Air Traffic Controler: Do You Have What it takes to be an ATC?

Introduction
To be a ground Air Traffic Controller you need to be able to memorize at a glance the positions of aircrafts on the runways and taxiways. You need to be able to think in three dimensions, being aware of not so much where planes are as where they are going to be by interpreting course headings and speeds. This takes a lot of concentration and can be extremely difficult.

Job Function
In the United States, at peak times, there are about 5,000 planes in the air in a given hour. Each of these needs someone to direct them during take-off and landing and possibly be rerouted because of bad weather. Before planes take-off they will have already been given a flight-path which does not allow them to collide into each other, but weather concerns force an Air Traffic Controller to find a new flight-path, and this is where a mistake can become deadly, this is why Air Traffic Control is a notoriously stressful job. Advertisement
Lifestyle
Once your training is done, the FAA will set you up with a permanent post and your life will be that of any other person with a full-time job. Only when in training is Air Traffic Control going to consume your life. To take the exam, which focuses mainly on abstract reasoning and 3-D spatial visualization, just to be accepted into school you need at least three years work experience and a four year college degree. After successful completion of the exam you will spend seven months in training in Oklahoma City, where you will learn the air traffic control system, equipment, regulations, procedures and aircraft performance. After graduation you will accumulate experience as the FAA sends you to different control sites all over the country.

Additional Information
Hard job, good money.