What it's like being an air traffic controller....

[MercutioATC]

I happened upon this and, as a controller for 17 years myself, I thought it did a great job of describing the career.



http://www.cigarintel.com/agency/?p=2259

(oh, the "Democratic Congress" near the end is a typo...it should read "Republican Congress"...)

(edited so people would stop asking how I could be a 17-year-old controller) :P

[rsmith6621]

1. At 17....

...where are you a controller?????

[Mike03]

3. I think the poster means he/she has been a controller for

17 years.

[MercutioATC]

4. Not "17-year-old" controller...."17-year" controller.

...as in I've been doing it for 17 years (I'm 40).

...and I work at Cleveland Center.

[Suich]

6. That's exactly what I thought when I first read the post!

Whew!

:)

[Mike03]

2. I've read that it's grueling and relentless

After reading James Gleick's book "FASTER", I really had empathy for air traffic controllers.

[MercutioATC]

5. Like the article says, it's not so much the job itself as all of the other BS.

I'm one of the ones who love the job.

It's the lousy schedules, lack of sleep, social isolation and idiot management that makes it horrible.

[lonestarnot]

15. I've heard that song before! In fact, I've sung it a few times myself.

Thanks for your work.

[rsmith6621]

7. I am a Dispatcher For a Major Airline

........and that job is even more stressful I deal with ATC daily and directly......but if you have an ability to see things in a 3d viewpoint and can task manage you will do fine.....just don't let the CA light go off or your toast.

[MercutioATC]

10. I work with a guy who used to be a dispatcher for Republic/Northwest.

Your job is no picnic :)

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. I'm fascinated by your line of work.

I lived in Palmdale, CA for 3 years early in the decade and 1.5 miles down the street was LA center. I always wanted to just be an observer for a couple hours in the afternoon, when many of the transpacific flights come in. Birds that have been in the air for 8, 10 or even 12 hours, looking to folks like you for safety and guidance on the last leg of the journey.

Cleveland center handles one of the largest chunks of airspace in the country, does it not?

[MercutioATC]

9. Actually, it's one of the smallest, but most densely populated.

70,000 sq. mi. of airspace.

Pre-9/11, we were the busiest facility on the face of the planet. As traffic patterns changed, however, we've slipped to #5 or so. That's still over 2.8 million planes a year.

[Ikonoklast]

11. Used to play poker with a guy that worked at Oberlin

The strike destroyed his family.

[magellan]

12. ATC was one of my career options when I left the military in the 80s

At the time it was said you started at $20K and burned out in 10 years. That sort of high-stress job wasn't for me.

IMHO, ATCs and pilots are among the most undervalued professionals in the country. Any time you feel taken for granted, remember you've got a lot of respect and appreciation from people like me!

:yourock:

[catnhatnh]

13. Believe it or not-this time I get you...

and in other forums we tend to disagree.The thing I get after reading this is how closely you guys are allied to EMTs and such in the responsibilities you bear.Before you shake this off because it would be a busy night before we handled more than 8 victim/patients where you routinely handled 100's look at the similarities...It's all intense-from the time you sign in (which can be subpoenaed in a court case) till the time you log off. Whether a 6, 8, of 12 hour shift (and I've done them all) once you put on your "professional suit" you are fair game.You guys handle hundreds a day and basically it's pass/fail...for us every case was debateable and in many cases open to suit....your dreams were my reality when I worked a building collapse in Bridgeport Connecticut in about 1987...the years fade together but the bodies don't.I came to have a notebook in my pocket and on each run at some point I would document the wounds and illnesses and who I worked with and what resulted....I surrendered my license in 1989....a month later I burned my notes....going for twenty years I doubt I would have made it.Here's to you, 2012 and getting out....Best of luck,Cat.

[MercutioATC]

16. I'm not shrugging off anything...one of my best friends was a LifeFlight nurse

I truly respect what you do as an EMT.

To be fair, we deal with everything...both routine and emergency. You only deal with the emergency side of the equation...every time you're called out, you're dealing with a situation.

I may be responsible for thousands of lives at a time, but you're responsible for the one (or two or three) at a time that really need help.

Thank you for what you do. You have my eternal respect and gratitude.

[catnhatnh]

18. I did it, I don't now....it was a time and stressful...

I think if you can hang in like you did....well yeah. My brother was a twenty plus year firefighter-at the end,when he was a lieutenant and guys he started with were captains ands chiefs, they would ask him to discipline some of the older guys (who by that point were hard core alcoholics) and he would fend them off and ask them about bullshit they'd done and he remembered.And just like the linked article, the really scary ones are those NOT affected by the job.

[Skittles]

14. nice how he manages to slam Democrats

but not mention a repuke FIRING them

My uncle was a ATC - said it was 99% boredom and 1% sheer panic

[Behind the Aegis]

17. My brother is ATC for Hartsfield International.

Know of any open postitions elsewhere on the East Coast? :)

[MercutioATC]

19. Almost everywhere

Ask your brother...staffing is bad at most facilities.

The issue isn't so much finding another location as getting released from where you are.