Major: Air Traffic Control
Pilots may get all the glory, but they'd be unable to do their job without air traffic controllerrs. In an air traffic control school, you’ll learn everything from using radar to re-routing flights to guiding pilots when emergency strikes.
Majoring in air traffic control at a school approved by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is just the first step. After graduation, you’ll attend the FAA’s own academy.
Students of air traffic control learn the skills needed to direct planes safely, from takeoff to landing.
Did You Know?
- Salaries are sky high: experienced air traffic controllers earn an average of around $95,000 a year.
Are You Ready To...?
- Learn the lingo for communicating with pilots
- Memorize FAA rules
- Analyze weather data
- Practice tracking flights with radar on computer simulations
- Plot out flight plans
It Helps to Be...
Capable of making the right decision under extreme pressure: one wrong call can mean the difference between life and death.
College Checklist
- Is the program FAA-approved under the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Institute initiative? Check out the FAA’s state-by-state listing.
- Is the air traffic control simulation lab equipped with the tools you’ll need for hands-on learning?
- Is there an airport nearby where you might land an internship?
- If you’re starting at a community college with the goal of a four-year degree, will you be able to transfer your credits to your chosen school?
- Does the school have a job placement and cooperative education program with the FAA?
Did You Know?
- “Pushing tin,” the name of a 1999 film starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton, is slang for air traffic control.
Course Spotlight
You know the drill: you race to get to the airport on time, only to find your flight delayed by a storm that’s powering its way across the jet stream. Welcome to Aviation Meteorology 101, a course required by every school of air traffic control.
In this class, you’ll learn how thunderstorms, air masses, fog, and other variables can affect air travel. You’ll also learn how to analyze weather data to determine when to re-route or cancel a flight. By the time you’ve finished the course, you’ll be thanking the air traffic controller who delayed your plane, sending you up into the sky only when it was safe to do so.
