How To Become A Traffic Control Technician: What It Is and Career Path

What is a traffic control technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A traffic control technician has a lot of tasks and responsibilities which are crucial in the company. They test counters to ensure accuracy, operate equipment, coordinate traffic sequence, maintain the safety of pedestrians, and participate in the procedures of accident investigations.

With the duties and responsibilities mentioned above, a traffic control technician is expected to have good communication skills be able to clearly relay thoughts and messages, remarkable concentration skills to be able to focus on the tasks at hand, and simple but excellent math skills to perform basic addition and subtraction while on duty.

Having a GED or a high school degree is enough to become a traffic control technician. Although some people have bachelor's and master's degree, the important factors are the skills the applicant possesses.

The growth rate of a traffic control technician job is 1% with an average salary of $44,734. A traffic control technician can also become a service manager or a superintendent as they work hard in the industry.

ScoreTraffic Control TechnicianUS Average

Salary

3.2

Avg. Salary $40,714

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.79%

Asian 5.50%

Black or African American 11.07%

Hispanic or Latino 19.67%

Unknown 6.77%

White 54.19%

Gender

female 15.85%

male 84.15%

Age - 45

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 - 45

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a traffic control technician

Explore traffic control technician education requirements

Most common traffic control technician degrees

High School Diploma

40.3 %

Associate

25.1 %

Bachelor's

19.7 %

Start to develop specific traffic control technician skills

Skills	Percentages
DOT	21.04%
Safety Regulations	19.69%
Traffic Cones	11.63%
Road Signs	8.70%
Traffic Control Devices	6.51%

Complete relevant traffic control technician training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New traffic control technicians 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 a traffic control technician based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real traffic control technician resumes.

Research traffic control technician duties and responsibilities

Install the load switches and loop detectors.
Operate light to medium size equipment, some which may require a valid CDL.
Operate various heavy equipment; bucket trucks, truck cranes, small excavators, forklifts, and bore rigs.
Maintain airspace boundaries and issue traffic alerts as necessary, providing mission coordination assistance, and disseminate weather information as required.

Prepare your traffic control technician resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable traffic control technician resume templates

Build a professional traffic control technician 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 traffic control technician resume.