# Air Traffic Controllers

> 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.

- **SOC code:** 53-2021.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2021-00
- **Also known as:** 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)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Inform pilots about nearby planes or potentially hazardous conditions, such as weather, speed and direction of wind, or visibility problems.
- 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.
- Alert airport emergency services in cases of emergency or when aircraft are experiencing difficulties.
- Monitor or direct the movement of aircraft within an assigned air space or on the ground at airports to minimize delays and maximize safety.
- Direct pilots to runways when space is available or direct them to maintain a traffic pattern until there is space for them to land.
- Monitor aircraft within a specific airspace, using radar, computer equipment, or visual references.
- Direct ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft, maintenance or baggage vehicles, or airport workers.
- Contact pilots by radio to provide meteorological, navigational, or other information.
- Maintain radio or telephone contact with adjacent control towers, terminal control units, or other area control centers to coordinate aircraft movement.
- Determine the timing or procedures for flight vector changes.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Selective Attention _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Speed of Closure _(ability)_
- Flexibility of Closure _(ability)_
- Transportation _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Acrobat _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- SAP software _(hot technology)_
- Advanced technologies and oceanic procedures ATOP
- Automated radar terminal systems ARTS
- Center TRACON automation systems CTAS
- Direct-to-tool software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 62nd percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 81st percentile (High) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 49th percentile (Moderate) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 59th percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 29th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 1.2% growth (About average); 2.2k annual openings; 24.1k → 24.4k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $144,580; 22,400 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

---
_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-53-2021-00_