I imagine being an air traffic controller is a stressful job. How do you cope with the stress?

Hi Raymond,

Good question. People outside the profession often think of air traffic control as being "stressful" but I think the more appropriate term is "intense." When you are controlling traffic, you are not sitting there biting your nails or pulling out your hair. The pace at which you perform your tasks doesn't allow time for us to worry about anything in the way that people usually associate with stress. I say it is more useful to think of the job as intense because of how highly alert you automatically become when controlling a significant number of aircraft or controlling a particularly complex scenario. You don't have the time to worry about what would result if you inadvertently allowed planes to collide or crash into terrain. When traffic volume or complexity is low enough that your intensity level is not high, you don't sit there and worry because you understand that you've been equipped with the knowledge, experience, and procedures to keep everyone safe. So with that in mind, there really isn't anything to "cope" with. That is a misconception. Think of air traffic control as intense and exhilarating, not stressful.

Air Traffic Control can be very stressful and very rewarding. The most difficult and stressful time is during your training. Knowing you must complete all the training and certify on various positions adds a lot of stress. Once you get completely certified, the level of stress will subside. The FAA does not give you anything to deal with the stress and pressures of the job, you must be able to handle this on your own. Find different activities you enjoy unrelated to your job is helpful.

We all cope with stress in different ways. Unfortunately, some chose ways that are not healthy. However, exercise helps immensly. Workout, take a run, walk. Many ATC facilities offer some type of workout area. The old ATC adage of "work hard, play hard" is real to relieve stress. I know more marathon runners, long distance bikers, & hikers,skiiers, and mountain climbers from ATC then any other field.

It's as stressful as just about any career that requires fast thinking and quick reactions. Training is the most stressful aspect of this particular career. If you can handle many months or even a couple years of intense scrutiny on a daily basis then you could probably handle training. The rest is mostly repetitive learning. There are online one week intense training courses out there that will teach you the job. No reason to go and take a 2 year college program. One website is atlascoachingsolutions.com