 |