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Date: 06/18/2026

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.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    5
    Graphic Literacy
    5

    Abilities

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    Knowledge

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • 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.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • 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.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • 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.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • 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.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • US Annual Salary 144580/yr
    • US Typical Salary
    • US Hourly Wage 69.51/hr
    • US Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 730
    • Yearly Projected Openings 60

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Self-Confidence
    • Perseverance
    • Adaptability
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Self-Control
    • Achievement Orientation

    Tools

    • Aircraft communication systems
    • Aircraft flight simulators or trainers
    • Aircraft guidance systems
    • Aircraft navigation beacons
    • Binoculars
    • Desktop computers
    • Mainframe computers
    • Personal computers
    • Radarbased surveillance systems
    • Two way radios

    Technology

    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Expert system software
    • Flight control software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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