How To Become An Airport Tower Controller: What It Is and Career Path

What is an airport tower controller 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 airport tower controller. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.67 an hour? That's $47,146 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreAirport Tower ControllerUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,146

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 4.88%

Black or African American 5.94%

Hispanic or Latino 14.01%

Unknown 7.22%

White 67.30%

Gender

female 14.71%

male 85.29%

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 airport tower controller

Explore airport tower controller education requirements

Most common airport tower controller degrees

Bachelor's

62.5 %

Associate

25.0 %

High School Diploma

6.3 %

Start to develop specific airport tower controller skills

Skills	Percentages
FAA	35.55%
Radio Communications	35.48%
Air Traffic Control	28.97%

Complete relevant airport tower controller training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New airport tower controllers 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 airport tower controller based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real airport tower controller resumes.

Research airport tower controller duties and responsibilities

Utilize Reynolds and Reynolds DMS.
Participate in GPS and web-base scheduling pilot.
Produce weekly ADP payroll (outsource).
Track routes and vehicles in real time via proprietary GPS system.

Prepare your airport tower controller resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your airport tower controller 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 airport tower controller resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable airport tower controller resume templates

Build a professional airport tower controller 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 airport tower controller resume.