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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Air Traffic Controllers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $78,420 | $37.70 |
| 25th | $104,520 | $50.25 |
| 50th · Median | $148,080 | $71.19 |
| 75th | $190,570 | $91.62 |
| 90th | $215,610 | $103.66 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (21)
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Monitor, direct, or sequence 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.
- Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
- Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.
Expand more tasks (17)
- Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
- Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
- Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
- Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.
- Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
- Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes.
- Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft.
- Provide on-the-job training to new air traffic controllers.
- Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace.
- Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations.
- Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers.
- Conduct pre-flight briefings on weather conditions, suggested routes, altitudes, indications of turbulence, or other flight safety information.
- Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights.
- Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes.
- Complete daily activity reports and keep records of messages from aircraft.
- Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
- Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports, as required under federal law.
Skills used in this work
- 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.
- 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.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Expand more skills (29)
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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