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Air Traffic Controllers vs Traffic Technicians

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Air Traffic Controllers and Traffic Technicians on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Air Traffic Controllers Traffic Technicians
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$144,580
$58,480
Employment · BLS OEWS
22,400
7,580
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
59th pct
38th pct

At a glance

Dimension Air Traffic Controllers Traffic Technicians
Median pay $144,580 $58,480
Employment 22,400 7,580
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+1.2%) About average (+3.7%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,200 800
Typical education · O*NET Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 59th pct Moderate · 38th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 59th pct · 31% of tasks 47th pct · 26% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — Augmentation-leaning (56.8%)
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman Yes No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Problem Sensitivity, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Selective Attention, Active Listening, Deductive Reasoning, Speaking, Inductive Reasoning, Flexibility of Closure, Transportation, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making, Perceptual Speed, Near Vision, Far Vision, Speech Clarity, Monitoring, Complex Problem Solving, Information Ordering, Speech Recognition, English Language, Written Comprehension, Public Safety and Security, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Education and Training, Category Flexibility, Customer and Personal Service, Visualization, Social Perceptiveness, Written Expression.

Specific to Air Traffic Controllers

  • Speed of Closure
  • Time Sharing
  • Coordination
  • Time Management
  • Auditory Attention
  • Geography
  • Telecommunications
  • Fluency of Ideas

Specific to Traffic Technicians

  • Computers and Electronics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Law and Government
  • Mathematics
  • Administrative
  • Writing
  • Mechanical
  • Design

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Data base user interface and query software , Word processing software .

Specific to Air Traffic Controllers

Specific to Traffic Technicians

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Air Traffic Controllers or Traffic Technicians — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Air Traffic Controllers vs Traffic Technicians." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/air-traffic-controllers-vs-traffic-technicians

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Air Traffic Controllers vs Traffic Technicians. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/air-traffic-controllers-vs-traffic-technicians

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-air-traffic-controllers-vs-traffic-technicians,
  title  = {Air Traffic Controllers vs Traffic Technicians},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/air-traffic-controllers-vs-traffic-technicians}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.