Also called: Air Force 1C1, Navy AC rating, Army 15Q, Marine 7257
Controls aircraft in the airspace around military airfields and ships, keeping them safely separated.
Controllers work in a tower or a dark radar room, giving pilots clearances and headings in rapid-fire radio calls. It takes intense focus. Military controllers earn FAA credentials that can lead to high-paying FAA controller jobs (median ~$144k) after service.
RMC (base pay + housing/food allowances + tax advantage) for typical E-1 to E-7 ranks, 2026 estimate, plus the special-duty, hazardous-duty, or skill pays this specialty usually earns. Enlistment/reenlistment bonuses for this field can be $10k-$50k+.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma and strong ASVAB, then ~3-4 months of technical school plus on-the-job certification. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Air Traffic Management, Aviation.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Automation adds conflict alerts and digital clearances; controllers still separate aircraft live.
Classes: Geography, Physics, Speech.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.