What does a certified professional controller do?
Certified professional controller responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real certified professional controller resumes:
- Facilitate the implementation of ERP system, which increase productivity in efficiently and effectively manage the functionality of the organization.
- Provide leadership and training to incoming airmen and volunteer for many USAF organizations.
- Correct and update the financial reporting system and institute financial integrity throughout the organization via operational and financial oversight and controls.
- Provide financial planning process oversight, interface with department managers and corporate PMO to ensure adherence with corporate goals.
- Provide guidance and roll-up data for weekly, monthly, and quarterly updates via conference calls within PMO guidelines.
- Interface and coordinate with internal and external customers and operations managers in updating departmental EAC.
- Provide leadership and training to incoming airmen and volunteer for many USAF organizations.
Certified professional controller skills and personality traits
We calculated that 14% of Certified Professional Controllers are proficient in Critical Path, Infection Prevention, and Cash Flow. They’re also known for soft skills such as Concentration skills, Problem-solving skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Certified Professional Controllers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Critical Path, 14%
Generated project schedules based on critical path methodology to track subcontractors payments versus accomplished tasks while projects progress.
- Infection Prevention, 13%
Create, review, revise and implement infection prevention and control policies and procedures.
- Cash Flow, 10%
Managed project cash flow, as well as field and home office staffing plans.
- WBS, 9%
Designed and oversaw completion of a translation program to map the client's coding structure into the WBS.
- Earned Value Management, 9%
Perform Earned Value Management (EVM) to $75M+ project budget annually and over $1.076B Lifecycle.
- Internal Controls, 7%
Developed new, more effective, internal controls to ensure accurate financial statement reporting including SOX narratives and implementation.
Common skills that a certified professional controller uses to do their job include "critical path," "infection prevention," and "cash flow." You can find details on the most important certified professional controller responsibilities below.
Problem-solving skills. Another essential skill to perform certified professional controller duties is problem-solving skills. Certified professional controllers responsibilities require that "controllers must be able to understand complex situations, review changing circumstances, and provide pilots with appropriate alternatives." Certified professional controllers also use problem-solving skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "increased productivity and level of expertise of staff of six members, through cross-training and utilization of more advanced erp solutions. "
Math skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of certified professional controllers is math skills. This skill is critical to many everyday certified professional controller duties, as "controllers must be able to do arithmetic accurately and quickly." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "issued special air traffic control instructions, kept records and statistics and processed incoming and outgoing flight data information. "
Organizational skills. certified professional controller responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "controllers must be able to coordinate the actions of multiple flights and to prioritize tasks, because they may be required to guide several pilots at the same time." This resume example shows what certified professional controllers do with organizational skills on a typical day: "oversee all calendar/fiscal reporting activities for the organization including: financial statements, development and monitoring of organizational budgets and forecasts. "
Communication skills. Another common skill required for certified professional controller responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of certified professional controllers all the time, as "air traffic controllers must be able to give clear, concise instructions, listen carefully to pilots’ requests, and respond by speaking clearly in english." An excerpt from a real certified professional controller resume shows how this skill is central to what a certified professional controller does: "operated radar and communication equipment to apply radar separation standards and vectoring procedures. "
See the full list of certified professional controller skills
The three companies that hire the most certified professional controllers are:
- Bank of America15 certified professional controllers jobs
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory7 certified professional controllers jobs
- Stantec6 certified professional controllers jobs
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Certified professional controller vs. Aircraft dispatcher
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a certified professional controller are more likely to require skills like "critical path," "infection prevention," "cash flow," and "wbs." On the other hand, a job as an aircraft dispatcher requires skills like "flight operations," "maintenance control," "on-the-job training," and "aircraft maintenance." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Aircraft dispatchers tend to reach similar levels of education than certified professional controllers. In fact, aircraft dispatchers are 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.6% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Certified professional controller vs. Air traffic supervisor
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, certified professional controller responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "critical path," "infection prevention," "cash flow," and "wbs." Meanwhile, an air traffic supervisor has duties that require skills in areas such as "federal aviation administration," "facility training program," "safety alerts," and "airfield operations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Air traffic supervisors tend to reach similar levels of education than certified professional controllers. In fact, they're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Certified professional controller vs. Flight service specialist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from certified professional controller resumes include skills like "critical path," "infection prevention," "cash flow," and "wbs," whereas a flight service specialist is more likely to list skills in "flight operations," "icao," "dod," and "local agencies. "
Most flight service specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to certified professional controllers. For example, they're 3.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Certified professional controller vs. Flight communications officer
Even though a few skill sets overlap between certified professional controllers and flight communications officers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a certified professional controller might have more use for skills like "critical path," "infection prevention," "cash flow," and "wbs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of flight communications officers require skills like "logistics," "air transportation," "flight schedules," and "combat. "
In general, flight communications officers hold similar degree levels compared to certified professional controllers. Flight communications officers are 3.0% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of certified professional controller
Updated January 8, 2025











