Transportation and Material Moving · Holland code CRE

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.

Also called: ATCS (Air Traffic Control Specialist), Certified Professional Controller (CPC), Terminal Radar Approach Controller, Tower ATC (Tower Air Traffic Controller), Center ATC (Center Air Traffic Controller), Developmental Air Traffic Controller, Developmental ATCS (Developmental Air Traffic Control Specialist), Enroute ATCS (Enroute Air Traffic Control Specialist).

O*NET 53-2021.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $148,080; Middle half earn $104,520 to $190,570. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 36% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +1% · Slower than average; 24,100 jobs in 2024, projected 24,400. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Air traffic controllers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.4 / 5
Speaking4.3 / 5
Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Monitoring4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
Active Learning3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Transportation4.2 / 5
English Language3.9 / 5
Public Safety and Security3.8 / 5
Education and Training3.8 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.6 / 5
Geography3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic59
Investigative24
Artistic0
Social28
Enterprising55
Conventional67

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

air traffic manager · DE Luftverkehrsleiter/Luftverkehrsleiterin · FR superviseur trafic aérien/superviseuse trafic aérien
air traffic controller · DE Fluglotse/Fluglotsin · FR contrôleur de la navigation aérienne/contrôleuse de la navigation aérienne
aeronautical information service officer · DE Flugberatungsbediensteter AIS/Flugberatungsbedienstete AIS · FR agent du service de l’information aéronautique/agente du service de l’information aéronautique
aeronautical information specialist · DE Flugberater/Flugberaterin · FR spécialiste de l’information aéronautique
airport operations officer · DE Flugsicherungslotse An- und Abflug/Flugsicherungslotsin An- und Abflug · FR responsable d’exploitation aéroportuaire
flight operations officer · DE Flugverkehrsleiter/Flugverkehrsleiterin · FR directeur des opérations de vol/directrice des opérations de vol

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Purchasing managers and directors (1134)61,700 employed
Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport (1140)30,300 employed
Managers in logistics (1243)34,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.15. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (53-2021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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