Air traffic control (ATC) is a unique career, unlike many others. A highly skilled role requiring a large amount of knowledge and lengthy training periods, ATC demands commitment from the very beginning. However, despite the long list of requirements that are needed to become an air traffic controller, it can be an incredibly rewarding career with many perks and perhaps only a few drawbacks.
I started my ATC career all the way back in July, 2005. I was initially working in Australia, where I did one year in the Airservices Australia Academy, before moving onto my on-the-job (OJT), airspace-specific training in Brisbane, where I worked as a licenced Air Traffic Control Officer (ATCO) and Instructor (OJTI) for five years before moving to Germany to continue my career.
Sounds simple, and pretty exciting perhaps. That said, just how do you become an air traffic controller? Can anyone be considered? Can it be done part-time? What about the shift work, and the stress? There are many questions that have to be answered, so best get underway and start from the beginning.
NOTE: Firstly, it is very important to mention that, around the world, ATC organizations will have varying rules and regulations that control all facets of the job; the working schedule, the pay, the holidays, and the training requirements, so this article will serve to offer a glimpse into some of the conditions on offer. It is no means exhaustive, nor 100% applicable to every ATC position worldwide.
Secondly, this is civil ATC-specific. While military ATC will share some details, recruitment and training will vary, as will the day-to-day requirements of an ATCO(Air Traffic Controller).
Table of Contents
Recruitment: Who Can Become An ATCO?
So your friend is an air traffic controller. Wait, how is that relevant? Funnily enough, word-of-mouth is one of the most successful advertising tools ATC has. The general public is not familiar enough with the job and what it entails to even know it exists.
ATC organizations of course advertize on their respective websites for career opportunities, and some specialty aviation websites (mention flightglobal???), but other than that advertizing is often fairly limited.
Some ATC organizations also actively recruit potential candidates out of high school, and this is often in line with age-related regulations for training (for example, candidates in Germany have to be no older than 24 at the time of making their application), but it also means that they get maximum training value from any candidates that pass. On paper at least, it is better to get 30 years service from one ATCO, than 10 years service from three ATCOs
What Is Required to Become an Air Traffic Controller?
Application requirements vary greatly from country to country, but most will require candidates to have finished high school and pass English and Mathematics. A resumé or Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) is an obvious addition, but the most important aspect will be an online test an applicant will be required to do to progress further with the recruitment process to test for certain traits and abilities.
ATC almost always requires a minimum level of English speaking ability, standardized as ICAO Level 4. Native English speakers are considered Level 6, the highest level achievable.
When looking for potential candidates, ATC authorities are looking for those with good spatial awareness, an ability to absorb knowledge and recall it immediately, while also being able to adapt to ever-changing, dynamic scenarios. An ability to work well under pressure is a must.
It is a sweeping statement to say not everyone can be an air traffic controller, but that is the way it is. Not everyone can be a pilot, nor a chef or lawyer, either.
Candidates will be required to pass an aviation Class 3 medical, and tests will be done on overall health, a stress test, blood pressure, as well as hearing and eyesight. Glasses are OK!
Candidates will be interviewed and an assessment will be done on their character; if they can work in a team environment, handle stress, and understand the importance of maintaining a high work ethic, most of the boxes will be ticked. Congratulations, you’ve been accepted to begin training.
Training: What Does Training As An ATCO Involve?
Most ATC authorities have their own training academies and schools. In some cases in Europe, for example, the responsibility for the initial training may be done by another authority, while final-field training (on the job training) will be their responsibility.
What does training as an ATCO involve? Initially, lots of bookwork!
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has laid out areas of knowledge that training should comply with under ICAO 051:
- Air law
- Aircraft performance and recognition
- Meteorology
- Human factors
- Air traffic management
- Navigation
- Equipment and systems
Additionally, trainees will need to learn the following;
- Separation Standards
- Phraseology and communications
- System and airspace-specific procedures and regulations
Simulator Training
Much of the time will be spent in a simulator, regardless of training for tower, approach, or enroute. Simulation runs will start off with just a few aircraft movements, but over time scenarios will change in complexity and volume, testing a trainee’s ability to recall the knowledge, and apply it to find solutions to, firstly, separate, and secondly, maintain an expeditious flow of traffic.
Trainees will sometimes be pushed far beyond what is expected of them in the real world, to see how they handle the pressure that comes with high levels of traffic, and/or highly complex scenarios. How these situations are handled are a guide to how they will work in an operational environment.
In a tower environment, a trainee must learn all the relevant working positions (surface movement controller, clearance delivery, local or air control).
In an approach and enroute environment, a trainee must learn to work one or two roles; executive (communicating directly with aircraft) and planner (assisting with executive, and commutations with neighboring ATC units).
On-The-Job-Training
Upon successful completion of academy training, on-the-job-training (OJT) begins. Here, a trainee will finally become accustomed to the actual airspace, or tower, they will begin their career at.
There may be more simulation time, covering elements like the ATC system and typical scenarios. There will be more bookwork, encompassing letters of agreement between neighboring sectors and ATC centres, as well as local instructions and control functions specific to the assigned airspace.
A trainee will have at all times an instructor, or coach, supervising and ready to step in if a situation becomes unsafe. Early on, an instructor may step in earlier to recover a certain scenario but, like learning to ride a bike, there comes a point where the instructor will let a trainee learn from their mistakes (up to a point!)
OJT can take anywhere from eight weeks to two years to complete, depending on the country and the airspace, and of course the trainee’s ability.
Most ATC authorities will require the trainee to work a minimum number of hours before reaching a stage where they are ready for a check. This may be done over a period of one or two days, but some countries do not do this, as they feel it sets unrealistic expectations and puts too much pressure on the individual.
In these cases, a trainee will be assessed for competency over a period of one or two weeks, and a decision will be made as to whether or not they are at a standard considered good enough to control without supervision.
A Career in ATC: Benefits and Disadvantages of Being An ATCO!
So, having come so far, it’s time to look at what a career as an ATCO actually means, and what you could expect.
Here are some of the things we’ll look at!
- Is being an ATCO stressful?
- Teamwork and the importance of working well in a team!
- The day to day working conditions
- Wages and salaries
- Holidays
At times a stressful job
Most people outside of ATC will tell you, if they’ve heard the smallest detail, that it is a stressful job. It must be said that working in a stressful environment is a part of it, but it would be a fool to suggest that is where it ends.
ATC, in exactly the same way the traffic flows in and out of airports and sectors, is up and down. It is airspace-dependent, but most sectors and airports will have busy periods and quiet periods. There would be only a few sectors and airports where it is completely bonkers busy hour after hour.
I do remember a few shifts in my career, however, where it felt like it was never going to end. One such shift was in Germany, when a huge band of stormy weather moved through the airspace at an achingly-slow speed.
The storm front was nearly as long as Germany itself, and the chaos it caused was hard to believe at the time because it was not simply a matter of stopping traffic from flying.
Aircraft are already inbound and enroute when sectors can start to be overloaded, so it takes some time to slow the rate of inbound traffic.
However, if an airport such as Frankfurt am Main closes, that can be done with immediate effect and aircraft will be required to hold until such time as the airport reopens, or the aircraft divert to another destination.
Enroute sectors can have a combination of at-level traffic simply transiting the airspace, and arriving or departing traffic, so even if departing traffic is delayed due to weather, the already-airborne traffic may still need to divert around weather.
Aircraft can divert into other sectors, resulting in further complications that need to be solved to ensure separation is achieved, above all else.
Processing the traffic safely and efficiently, despite the conditions making such a task so difficult, is the very essence of the job. ATC is at times a thankless job because it is our duty to process air traffic regardless of the scenarios at a given time, be it easy or difficult.
If the pilots have no idea how busy it was before you transferred them to the next sector, the job was done very well indeed.
Teamwork
Regardless of where you work in the world, a large component of ATC is teamwork. In the scenario I described above, controllers were constantly coordinating plans to one another, moving aircraft around with flight level changes and vectors to ensure safe passage of flights in the respective sectors.
Even during a normal shift, teamwork is essential. Sequences have to be made, weather has to be avoided, and more often than not, aircraft wish to arrive at an airport at the same popular times throughout the day.
An executive controller (the controller communicating directly with the aircraft) relies on the planner controller to create a plan in advance of the traffic entering a sector. The planner might have already coordinated differing entry requirements than was initially intended with another Planner to separate from other traffic and ease the workload for the Executive Controller.
Most ATCOs share similar personality traits. Imagine a room full of people who like to do things their own way and always be in control. It can lead to some friction but, if the recruitment process was done effectively, the individuals should still be willing and able to accept the ideas and solutions from others in the name of a harmonious, safe, and efficient working environment.
There are systems in place to help spread the traffic to eliminate these peak periods, but such is the fluid nature of ATC it isn’t always guaranteed. Europe’s air traffic is flow-managed from Brussels, Belgium, and every airport and sector has slots for every aircraft planned to fly.
Day-to-day working conditions
This is a very hard point to discuss because it is different in virtually every single tower and centre. Controllers will be required to be available for the entire shift. Working plans will be done beforehand, or changed on-the-run, depending on scenarios like traffic flow, staff availability (for example a sick report), or forecast bad weather for the working sectors.
There are normally minimum and maximum lengths of time an ATCO is allowed to work for, and a minimum amount of break during the shift. During the breaks, ATCOs are often allowed to do as they wish, in order to be mentally refreshed and prepared for the next stint in position. A lot of ATC facilities have fitness rooms for employees, as well as TVs, reading rooms, along with daybeds and sofas to relax on.
While in position, it might be the easiest scenario to work, with everything flying “on the rails”. Or, a massive storm might have come in and essentially forced the temporary closure of your airport. An ATCO has to be prepared to deal with potential emergency situations, and while these don’t happen frequently, they still happen. There are systems in place to facilitate how emergencies are handled, but not many ATCOs could say it was stress free nor 100% seamless in how it was handled.
Shift work
ATC is a 24/7 job for most, as sectors rarely close. Many smaller airports will close overnight, so these tower controllers will work more conventional hours. The vast majority of ATCOs will be required to work during the weekends, public holidays, and nights. Not every centre or airport is the same; when I was working in Australia, my team would cycle through the same roster pattern, so the night shifts and weekends worked were shared equally. We did a pattern that was more or less 4 days work, 2 days off, before changing to 3 days work, 2 days off before I moved overseas.
My roster in Germany offers far more flexibility, in that the ATCOs can request to work certain shifts in advance. Some prefer morning shifts, others late shifts, and some will gladly work night shifts (though it is fair to say this is the minority). The normal working pattern is 4 days work, 4 days off, 5 days work, 3 days off. It is an excellent roster and one of the many benefits of working for my current employer, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung.
Shift work has its pros and cons. If all your friends work 9-5, Monday-Friday jobs, be prepared to miss out on some social events. However, if you need to see a dentist, make an appointment for a handyman to do some work, or do the grocery shopping when it is not busy, shift work is advantageous.
Personally, I couldn’t imagine the fixed routine of a conventional working week. I enjoy the flexibility afforded to me with the various shifts I worked. Changing shifts with colleagues if I had other plans was an alternative, but I also accepted it was sometimes not possible.
Wages and salaries
Most ATC employers pay a little extra money for working the above unconventional hours as well, including public holidays. It is generally accepted that ATC is a high-paying job, and from experience this is certainly the case. How much? A simple search on some Air Navigation Service Providers’ (ANSP) websites revealed the following:
Navcanada, Canada’s ATC authority, states that after training the salary ranges from CAD$75,000 to $142,000/year. This is a basic range and doesn’t include overtime.
The UK’s NATS controllers earn between £37,000 and £41,253 and advise that during the course of a career, with penalty rates, a salary over £100,000 is achievable.
In the USA, the FAA reports that, in 2016, the median ATC salary was USD$127,800, and this included figures from ATC positions across the country.
In Australia, the starting salary for an Airservices employee after completion of training begins at around AUD$100,000, increasing incrementally each year over a number of years.
Holidays
Holidays and recreation leave vary greatly across ATC. In Germany, for example, ATCOs receive between 30 and 40 days leave a year, depending on the tower or centre. The beauty within my roster, however, means that using four or five days of holidays creates a run of 11 days off.
Non-ATC opportunities
Separating aircraft isn’t the only role on offer at ANSPs world over. Controllers are needed to train new recruits, and to assess them as well. Procedures need to be created, and changed, and evaluated, and supervisors are required to monitor the live and future situations in their tower or centre. Controllers in countries where English isn’t the official language even conduct English language assessments for their colleagues.
These are just a few of the roles uniquely available to ATCOs, should they wish to move away either partially or fully from ATC. Their experience of separating aircraft means they’re obviously well-equipped to provide the expertise to train applicants and assess their competence at the end of their training. Many ANSPs also recruit their managers from an ATC background, though that often means hanging up your headset for good as the demands and hours are too great.
Conclusion
By no means is this an exhaustive guide, but it gives a thorough introduction into what it takes to begin a career in ATC, and highlighting the key points of difference between it and other careers.
Do I think ATC is a good career? Yes, I think ATC is an excellent career. It has provided opportunities few other careers could have afforded me, with the flexibility to have a great lifestyle, strong financial rewards, and the biggest plus of all, the chance to work overseas (though that is also very seldom in the world of ATC).
If you think you have what it takes, and the sound of a job where every day is different and ultimately very challenging, then I urge you to consider applying with your relevant ANSP. It is a career I am incredibly happy with and I am thankful to my respective employers for the opportunities provided. I love being an air traffic controller!
Recommended Course!
