How To Become An Air Traffic Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an air traffic instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an air traffic instructor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.36 an hour? That's $52,753 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAir Traffic InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,753

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 5.23%

Black or African American 9.58%

Hispanic or Latino 17.29%

Unknown 7.10%

White 60.19%

Gender

female 17.69%

male 82.31%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an air traffic instructor

Explore air traffic instructor education requirements

Most common air traffic instructor degrees

Bachelor's

47.0 %

Associate

33.9 %

Master's

8.2 %

Start to develop specific air traffic instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Course Curriculum	18.46%
Training Programs	11.16%
Air Traffic Control	10.37%
USAF	9.00%
Federal Aviation Administration	7.94%

Complete relevant air traffic instructor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New air traffic instructors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an air traffic instructor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real air traffic instructor resumes.

Research air traffic instructor duties and responsibilities

Lead unit Information/Personnel/Industrial security programs to ensure unit meet DoD mandates.
Lead recruitment and training for first ever associate operational combat flying organization.
Progress student understanding of online course material by producing accompanying PowerPoint presentations and employing discussion and live computer demonstrations.
Cover the fundamental concepts of chemistry and biology including cell biology, metabolism, microbiology, genetics, evolution and histology.

Prepare your air traffic instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your air traffic instructor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an air traffic instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable air traffic instructor resume templates

Build a professional air traffic instructor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your air traffic instructor resume.