Inside look at FAA's air traffic control academy

With a critical shortage of air traffic controllers as passenger levels surge, the FAA is working hard to bring a new generation of controllers into the system. NBC's Tom Costello takes us inside the FAA Academy to see how it's training them.

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[Skydivingkittens]

I’m a 737 pilot. Personally I don’t think I have what it takes to to be an air traffic controller. These men and women are a different breed. It may not sound great, but there’s a reason it’s there’s a high attrition rate. They keep us safe.

[XxXNinjaFanXxX]

I'm an Air Traffic Controller up in Canada, I love it. I've been at the tower at YVR for 3 years now, I just turned 23. I got hired at 18 and spent 2 years doing training and on the job training.
I am the youngest Air Traffic Controller at any major airport within Canada by about 9 years. My salary is fantastic, I am able to comfortably support my wife and my step kids and we live downtown Vancouver, so I can take the Skytrain to work (Huge bonus about working at YVR).

I wouldn't change it for the world.

[aval]

I'm just happy they showed us the table-top training room. I remember visiting the FAA ATC academy as a kid back in 2011, and the concept of a bunch of grown adults playing with expensive small model planes while another group roleplay's as controllers in the ATC section of the room makes me chuckle even to this day.

[BuGu]

Thank you traffic controllers. You guys are the best

[The_Radical-Squadron]

I live in OKC and visited that place. It will blow your mind about what you can see there.

[BrianAstovi]

I’ll be going to Oklahoma City for training next month, I’m super excited

[Mr_Plop]

I had the chance to do this as a college elective. After a 30 min sim session you wanted to jump out of a window.

[Rumbepit]

If they're not making 6 figures a year than it's not enough. With that many lives in their hands you make sure they're paid well and taken care of.

[Utahforrest]

They should change the age limit to 35. I gained interest by the time I was too old to apply (32)

[Rennyteam]

What a change. I went thru ATC training in 1960.

[bmingo]

They forgot one key requirement:

Be age 30 or under (on the closing date of the application period).

If you’re over age 30, you’re SOL.

[nanisebaleitailevu]

I just applied for ATC 2 days ago. Hope and pray that I will get in

[theluckofone]

I just passed and I’m going to Boston center!

[kellyhaskell]

Just because they’re “high demand”, doesn’t make it easy to get the job. The high stakes nature and low retention rate leads to a far more selective hiring process. I’ve been trying to get into it for 2 Years.

[jawaad]

ATC works so hard. Thank you for your services.

[bobwoods]

And at night or when there's a little traffic they will only have one controller on who has to do everything from clearance to ground control to tower.

[mjshelby]

I would love this job but I am 44 and don’t meet their age requirements. Listen to LiveATC daily as a hobby and fly as a private pilot

[ohkaygoplay]

I'll listen to liveatc while cycling to work to keep my mind occupied. Sometimes I'll sit on the lookout and planespot, just watching the chaos and trying to make sense of it. It started when I found Kennedy Steve's recordings 2 weeks ago. I know they were from years ago. I knew barely anything about the workings of an airport. In the past 2 weeks, I've memorized a good chunk of the terminology, and the taxiway layout simply so that I can understand the jokes, what the directions are, and picture what's going on. After a while, it became like listening to a program. you start to recognize the "characters." Steve trolling the tugs, his ongoing war with Ramp, and the pilots who get involved are just awesome. :D He always stayed professional and got the job done while adding levity to keep things calm. :) JetBlue, American, and British Airways had some of the best pilots with a sense of humor who enjoyed running with the jokes. I'm sure those encounters lightened up the air for them a bit to bring the stress down. :)

This is no way I could do this job. I've wanted to become a pilot since I was a kid, but I can't do that either. It's not for lack of intelligence. I have a brain that runs on windows in a world that runs on Mac. a.k.a ADHD. Even though I'm a gamer, and I'm highly detail oriented - give me something to study and I will find every tiny detail about it - I can't retain a lot of information for long. Too much coming at me at once makes it nearly impossible to prioritize and I get overwhelmed.

Full Respect to her and anyone who can be an ATC. You guys have a seriously stressful job. Thank you. :)

[stevemoore-nxcq]

I looked up how much they made and I was shocked. In one of the highest paying states California, they have a starting salary of $55 to $89, 000 per year. Pay more and more people will actually stay in the career or be interested in it. All that stress is worth more money.

[rizzo]

I wanted to do this job so bad when I was in my 20s -- I took the test and I never got a call back -- lol I am sure I failed it miserbly. It was so hard.