Is 40 too old to become an air traffic controller?
There are two noteworthy age-related issues when it comes to becoming an air traffic controller. One, you can't apply for training once you turn 31 years old before the closing date of the application period.
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Applicants to air traffic controller positions who are maintaining 52 weeks of ATC experience involving the full-time active separation of air traffic after receiving an air traffic certification or ATC facility rating, must be age 35 or below on closing date of the announcement.
Whilst entrants may begin training towards obtaining a licence earlier than 18 years of age, they may not apply for a Student Licence before 18 years. A full air traffic controller licence can only be issued to individuals of at least 21 years of age. Candidates must have good eyesight and no hearing or speech defects.
And then there's the issue of age: In the US, air traffic controllers are required to retire at the age of 56, and the FAA won't hire anyone older than age 31, because they want candidates to have at least a 25-year career path.
Applicants to air traffic controller positions who are maintaining 52 weeks of ATC experience involving the full-time active separation of air traffic after receiving an air traffic certification or ATC facility rating, must be age 35 or below on closing date of the announcement.
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.
The applicant must have no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of any of the following: (1) A psychosis; (2) A neurosis; (3) Any personality disorder or mental disorder that the Federal Air Surgeon determines clearly indicates a potential hazard to safety in the Air Traffic Control System.
Because the job is so demanding, Air Traffic Controllers have a mandatory retirement at age 56. For special provisions, your pension is more generous than your fellow traditional federal employees.
On top of contollers' rocky history, federal law requires that they retire at 56, in part because controllers have to stay current on advancing technology. The Federal Aviation Administration argues burnout gets more acute for workers by their mid 50s.
Up to 70% of applicants will not become certified. Generally, applicants don't succeed because they don't have the intense focus that it takes to perform the job.
As Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed earlier this year, there are some 3,000 unfilled controller positions in a workforce that should number over 14,000 full-time employees. Currently there are around 11,000 controllers, with several thousand at various stages of the training process.
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.
But it can also be a high-stress job, and becoming an air traffic controller involves a grueling training process that can typically take between 18 months and three years. The training requires a series of tests, skills assessments, and both physical and psychological exams.
Lawmakers approved the bill, called the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which included a provision to raise the retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67 amid a major pilot shortage, in a 351-69 vote.