Do you have to be good at math to be an air traffic controller?

Decision-making skills: Air traffic controllers must be able to make quick decisions that impact the safety of everyone onboard an aircraft. Math skills: Controllers must be able to calculate speed, time and distance and recommend changes in heading or altitude.



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All applicants who are selected are required to attend training at the FAA Academy, which lasts anywhere between 3-5 months. Applications to become a controller are only available during an ATC open bid or application window.

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The median yearly salary of an ATC in the US is $130,000. Similarly, the median hourly wage of ATC in the US is $63. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the states of New Hampshire, Virginia, Illinois, and Georgia pay some of the highest salaries in the country.

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Air traffic controller is a six-figure job that doesn't require a four-year degree. People with this position are responsible for making sure that aircraft are operating at a safe distance from each other.

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The work can be high-stress and sometimes boring. Being an air traffic controller can be stressful due to the heavy workload and high-consequence environment, however, the job can also be dull and boring depending on how busy the skies are.

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When air traffic controllers are hired as trainees by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), they choose a geographical area in which they want to work. Beyond that, they usually don't have a lot of choice in the type of job they then enter, at least at first.

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With or without correction air traffic controllers must demonstrate 20/20 distant vision in each eye separately, 20/40 in each eye at 16 inches near vision, and 20/40 in each eye at 32 inches intermediate vision if they are 50 years of age or older. Glasses or contact lenses are permitted.

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What are the age requirements for individuals without previous air traffic control (ATC) experience? Candidates applying to an ATCS Trainee announcement must be age 30 or below, cannot be age 31 as of the closing date of the vacancy.

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Although air traffic controllers may not get free flights like flight attendants do, they still have attractive employee benefits. For example, their employers often give them permanent discounts which they can use to buy tickets and other products that the airport or a specific airline carries.

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The pros of being an air traffic controller include job stability, good earning potential, and the satisfaction of ensuring safe and efficient air travel, while the cons involve high stress levels, demanding work schedules, and the need to maintain constant focus and attention to detail.

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Over the past five years, the FAA has hired over 7,200 new air trafic controllers. In FY 2020, we exceeded our target with 920 controller hires versus a plan of 910 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Moreover, the position of the air traffic controller requires some of the strictest medical and mental requirements for any profession in the world; conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, and many psychiatric disorders (e.g., clinical depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, a history of drug abuse) almost ...

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(a) An air traffic controller shall be separated from the service on the last day of the month in which he becomes 56 years of age or completes the age and service requirements for an annuity under section 8336(e), whichever occurs later.

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