Air Traffic Controllers

Description

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.

Tasks

Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.
Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft.
Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes.
Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers.
Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations.
Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights.
Conduct pre-flight briefings on weather conditions, suggested routes, altitudes, indications of turbulence, or other flight safety information.
Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes.
Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace.
Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports as required under federal law.
Complete daily activity reports and keep records of messages from aircraft.

Knowledge

Transportation: Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Geography: Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities

Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Work Activities

Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards: Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Work Context

Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results: How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
Consequence of Error: How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable?
Frequency of Conflict Situations: How often are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Time Pressure: How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

Interests

Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Analytical Thinking: Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.

Work Values

Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Related Occupations

Locomotive Engineers

Rail Yard Engineers, Dinkey Operators, and Hostlers

Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters

Mates- Ship, Boat, and Barge

Traffic Technicians

Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation

Lay Titles

Air Route Controller

Air Route Traffic Controller

Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS)

Air Traffic Controller

Air Traffic Controller (Enroute Option)

Air Traffic Controller (Tower Option)

Air Traffic Coordinator

Air Traffic Supervisor

Aircraft Communicator

Airport Traffic Controller

Airway Controller

Airway Traffic Controller

Airways Control Specialist

Airways Operations Specialist

Certified Professional Controller (CPC)

Chief Controller

Communications Operator

Communicator

Control Tower Operator

Dispatcher

Flight Communications Officer

Flight Control Specialist

Flight Dispatcher

Flight Radio Officer

Flight Radio Operator

Flight Service Specialist

Flight Tower Dispatcher

Ground Control Approach Technician (GCA Technician)

Signal Tower Operator

Station Air Traffic Control Specialist

Tower Air Traffic Control Specialist

Tower Control Operator

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $58.91 hourly, $122,530 annual.

Employment (2008):: 23,260 employees