Did You Know?
Air traffic controllers are required to take a mandatory break every 90 to 120 minutes. This is not optional! The FAA requires these breaks because the job demands such intense concentration that fatigue could affect safety.
How to Get Started
Getting started in a career in air traffic control begins with developing the skills that controllers use every day: clear communication, quick decision-making, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. While you cannot begin formal ATC training until you are older, there is plenty you can do now to build a strong foundation for this career.
Explore the Basics
Learn the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie) and practice spelling your name and your family members' names out loud. Then try giving a friend or sibling directions from one room to another using only your voice, without pointing or gesturing. This activity builds the precise verbal communication skills that controllers rely on every day to guide pilots safely.
Try It Out
Set up a simple air traffic control game at home using toy airplanes, paper planes, or even small objects on a table. Create "runways" with tape and practice directing your "aircraft" to take off, fly along different paths, and land without crashing into each other. Add more planes to make it harder and practice staying calm as the traffic gets busier. This activity shows how controllers must track multiple objects and make quick, clear decisions to keep everything moving safely.
Join the Community
Visit aviation museums to see control towers, radar equipment, and historic aircraft up close. If your local airport has an observation deck, spend time watching planes take off and land, and try to notice how they are spaced apart. Ask family members if they know anyone who works in aviation, and if you get the chance, ask them what their job is like. Seeing aviation in real settings helps connect what you are learning to real careers.
How to Become a Air Traffic Controller
Explore more resources for a future Air Traffic Controller
My Daddy Is an Air Traffic Controller
McMannamy, Jim
Why We Picked It
Career Connection
Air traffic controllers guide planes safely through the sky using radar, radio calls, and precise coordination, and this book gives young children their first glimpse of the real people and purpose behind every flight.