Although I know ATC jobs are gonna be going down the drain, I’m curious as to what type of qualifications do you need to have to work in ATC. Also, is it the same whether you work at a small airfield, Controlled Airspace, or a Center?
Thanks
-Josh
…and one HELL of an aptitude test! 
I failed when I took it 15 years ago [/shame]
The qualifications are all the same to be hired. Your performance level determines whether you work in a center, tower, or FSS or other position.
DOD personnel with an ATC primary or secondary MOS can be exempted from the “not over 30” rule as a direct appointment.
faa.gov/careers/employment/mil-retired.htm
Nor do they need to attend the FAA academy, they simply receive “OJT” field training.
Thanks for the sites, B747 & JHEM. I’ve wanted to work ATC since I was 10, combining my love for radio and aviation. Unfortunately for me, I have a stutter, so it could get interesting… "Cessna November three niner four TRAFFIC ALERT! Twe. twe… twe… twe… twel… er, BAIL OUT!
When I go for my PPL next fall, that might be a problem. I have practiced with my school’s flight instructor, and I stumbled over a few words, usually on readback, but most of it is coming naturally to me since It’s the same stuff over and over again.
You might be pleasantly surprised to find that radio work will lead to LESS stuttering, not more, as the direct feedback of a headset can act as a positive reinforcement.
Do you stutter when you sing? Or are you like Mel Tillis who can sing like a canary without any sign of stuttering?
I actually do back up singing in my band, and It comes out perfectly. I have to read the lyrics a couple times before practicing them, because I can’t read aloud. In school, I’d always get a bad mark when trying to read aloud. I’d stutter, and the teachers thought I wasn’t paying attention and trying to figure out where we were in the book. Once I’ve said something a couple times, it’s no biggie. Sometimes I randomnly jumble words together, such as “walk in the park” suddenly becomes “WARK in the park.” I have done telephone jobs (tele-research… We did phone surveys.) And I had to read the prompt on the computer. The first few questions were okay, since they were always the same, but the questions changed after that. After less than a month I had to quit, b/c the questions suddenly changed one day, and I got so nervous that I broke out in hives.
When i have to do a presentation or a speech, rather than write down everything, I jot down a list of things I want to talk about. It’s much easier that way.
I actually was referred to a therapist once, and she said that normally, stressful (not necessarily bad stressful, but anything that taxes the mind too quickly) behavior is fight or flight, and that my stuttering seems to be caused by my brain just freezing up [Such as when a person gets robbed; they either fight back at the robber, drop their wallet and run, or just stand there repeating “oh (insert swear word for feces).”]
I’d really like to do ATC, but like I said earlier, it looks like the jobs are gonna be vanishing (something about the FAA having no money and stuff, there was a link to it in another post.)
being that im going through the early stages of becoming an ATC. my friends in the FAA recommened going to the CTI-II course first (going this sept) then once your done with that apply for the FAA and wait on the waiting list
The vast majority of those being hired now come from graduates from college programs that offer degrees in ATC. Most locations around the country will test and accept applications from only these folks. A hard to staff location in the last few months offered open public testing but that is an exception these days.
I know your pain, I have a stutter also… It may surprise you that I actually work in Commerical radio, I work at a radio station in Virginia. I have always had some sort of stutter, very frustrating. When i started working in radio a couple years ago thats all i did was stutter on the air but i eventually worked around it and came to accept it as part of my personitly. I dont stutter nearly as much as i use too on air but i do every now in then, i just go with it. Now relating that to aviation, I have recently started taking pilots lessons to earn my PPL. And I thought that pilots speak perfectly over the comms, not the case i hear them say wrong runways, forget what they were saying and take long pauses. We are human we all have our faults, its how we choose to live with them. I stutter on the comm every so long but i just make sure that i say it again so its clear enough for others to hear. pedoublenizzle i wouldn’t let your stuttering keep you from doing what you want. If you want to be an ATC then work that much harder to achieve it. I’m sorry about my soapbox. lol. i hope that helps man.
take care!
Lance
In callsigns for N-Numbers, the first “N” should not be added to the callsign. The callsign above would be “Cessna three niner four…”
Thats not exactly true. ATC uses november all the time, especially Center frequencies.
The requirment states you must either state the type aircraft or November preceeding a general aviation call sign.
I have noticed that they tend to spell the whole thing on first contact, then the after that. Not always the case, but I see this pretty frequently.
FAA Air Traffic Control Handbook 7110.65, paragraph 2-4-20a. Civil. State the prefix “November” when establishing initial communications with U.S. registered aircraft followed by the ICAO phonetic pronunciation of the numbers/letters of the aircraft registration. The controller may state the aircraft type, the model, the manufacturer’s name, followed by the ICAO phonetic pronunciation of the numbers/letters of the aircraft registration if used by the pilot on the initial or subsequent call.