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Overview
Air traffic controllers guide aircraft movements by giving pilots information on height, speed, course, take-off, landing and routes near airports or along major air corridors.
In job descriptions, look for control tower work, radar equipment, aviation meteorology, checklists, IFR procedures, airport regulations, radio communication, spatial awareness and stress tolerance.
Explore this occupation
Search jobsWhat the work can involve
Air traffic controller work is built around live aircraft movement. Controllers use tower, radar, meteorological and communication information to sequence traffic, support take-off and landing and reduce collision or congestion risk.
Skills and specializations
Useful depth includes air traffic control operations, radar equipment, aviation meteorology, airport standards, IFR pre-flight procedures, navigational calculations, checklists, spatial awareness and clear radio communication.
Salary context
Salary context depends on the control environment, traffic volume, tower or radar duties, shift pattern, procedural responsibility, training role, emergency exposure and the level of simultaneous aircraft coordination.
Career paths
Paths can move toward senior controller duties, instructor work, supervisor roles, tower or radar specialization, procedure development, flight-check support or safety and operations coordination.
Good to know
Check whether adverts name tower control, approach control, radar, meteorological monitoring, flight checks, checklists, 3D displays, multiple communication channels, stress handling or shift coverage.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial career context. It is not official labour-market statistics or role-specific salary data.
Where might this occupation occur?
This occupation may occur in several kinds of economic activity. Here are some examples and other occupations that may be found in the same areas.
Service activities incidental to air transportation
This is one example. Other occupations in this activity include airport operations officer, aviation inspector and flight operations officer.
Explore this activityThese examples offer an overview but do not show every economic activity where the occupation may occur.
About this information
The selection is based on how occupations are connected to economic activities in ESCO and NACE. Only a few examples are shown to make the information easier to use. The occupations were selected because they are close in occupation area and important skills. The examples are not a ranking. They do not show where most people work, where demand is highest, or which occupation is best suited to a particular person.
Map overview
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 1
Air Traffic Controllers
53-2021.00
Exact relationship
The official mapping treats the O*NET and ESCO occupations as closely equivalent.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
NACE Rev. 2.1
Economic activities linked to this occupation.
52.23Service activities incidental to air transportation
Alternative labels
Occupation group
Air traffic controllers (3154)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/3c2da05f-eb24-41f7-8307-46c96660fee0 |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 3154.1 |
| ISCO group | 3154 |
| Concept type | Occupation |