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Resumes Ready? Air Traffic Controller Openings Go Public Tomorrow. No Experience Needed.

John Goglia
Former Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
I write about the airline industry and aviation safety.
This article is more than 10 years old.

The much-anticipated FAA jobs posting for air traffic controllers is set to start accepting applications on www.usajobs.gov tomorrow.  These jobs are open to the public and do not require any prior aviation experience.   As I wrote in my previous column, the FAA is set to hire 10,000 controllers over the next decade, with more than 6,000 in the next five years.If you missed the FAA’s first virtual career fair last week, you are still in time for the next and final one set for February 12.  According to the FAA’s website, it anticipates accepting applications for a two-week period from February 10-February 24, 2014. Successful applicants must be US citizens, able to start training before their 31st birthday, and willing to relocate to “to an air traffic facility based on the FAA’s highest needs at the time”.  There are 315 facilities around the country but you have to be prepared to go where the FAA needs controllers – in the past, hard to staff facilities have included those in the New York City area.  In addition, applicants must have “three years of progressively responsible work experience, or a Bachelor’s degree, or a combination of education and work experience that totals three years.”

According to the FAA, new controllers hired from the 2014 job announcement will start at FG-1 pay scale (the FAA has its own pay system which does not correlate exactly to the general schedule applicable to most federal jobs) while in training at the FAA Academy.  Thereafter, pay will depend on “career path, facility location, facility complexity, job performance, training and certifications.”  According to the latest information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics published last month, the median air traffic controller salary was $122,530 in May 2012, with 10 % earning more than $171,340 and 10% less than $64,930.  Trainees started in 2012 at $17,803 with after-training salaries starting at $37,070.

Air traffic control is critical to the safe and efficient flow of aircraft and an exciting and rewarding career.  If you are interested, now is the time to apply as public job openings are the exception.  Often, the FAA recruits exclusively from the military or air traffic collegiate programs.

And, for those who are already looking forward to retirement, air traffic controllers have a mandatory retirement age of 56.

John Goglia
John Goglia