Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

39.4k

Average Age

39.9

Average Salary

$93,421

Average Male Salary

$97,248

Average Female Salary

$77,040

About

Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are most often employed by the Services incidental to transportation industry. The average yearly wage for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists was $93,421 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists by wage are Human resources managers, Biomedical & agricultural engineers, and Mechanical engineers.

Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are part of the Transportation Occupations, along with Supervisors of transportation & material moving workers, Aircraft pilots & flight engineers, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Flight attendants, Ambulance drivers & attendants, except emergency medical technicians, and 17 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are Avon, Avon Lake & North Ridgeville Cities PUMA, OH, St. Mary's & Calvert Counties PUMA, MD, and Near North Side, Loop & Near South Side PUMA, IL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are Craven County PUMA, NC, Avon, Avon Lake & North Ridgeville Cities PUMA, OH, and Deerfield, Pompano Beach (North) & Lighthouse Point Cities PUMA, FL.

Photo by Naval Surface Warriors

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists and on wages and locations for those in the field. Services incidental to transportation is the industry that employs the most Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, by average wage, is Services incidental to transportation. Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are paid most in Smithtown Town PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Craven County PUMA, NC.

Yearly Wage

$93,421

AVERAGE SALARY

± $7,476

In 2020, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists earned an average of $93,421, $37,467 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Human resources managers make somewhat more than Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists while Biomedical & agricultural engineers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.365

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.365, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, by number of employees, are Services incidental to transportation, Air transportation, National security & international affairs, Administration of economic programs & space research, U. S. Air Force, U. S. Navy, U. S. Army, U. S. Marines, Couriers & messengers, Architectural, engineering & related services, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, by average wage, are Services incidental to transportation, Administration of economic programs & space research, and Aircraft & parts manufacturing.

Industries by Share

39.4k

2020 Workforce

± 4,871

0.0839%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 17.5%

The number of people employed as Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists has been growing at a rate of 0.0839%, from 39,335 people in 2019 to 39,368 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists employed by various industries. Services incidental to transportation employs the largest share of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists at 47.9%, followed by Air transportation with 15.7% and National security & international affairs with 9.46%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists in the US. The average age of male Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists in the workforce is 40.4 and of female Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is 37.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

31.9k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,385

7.46k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,120

81.1% of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are Male, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

71.5% of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.4% of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.

Age by Sex

40.4

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.78

37.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 3.39

The median age of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is 39.9, and Male employees are generally 2.64 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is Transportation but a relatively high number of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists hold a major in Transportation.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists need many skills, but most especially Complex Problem Solving, Active Listening, and Monitoring. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Operation Monitoring, and Complex Problem Solving.