It is a job that requires no college (they train), comes with government benefits, and pays a decent salary. There is (or the last time I checked) a literal lottery to get an interview. If they are having staff shortages, it is not from a lack of people that want that job.
On a related note, I once plugged in a headset to listen and watch a controller work. This was at a “center”, not an airport. They work for like 30-40 minutes and have a mandatory break. Their screen shows projected location. The real skill appears to be multitasking. I would start daydreaming and let two planes run into each other, but otherwise it did not look that hard.
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It is a job that requires no college (they train), comes with government benefits, and pays a decent salary. There is (or the last time I checked) a literal lottery to get an interview. If they are having staff shortages, it is not from a lack of people that want that job.
On a related note, I once plugged in a headset to listen and watch a controller work. This was at a “center”, not an airport. They work for like 30-40 minutes and have a mandatory break. Their screen shows projected location. The real skill appears to be multitasking. I would start daydreaming and let two planes run into each other, but otherwise it did not look that hard.