Air Traffic Controllers
CATCC precision-approach final control and DAIR target acquisition provide directly relevant experience for civilian air traffic control.
How to prepare: Compare your certification dates and live-separation records with FAA hiring routes: entry-level applicants must be US citizens under 31, have one year of progressively responsible work experience, a bachelor's degree, or a combination of postsecondary education and work totaling one year, speak English clearly over communications equipment, and pass medical, security and pre-employment testing, including ATSA, before completing Academy and facility training. The 2026 experienced-controller notice permits original appointments through age 35 but requires 52 consecutive weeks of full-time active traffic separation after certification or facility rating, within five years of application, at a qualifying FAA, DOD military or civilian, National Guard, or FAA-contract tower facility; CATCC designation alone does not establish eligibility, pre-certification training time does not count, education cannot substitute, and this notice also requires US citizenship, a pre-employment physical, drug testing, Secret clearance, willingness to work at any FAA facility, and further training for full certification.
What the civilian work involves
- Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
- 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.