Air Traffic Controllers
Navy AC experience directing aircraft under visual and instrument flight rules, operating radar, and responding to air traffic emergencies directly overlaps civilian traffic control.
How to prepare: Have your existing certifications, facility ratings, and duty records assessed against the FAA experienced-controller route: the 2026 notice requires 52 consecutive weeks of full-time active traffic separation after certification or facility rating within five years of application, excludes pre-certification military training, allows no educational substitute, and sets a maximum original-appointment age of 35, with prior civilian FAA or DOD 2152 appointees required to document their original appointment. If considering FAA entry-level hiring instead, check its under-31 rule and one year of progressively responsible work, a bachelor's degree, or combined postsecondary education and work totaling one year; FAA selection includes citizenship, medical and security screening, entry-level testing including ATSA, and route-specific training, while non-FAA employers have separate selection rules and controllers need applicable certification, facility qualification, or authorized supervision.
What the civilian work involves
- Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions.
- Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations.
- Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights.