Air Traffic Controllers
Tactical aircraft control, radar operation, corridor positioning, and participation in aircraft emergencies provide relevant experience for civilian traffic control.
How to prepare: Have your existing certifications, facility ratings, and documented live-traffic duties assessed against the intended hiring route before choosing additional training, since W17A tactical control alone does not establish qualifying civilian ATC experience. For FAA employment, compare entry-level eligibility (under 31, with one year of progressively responsible work, a bachelor's degree, or combined postsecondary education and work totaling one year) with the 2026 experienced-controller notice (original-appointment maximum age 35 and 52 consecutive weeks of full-time active traffic separation after certification or facility rating at a qualifying facility within five years of application, excluding pre-certification military training and allowing no educational substitute), then check citizenship, English, medical, security, applicable testing, and route-specific training requirements; non-FAA employers have separate hiring rules, and controller duties require applicable qualifications and supervision.
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.
- Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.