As an air traffic controller, you, along with one or more controllers, will be responsible for directing one plant at a time. The pilot will radio the tower in advance of the landing and you will use the flight plan of the plane to help to direct the pilot to a free space on the runway and help it to taxi to a gate. This procedure works in the opposite manner for departures, with the controller guiding the pilot out of the gate onto the runway, clearing the plane for take-off and monitoring its flight on radar.
The air traffic controller in the radar room has to pay close attention to the flight plans of the various planes. If there are two planes, for example, scheduled for take off at the same time flying at the same altitude to the same airport, then the controller may have to make changes to avoid any possible collisions. The responsibility for the plane leaves the hands of the controller at one airport when the plane departs and it shifts to the controller at the destination airport for the flight. In this job you are responsible for warning the pilot of any other planes in the location, upcoming storms or potential hazards that may cause problems. Quite often pilots may want to change the flight plan to avoid bad weather conditions, but this has to be approved by the controllers before the pilot is able to do so.
An air traffic controller must pay attention to details at all times. This is one job that requires a high level of concentration to keep track of all the planes appearing on the radar and giving instructions to pilots in the air. In times of bad weather conditions or at night, you may not have any visual of the aircraft except on the radar screen. This along with the amount of responsibility involved with this job makes it a very stressful one.
To become an air traffic controller, you must be successful in an FAA approved program and pass the FAA pre-employment test, which helps to determine if you can succeed in such a program. You will have to undergo a rigid physical and psychological examination to ensure that you are physically and mentally fit for the job. Drug testing for admission to the program is mandatory and random drug tests take place all the time. Once you complete the program and the exam, you will be assigned to a facility in an entry-level position called a developing controller until you gain the qualifications and experience to become a full fledged controller.
