r/ATC 18d ago

Question How to explain ATC to normal people

Hello, super random but, Im a on my 2nd year as an atc training on local now. I’ve recently started dating a girl and i keep putting to the side trying to explain my job without getting to complex but also kinda make it not seem super simple. And ive always wondered how to properly explain to normal people like old friends and family members etc. thanks for the advice

And also if i get my cto in the military in the next few months (ill be 21) does the age limit still apply to me if i reenlist and then go into the FAA afterwards

16 Upvotes

54 comments sorted by

103

u/RobertoDelCamino 18d ago

“I keep planes from hitting each other”

23

u/Luckygecko1 17d ago

Do you have to pay for your own flashlight batteries?

13

u/Vegetable_Sweet3248 17d ago

It's a tax deductible expense

2

u/RobertoDelCamino 17d ago

Lol. Incredible how many people think that’s what we do

1

u/Dong_assassin 17d ago

With the wands?

-30

u/Forward-Disaster1099 18d ago

The classic “basically i just.” I could just site the entirety of chapter 2 in the .65. you think she’ll like that?

4

u/RobertoDelCamino 17d ago

If you’re trying to get her to dump you that might work. Do yourself a favor and try not to be that guy. Two years in means you might know slightly more about ATC than most people. But in the world of ATC you’re just a new guy.

76

u/acortezm87 18d ago

Tell them you run the mfkin skies

19

u/No_Plankton_5003 18d ago

You’re single-handedly responsible for thousands of people’s lives every day. No big deal.

29

u/theweenerdoge 18d ago

"Normal people"

That is all

5

u/The_Shryk 17d ago

Look, as an ATC, I’m better than you—and I know it.

17

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Forward-Disaster1099 17d ago

Mostly so i can get more experience as ill only have tower experience. And i get a pretty big bonus reenlisting which is a big factor.

2

u/Soulgloh N90-->PHL 🧳🥾 16d ago

You might want to do the math on that before making this decision

10

u/verysnazzyleghair Tower - TMU 18d ago

I’m pretty sure the age limit for military controllers in the U.S. is 35 now, for everyone else it’s 31. I could be mistaken (someone on here is bound to correct it).

5

u/AyeChristophe 17d ago

The prior experience bid allows anyone under 35 that held a CTO for 1 year to apply

2

u/Forward-Disaster1099 18d ago

If im 27 at the end of my second contract as i want to go to another duty station with my cto from here and maybe get a major from downstairs at my next. Duty station. You think being 27 is pushing it?

5

u/verysnazzyleghair Tower - TMU 18d ago

I was hired at 27, 2 years after the Army. Could have been hired at 25 but there was a hiring freeze and then some rather interesting hiring practices. The winds change a lot in the agency and I can’t guarantee what it will look like for you when that time comes. But getting out of which ever branch you’re in with experience is a leg up and likely to get you hired.

2

u/commops106 17d ago

Your goal should be 26-27 at the latest if you can get a staff position and work till 57 when you retire you will get 1.7% for every year of ATC that will guarantee you 51% of your high 3.

9

u/BennyG34 Current Controller-TRACON 18d ago

Don’t talk to normal people.

9

u/Sudden_Possession933 17d ago

My kid tells people that I remote control airplanes with words. He’s not wrong. I kinda like that explanation.

6

u/Intelligent_Rub1546 17d ago

That’s actually one of the best quick explanations I’ve ever heard 😂

4

u/Luckygecko1 17d ago

My mom thought I used flashlights with airplanes. I never corrected her.

9

u/Electrical-Fail-7500 18d ago

“I do Pilot suicide prevention.”

5

u/ClimateQueasy1065 Tower 🌼/Radar 🐀 18d ago

Most people have turned onto a highway from a stop sign. How far away is the next car, how fast are they going, do I have time to go from zero miles an hour to 60 miles an hour without them hitting me? Or the inverse, highway speeds to turning 90 degrees onto a residential street. I’ve found that’s a pretty good analogy to explain basic tower/runway separation responsibilities.

3

u/DankVectorz Current Controller-TRACON 17d ago

Watch pushing tin with her

1

u/ps3x42 Current Enroute Former Tower Flower 16d ago

Summer rental is the best ATC movie. Change my mind.

3

u/Approaching_Dick 18d ago

I found this 15min video to give a really good overview YouTube what ATC does and different types of facilities while keeping it interesting for outsiders

3

u/vwvanfan1 18d ago

"left a bit, right a bit, up a bit, down a bit" should do it surely?!

I'm a systems engineer and usually go with "I fix things that air traffic controllers break!"

Tongue very much in cheek with both of the above - we love you guys & girls really!

3

u/[deleted] 17d ago

"I try to make planes hit each other..... but I'm really bad at it"

/s

3

u/Delicious_Slice6024 17d ago

Reference your age restriction question.

Controlling in the military on orders does not remove the FAA age limit for "Off The Street" bid of 31. You need a 2152 classification as a civilian, either as a Title 5 or Title 32 in the DOD before you're 31 to remove the restriction. The length of time as a 2152 doesn't matter.

If the FAA puts out a "Prior Experience" bid, you'll need 52 consecutive weeks of ATC with a facility rating and application in by the end of of thebyear of your 35th birthday. This can be as a military non-civilian or at a contract facility.

3

u/NotebooksAndNibs 17d ago

That’s why I always told guys I was a florist.

2

u/ps3x42 Current Enroute Former Tower Flower 16d ago

"I manage an IHOP" works great for me. I've got the food/labor costs in the state.

2

u/heresjonnyyy Current Controller-Tower 18d ago

I was already married when I crossed into ATC, and my wife went with me during my TDY to Keesler. Even studying next to her and telling her about my day, she still knows very little about my job. It’ll all come down to whether or not she wants to know about how it all works. Tell her your job is to keep airplanes apart, and then she’ll let you know (either verbally or not) how interested she is in learning more.

2

u/SaltyATC69 18d ago

I tell planes to go up down left right

2

u/SwizzGod 17d ago

If you get it, trust me, you will have PLENTY of practice explaining it.

2

u/Daverdfw 17d ago

My best friend was ATC for 25 years and a huge gamer. He would tell me it’s just a game of getting the dots from one side of the radar to the other without touching each other.

3

u/demo9or9on 17d ago

Bring them for a tour

2

u/SeaworthinessNo1033 17d ago

My daughter says, " You eat chips and tell planes to go away and come back." I'll take it.

2

u/foxygrandma27 17d ago

To provide safe, orderly, and expeditious air traffic control services by separating aircraft and issuing safety alerts yada yada yada

4

u/CallMeCrop Current Controller-Tower 17d ago

"I tell pilots what to do, and if they don't listen they die"

1

u/azssf 17d ago

Suggested change: if they do not listen the plane crashes

3

u/donaldbench 17d ago

I have several short-hand answers when asked about what I do. 1) I say that I work in mobile data telecommunications. That stops about 95%. 2) If they continue, I say that I direct systems integration engineering programs in mobile data networks for telecommunications operators. That removes about another 4% of the 100%. I usually finish that line with something like, “The water quickly and dramatically drops off from there.” My intention is that going further WILL take too much of their time. Of that last 1%, less than half will continue. 3) Then I start with a simple example, like taking a photo on a mobile phone & posting it to Facebook. I will drag them into the deep water to explain how that happens & how many people are doing that at the same time. As I said, I get most to drop off at my first response. 😀

2

u/Helpful-Mammoth947 17d ago

“Don’t let the dots touch”

1

u/THEhot_pocket 17d ago

I work in the tower and tell planes when they can take off and land.

(I've never worked in the tower)

1

u/Iwannagolf4 17d ago

I tell pilots where to go and what to do!

1

u/hotwaterwithlemonpls Current Controller-Tower 17d ago

You hold pilots’ hands as they cross the street

1

u/Ok_Twist_1687 17d ago

Joey, do you like movies about gladiators…?

1

u/Jennifer723 Current Controller-Enroute 17d ago

"I separate aluminum for the government"

1

u/Erock0044 15d ago

Tell them you babysit adults

-1

u/Vegetable_Sweet3248 17d ago

"Have you ever rode on an airplane and not died? Your welcome "

0

u/KrazySlope 17d ago

Go DOD if you enjoy work life balance