Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Air Traffic Controllers
Occupation · SOC 53-2021.00
Control air traffic on and within vicinity of airport, and movement of air traffic between altitude sectors and control centers, according to established procedures and policies. Authorize, regulate, and control commercial airline flights according to government or company regulations to expedite and ensure flight safety.
Also called: Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) · Air Traffic Controller (ATC) · Certified Professional Controller (CPC) · Enroute Air Traffic Controller (Enroute ATC) · Center Air Traffic Controller (Center ATC) · Control Tower Operator · Radar Air Traffic Controller · Terminal Air Traffic Control Specialist (Terminal ATC Specialist) · Tower Air Traffic Controller (Tower ATC) · Access Control Specialist · Air Route Controller · Air Route Traffic Controller
Job family: Transportation and Material Moving Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-53-2021-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+1.2% by 2034)
- 2,200 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Median pay $144,580/yr
- Can largely be done remotely (teleworkable)
- A reversal from 2013 — rated low automation risk then (29th), high AI task-overlap now (62nd)
62nd-percentile task overlap — yet about 2,200 openings a year (+1.2% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) High | 81st | 1.2 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 49th | 0.6 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 59th | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.6). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.1 · 29th percentile among occupations · Low
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations. | 0.7% | |
| Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +1.2% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 2,200 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 24,100 → 24,400 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Air Traffic Controllers sits at the 59th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
31% mean task exposure (2025)
59th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Air Traffic Controllers · 3154 | 31% | Minimal |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 23 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems. Core · importance 4.9
- Issue landing and take-off authorizations or instructions. Core · importance 4.8
- Provide flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields for pilots traveling in bad weather or in emergency situations. Core · importance 4.8
- Transfer control of departing flights to traffic control centers and accept control of arriving flights. Core · importance 4.8
- Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties. Core · importance 4.8
- Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety. Core · importance 4.8
- Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land. Core · importance 4.8
- Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references. Core · importance 4.7
- Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers. Core · importance 4.7
- Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information. Core · importance 4.6
- Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement. Core · importance 4.6
- Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes. Core · importance 4.5
- Initiate or coordinate searches for missing aircraft. Core · importance 4.5
- Provide on-the-job training to new air traffic controllers. Core · importance 4.5
- Check conditions and traffic at different altitudes in response to pilots' requests for altitude changes. Core · importance 4.4
- Relay air traffic information, such as courses, altitudes, or expected arrival times, to control centers. Core · importance 4.4
- Inspect, adjust, or control radio equipment or airport lights. Core · importance 4.3
- Compile information about flights from flight plans, pilot reports, radar, or observations. Core · importance 4.3
- Organize flight plans or traffic management plans to prepare for planes about to enter assigned airspace. Core · importance 4.2
- Conduct pre-flight briefings on weather conditions, suggested routes, altitudes, indications of turbulence, or other flight safety information. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Analyze factors such as weather reports, fuel requirements, or maps to determine air routes. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Review records or reports for clarity and completeness and maintain records or reports, as required under federal law. Core · importance 3.8
- Complete daily activity reports and keep records of messages from aircraft. Core · importance 3.6
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Monitor, direct, or sequence the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
Work activities
- Communicate with others to coordinate vehicle movement.
- Monitor vehicle movement or location.
- Direct vehicle traffic.
- Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
- Respond to transportation emergencies.
- Coordinate flight control or management activities.
- Adjust routes or speeds as necessary.
- Direct emergency management activities.
- Monitor surroundings to detect potential hazards.
- Compile operational data.
- Operate communications equipment or systems.
- Meet with coworkers to communicate work orders or plans.
- Choose optimal transportation routes or speeds.
- Plan flight operations.
- Review documents or materials for compliance with policies or regulations.
- Record operational details of travel.
- Train transportation or material moving personnel.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.8 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.6 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.6 | |
| Selective Attention | 4.5 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.4 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.3 | |
| Speed of Closure | 4.3 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 4.3 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 4.1 | |
| Time Sharing | 4.1 | |
| Near Vision | 4.1 | |
| Far Vision | 4.1 | |
| Speech Clarity | 4.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 4.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.6 | |
| Visualization | 3.5 | |
| Auditory Attention | 3.5 | |
| Written Expression | 3.4 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.4 | |
| Originality | 3.4 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 4.4 | |
| Speaking | 4.3 | |
| Critical Thinking | 4.1 | |
| Monitoring | 4.0 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | |
| Active Learning | 3.8 |
Knowledge
| Transportation | 4.2 | |
| English Language | 3.9 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.8 | |
| Education and Training | 3.8 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.6 | |
| Geography | 3.5 | |
| Telecommunications | 3.4 |
Transferable skills
| Judgment and Decision Making | 4.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 4.0 | |
| Coordination | 3.9 | |
| Time Management | 3.5 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.4 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
- Typical entry-level education
- Associate's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
- Preparation level
- SVP (6.0 to < 7.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Transportation and Materials Moving . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 36.1% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 20.8% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 20.1% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 14.1% | |
| Some College Courses | 5.6% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 1.8% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 1.4% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Work styles
| Dependability | 10.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 9.0 | |
| Integrity | 8.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 7.0 | |
| Achievement Orientation | 6.0 | |
| Self-Control | 5.0 | |
| Stress Tolerance | 4.0 | |
| Adaptability | 3.0 | |
| Self-Confidence | 2.4 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Conventional | 5.0 | |
| Realistic | 4.5 | |
| Enterprising | 4.3 | |
| Social | 2.7 | |
| Investigative | 2.5 |
Interest areas
| Protective Service | 4.0 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.7 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $76,090 |
| 25th percentile | $101,150 |
| Median (50th) | $144,580 |
| 75th percentile | $186,510 |
| 90th percentile | $210,410 |
| People employed | 22,400 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 1,730 | $82,400 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 120 | $61,100 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 70 | $164,370 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 60 | $176,570 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 1.61× | 1,730 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 0.06× | 120 |
Related occupations
Part of the Supply Chain & Transportation career cluster.
- Airfield Operations Specialists · 53-2022.00 Compare →
- Commercial Pilots · 53-2012.00 Compare →
- Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers · 53-2011.00 Compare →
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters · 53-4031.00 Compare →
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors · 53-1041.00 Compare →
- Traffic Technicians · 53-6041.00 Compare →
- Locomotive Engineers · 53-4011.00 Compare →
- Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance · 43-5032.00 Compare →
- Aviation Inspectors · 53-6051.01 Compare →
- Public Safety Telecommunicators · 43-5031.00 Compare →
- Subway and Streetcar Operators · 53-4041.00 Compare →
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers · 51-8012.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Air Traffic Controllers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Associate's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 3 — Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Transportation and Materials Moving · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 59th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Air Traffic Controllers show 62nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings
- Air Traffic Controllers rank in the 62nd percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 2,200 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.2%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $144,580, across about 22,400 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Air Traffic Controllers show 62nd-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings • Air Traffic Controllers rank in the 62nd percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 2,200 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.2%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $144,580, across about 22,400 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Air Traffic Controllers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2021-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Air Traffic Controllers." 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/roles/role-53-2021-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Air Traffic Controllers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2021-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-53-2021-00,
title = {Air Traffic Controllers},
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/roles/role-53-2021-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.