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Also called air route controller, air route traffic controller, airport tower controller and ATC.
$148,080
Median pay a year
22,510
People do this work
6
Resume lines ready for you
Pay and headcount are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lines are written from what the US Department of Labor records about this work.
An example
A Air Traffic Controller resume, filled in
Every line below comes from the same public record as the rest of this page. The greyed parts are the ones only you can answer.
Air Traffic Controller
Summary
Air traffic controller managing aircraft movement within airport vicinity and altitude sectors, ensuring flight safety and compliance with regulations through communication with pilots and coordination with control towers
Experience
Air Traffic Controller
Where you worked
Month Year to Month Year
Informed pilots about nearby planes and hazardous conditions, including weather and visibility problems
Issued landing and take-off authorizations or instructions for aircraft operations
Monitored and directed the movement of aircraft within assigned airspace to minimize delays
Provided flight path changes or directions to emergency landing fields during adverse conditions
Maintained radio contact with adjacent control towers to coordinate aircraft movement
Directed ground traffic, including taxiing aircraft and airport vehicles, to ensure safety
Conducted pre-flight briefings on weather conditions and suggested routes for pilots
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What to put on an Air Traffic Controller resume
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Choose what fits, or say your own.
Informed pilots about nearby aircraftIssued landing and take-off authorizationsTransferred control of departing flightsProvided flight path changes for pilotsAlerted emergency services during incidentsMonitored aircraft movement within airspace
becomes
On your resume
Informed pilots about nearby aircraft to maintain safe distances and prevent collisions
Transferred control of departing flights to traffic control centers, ensuring smooth transitions
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The line that could show more, and the fact that lands it.
Make it stronger
A few lines could show more. Each one is asked, and answered by choosing.
Show what improved for pilots once you informed them.
The line
Informed pilots about nearby aircraft to reduce confusion during busy flight times and maintain safe distances
Show what improved for pilots once you informed them.
Pick one that fits
Reduced confusion during busy flight timesHelped pilots make safer decisionsImproved overall flight safety
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Mention if you were trusted with any special procedures during transfers.
The line
Transferred control of departing flights to traffic control centers, ensuring smooth transitions
Mention if you were trusted with any special procedures during transfers.
Pick one that fits
Handled emergency transfers when neededTrained new staff on transfer proceduresManaged high-traffic transfers effectively
Or add your own.
In your wordsAdd it
Adding it to the line…
Added to your resume
Every ready answer is in plain words, never a figure. Nothing is invented to fill a gap.
What it is made of
Skills for an Air Traffic Controller resume
What this work is made of. Rung offers these and keeps the ones you claim.
What are you good at?
Monitoring vehicle movement
Directing vehicle traffic
Recording travel details
Notifying hazards
Monitoring surroundings
Compiling operational data
Reviewing documents for compliance
Choosing transportation routes
Planning flight operations
Adjusting routes or speeds
Operating communications equipment
Meeting with coworkers
The work itself
What an Air Traffic Controller does
The public record of what this job is, in one paragraph.
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.
What it pays
How much does an Air Traffic Controller make?
Annual pay across the United States. The middle figure is the median: half earn less than that, and half earn more.
25th percentile
$104,520
Median
$148,080
75th percentile
$190,570
About 22,510 people do this work in the United States.
What it pays in each state
State
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
AK
$94,760
$123,950
$168,830
AL
$100,310
$114,960
$138,050
AR
$99,800
$109,760
$127,920
AZ
$112,030
$136,800
$170,870
CA
$115,810
$160,080
$207,670
CO
$108,990
$177,380
$204,150
CT
$119,430
$140,940
$172,640
DC
$47,760
$47,760
$174,860
FL
$107,990
$147,530
$178,420
GA
$126,570
$178,420
$198,120
HI
$115,290
$158,700
$186,280
IA
$76,980
$90,790
$105,610
IL
$117,500
$181,560
$209,440
IN
$106,100
$158,810
$180,290
KS
$119,370
$159,700
$181,330
KY
$97,840
$127,800
$151,240
LA
$87,150
$99,810
$123,660
MA
$89,890
$125,060
$171,010
MD
$118,350
$131,290
$164,920
ME
$54,500
$107,270
$122,350
MI
$99,610
$118,930
$178,590
MN
$120,940
$176,840
$200,510
MO
$105,440
$122,200
$145,140
MS
$79,700
$88,110
$113,300
MT
$83,030
$101,380
$108,680
NC
$104,640
$129,230
$169,520
ND
$81,720
$107,990
$133,660
NE
$94,910
$111,710
$127,630
NJ
$102,730
$132,230
$179,400
NM
$120,120
$148,550
$170,660
NV
$112,110
$140,920
$182,250
NY
$106,200
$144,960
$216,570
OK
$98,680
$123,220
$150,260
PA
$100,210
$132,350
$190,360
PR
$99,800
$125,780
$147,120
RI
$100,440
$126,300
$150,180
SC
$92,980
$112,030
$132,600
TN
$120,000
$157,330
$178,630
TX
$107,990
$170,080
$202,590
UT
$140,130
$158,310
$169,520
VA
$140,480
$191,820
$214,360
VT
$101,840
$109,140
$114,480
WA
$112,150
$162,570
$191,030
WY
$82,310
$93,580
$114,940
Other names
Other names for this job
air route controller, air route traffic controller, airport tower controller, ATC, airport traffic controller, airway controller, airway traffic controller, center air traffic controller, certified professional controller, CPC, enroute air traffic controller, enroute controller.
More names for this work
flight controller, radar air traffic controller, tower air traffic controller, access control specialist, air traffic control operator, air traffic control specialist, ATCS, air traffic control support specialist, air traffic coordinator, air traffic manager, aircraft communicator, airline dispatcher, airways control specialist, airways operations specialist, atc support specialist, center atc, communications officer, communications operator, control operator, control tower operator, controls specialist, dispatcher, enroute atc, flight communications officer, flight control specialist, flight dispatcher, flight radio officer, flight radio operator, flight service specialist, flight tower dispatcher, gca technician, ground control approach technician, signal tower operator, station air traffic control specialist, technical communicator, terminal air traffic control specialist, terminal atc specialist, tower air traffic control specialist, tower atc, tower control operator, traffic control manager, traffic control specialist, traffic management coordinator, traffic supervisor.
If you served
Military jobs this work counts as
From the crosswalk the US Department of Labor publishes itself. If one of these was your job, this page is about the civilian work it maps to.
001307 Air Traffic Controller
F15A Control Tower Operator
1C111 Air Traffic Control Helper
1C100 Air Traffic Control Manager
7220 Air Traffic Control Officer
8658 Controlled Approach Officer
7252 Air Traffic Controller-Tower
1C171 Air Traffic Control Craftsman
7291 Senior Air Traffic Controller
1C131 Air Traffic Control Apprentice
1C151 Air Traffic Control Journeyman
7251 Air Traffic Controller-Trainee
and 19 more service codes map here
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This page is about the occupation Air Traffic Controllers. What this job involves and what it is made of come from O*NET 30.3, the US Department of Labor's occupation database, refreshed July 2026; Rung writes those records into the plain sentences you see. Pay comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS release for 2025. Rung is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either agency. How Rung handles accuracy is on the accuracy page, and the full data credits are on the credits page.