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What are the education requirements to get trained as an ATC? (Air Traffic Controller)?
December 19th, 2009 | 
Author: Hey, i’m a Junior in High School thinking about becoming an ATC in the United States. But, i’m kinda unsure about the education requirements to get trained as one.
The FAA website kinda confused me. It said it was a Bachlors in college or 3 years of progressive work? A Bachlors in what, and what exactly is "progressive work?"
Plus, what kind of grades in High School would be expected to become an ATC? I’m making solid B’s in AP courses.
To become an FAA air traffic controller you do NOT need a college degree. There are two main routes you can go to becoming an ATC (other than military). First, you can go through an FAA accredited CTI program at a school that offers such program. There use to be only 13 schools in the country that offered it when I went through, now I believe there are many, many more. These can range from 2 year to 4 year programs. Do the shortest, cheapest program you can, as everyone ends up in the same place, and the FAA doesn’t care if you have a 2yr or 4yr degree. Once you graduate, you’ll get recommended by the school for hire by the FAA. Eventually you’ll get some job offers for specific facilities. Once you accept an offer, you’ll be sent to the FAA’s training academy in Oklahoma City, OK, for about 3 months or so (depends though on what option you choose: Center, Tower or Tracon). The rest of your training will take place at your new facility, and can take 2-4 years, again depending on the type of facility.
The other option is, you can take the FAA’s pre-employment test, an aptitude test, called the ATSAT. They had been offering it a few times a year at various places around the country. I don’t know what the status of that is right now, but if they offer it, take it. If you score well enough, you will get a job offer. And that’s without having to go through any school at all.
I’ve been out of the loop for a short bit now, so some things may have changed, but that’s the jist of it. Check out http://www.stuckmic.com/ for all the info. you could ever need!!
Good luck!
Posted in get traffic
You just have to be a snot nosed cry baby and you’ll be just fine as an overpaid air traffic controller
References :
The degree can be in anything you want as long as it is a BA or BS. The progressive work really mean "military experience", since the military is the only place you can get experience without working for the FAA (some scarce exceptions). There are also a couple of school that will teach you to be an ATC Controller. One is Georgia Aviation and Tech College, Eastman GA. They actually have a working control tower at an airport that sees nothing bigger than their own flight training aircraft. You finish up with the controller certificate and an AS degree.
References :
Military and Civil aviation. Work closely with an ATC instructor.
To become an FAA air traffic controller you do NOT need a college degree. There are two main routes you can go to becoming an ATC (other than military). First, you can go through an FAA accredited CTI program at a school that offers such program. There use to be only 13 schools in the country that offered it when I went through, now I believe there are many, many more. These can range from 2 year to 4 year programs. Do the shortest, cheapest program you can, as everyone ends up in the same place, and the FAA doesn’t care if you have a 2yr or 4yr degree. Once you graduate, you’ll get recommended by the school for hire by the FAA. Eventually you’ll get some job offers for specific facilities. Once you accept an offer, you’ll be sent to the FAA’s training academy in Oklahoma City, OK, for about 3 months or so (depends though on what option you choose: Center, Tower or Tracon). The rest of your training will take place at your new facility, and can take 2-4 years, again depending on the type of facility.
The other option is, you can take the FAA’s pre-employment test, an aptitude test, called the ATSAT. They had been offering it a few times a year at various places around the country. I don’t know what the status of that is right now, but if they offer it, take it. If you score well enough, you will get a job offer. And that’s without having to go through any school at all.
I’ve been out of the loop for a short bit now, so some things may have changed, but that’s the jist of it. Check out http://www.stuckmic.com/ for all the info. you could ever need!!
Good luck!
References :
Former FAA Air Traffic Control Specialist