FAA Wants Gamers To Apply For Air Traffic Control Jobs

Gamers who are looking to unlock a new achievement in real life and level up their salary are being encouraged to apply to become an air traffic controller when the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration open up its annual hiring window at 12:00 a.m. midnight on April 17. The FAA emphasizes that no college degree is required, with the average salary after three years on the job hovering around $155,000 per year. No word yet on how the FAA's effort to modernize its systems running on Windows 95 and floppy disks is working out.

As part of the recruitment push aimed at gamers, the FAA posted a 1min10sec video on YouTube that begins with an Xbox One logo, then transitions into a montage of scenes that bounce between gaming and air traffic control clips. Here's the full video...

Why target gamers? The FAA says the new campaign is designed to reach young adults who posses skills that are beneficial to being an air traffic controller, including high cognitive functions, the ability to multi-task, strategy and problem problem, and spatial awareness.

There's no mention of the actual training process, but this push comes nearly 16 years after a University of Colorado study found that those who used video games for on-the-job training "do their jobs better, have higher skills, and retain information longer than workers learning in less interactive, more passive environments."

According to the FAA, air traffic controller exit interviews consistently cited gaming as having an influence on a controller's ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complex situations, all of which are important to the job at hand. The agency also notes that around 65% of more than 200 million Americans play video games.

"To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt. This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.

This is not the first time the FAA has sought to recruit gamers to fill air traffic controller vacancies. The agency ran a similar campaign in 2021 during the Biden administration.

A recruitment video from the previous campaign highlighted how certain gaming skills can translate to the job, such as how being aware of your surroundings in Call of Duty can help keep track of busy radar screens.

There is currently a shortage of air traffic controllers. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Transportation claims the FAA is seeing its highest staffing level in six years under Secretary Duffy, with nearly 11,000 controllers in service and another 4,000 currently being trained. Duffy also spearheaded a shorter hiring process that shaved more than five months as the FAA looks to streamline its recruitment.

"Safety is the FAA’s top priority, and that starts with hiring top talent and equipping them with world-class tools," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. "We need the best people, the best training, and the best tools because we expect the best results."

Anyone interested in applying can visit the FAA's hiring site to learn more.