Air traffic controllers are about average in terms of happiness.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, air traffic controllers rate their career happiness 3.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 42% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy air traffic controllers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Aviation inspector | 3.5 | $78k |
| Ship captain | 3.5 | $85k |
| Military air crew officer | 3.4 | $141k |
| Naval architect | 3.4 | $105k |
| Explosives worker | 3.4 | $50k |
| Air traffic controller | 3.3 | $101k |
| Military aircrew member | 3.3 | $51k |
| Rigger | 3.3 | $26k |
| Transit police officer | 3.2 | $38k |
| Extraction worker | 3.2 | $51k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are air traffic controllers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do air traffic controllers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as air traffic controllers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are air traffic controller’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are air traffic controllers making the best use of their abilities?
Are air traffic controllers happy with their salary?
Air traffic controllers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.8/5. The majority of air traffic controllers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked air traffic controllers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
149 air traffic controllers
32% of air traffic controllers rated their compensation 5 stars
36% of air traffic controllers rated their compensation 4 stars
18% of air traffic controllers rated their compensation 3 stars
9% of air traffic controllers rated their compensation 2 stars
5% of air traffic controllers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do air traffic controllers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, air traffic controllers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.3/5. Unlike many careers, air traffic controllers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become air traffic controllers.
We asked air traffic controllers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
151 air traffic controllers
25% of air traffic controllers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
28% of air traffic controllers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
19% of air traffic controllers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
14% of air traffic controllers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
15% of air traffic controllers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as air traffic controllers?
Air traffic controllers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of air traffic controllers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked air traffic controllers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
160 air traffic controllers
34% of air traffic controllers rated their career fit 5 stars
35% of air traffic controllers rated their career fit 4 stars
19% of air traffic controllers rated their career fit 3 stars
11% of air traffic controllers rated their career fit 2 stars
2% of air traffic controllers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is an air traffic controller’s work environment?
As a whole, air traffic controllers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of air traffic controllers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an air traffic controller.
We asked air traffic controllers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
160 air traffic controllers
28% of air traffic controllers rated their work environment 5 stars
29% of air traffic controllers rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of air traffic controllers rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of air traffic controllers rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of air traffic controllers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are air traffic controllers making the best use of their abilities?
Former air traffic controllers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.5/5. Most air traffic controllers surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as an air traffic controller, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked air traffic controllers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
160 air traffic controllers
31% of air traffic controllers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
26% of air traffic controllers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
18% of air traffic controllers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
17% of air traffic controllers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
9% of air traffic controllers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars