Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists

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2019 Workforce

41.4k

Average Age

40.3

Average Salary

$93,780

Average Male Salary

$96,965

Average Female Salary

$77,633

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 $93,780 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists by wage are Mechanical engineers, Other Physical Scientists, and Biomedical & agricultural 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 Harrison CountyGulfport & Biloxi Cities PUMA, MS, Norfolk City (Northeast) PUMA, VA, and Escambia County (South) PUMA, FL. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are Harrison CountyGulfport & Biloxi Cities PUMA, MS, Escambia County (South) PUMA, FL, and Norfolk City (Northeast) PUMA, VA.

Photo by Naval Surface Warriors

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations Transportation & Material Moving Occupations Transportation Occupations

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 Hillsborough County (Western) PUMA, NH but are relatively concentrated in Harrison CountyGulfport & Biloxi Cities PUMA, MS.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$93,780

AVERAGE SALARY

± $6,618

In 2019, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists earned an average of $93,780, $38,256 more than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Biomedical & agricultural engineers make somewhat more than Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists while Mechanical 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

0.333

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.333, 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.

Industries

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. Marines, U. S. Army, and Architectural, engineering & related services.

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 Architectural, engineering & related services.

Industries by Share

41.4k

2019 Workforce

± 4,992

8.76%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 16%

The number of people employed as Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists has been growing at a rate of 8.76%, from 38,021 people in 2018 to 41,353 people in 2019.

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 46.2%, followed by Air transportation with 17.2% and National security & international affairs with 12.7%.

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 40.8 and of female Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is 38.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

34.5k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,562

6.81k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 2,026

83.5% 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)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

72.1% of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 10.5% of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists, White (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

40.8

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.69

38.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 4.16

The median age of Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists is 40.3, and Male employees are generally 2.73 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.