To Fill Air Traffic Controller Shortage, F.A.A. Turns to Gamers
Posted by habichuelacondulce@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 126 comments
Posted by habichuelacondulce@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 126 comments
ForsakenRacism@reddit
They could just like give us a raise
BriefCollar4@reddit
You can’t be serious! Someone give this one their crazy pills.
Old_Flan_6548@reddit
Yeah! Get outta here with your logic and reason!
Dexcerides@reddit
That wouldn’t solve the problem that is brought up in the article though?
ForsakenRacism@reddit
Paying better we’ll get more well qualified people to apply. It’s simple. And it will stop some people from quitting.
Dexcerides@reddit
From my understanding there are more than enough applicants just a slow training pipeline and mandatory retirement. All ears to be enlightened this is based off real data I could find online.
fishead36x@reddit
The trainees pipeline is trash and they're not beeing weeded out befor they get to thr facilities like they used to. The gen z folks cant talk let alone comprehend what's at stake.
ForsakenRacism@reddit
The applicants aren’t good cus they keep hiring people with no experience doing anything
Soft_Walrus_3605@reddit
Well, sure, but it's about applicant quality, isn't it? You have to make the salary look attractive enough to people already working competently in other professions
Dexcerides@reddit
Yeah I guess that makes sense when the barrier to simply apply is so low but the ability to make it through the training is much higher
ForsakenRacism@reddit
All you need is 1 year of McDonald’s. It’s insane
Edward_highmore@reddit
No I think we should pay a bunch of gamers to do it, then when that inevitably fails, we’ll just go back to not paying you
Seacabbage@reddit
Well now you’re just talking crazy
2plus2_equals_5@reddit
They could just pay them a living wage? Offer a higher salary to fill the need.
twohands58@reddit
Controllers make twice as much as I do and I'm living comfortably. The fuck you talking about?
Snoo-48575@reddit
$155,000 after 3 years is a lot of money
crimson090@reddit
This is funny because when I first got into aviation, I thought how neat a ATC video game would be. And I was kind of surprised that I couldn't find any (though a quick search shows maybe this has changed). The idea may be niche but it seems like the type of challenge that could be represented well as a video game. Based on this article also could then serve as a gateway into it as a career.
Express_Ad2962@reddit
VATSIM is widely used for flight sims. Not really a game, but plugin for msfs and xplane where you talk to actual people, and has a whole training course behind it. It's been a while since I did my pilots training, but it was a huge help.
a-rooster-illusion@reddit
A lot of the VATSIM guys are either real pilots or real ATC which blows my mind that they’d come home from their stressful job just to sim it.
I had CitationMax working NY center one day.
anotherfrud@reddit
DCS also does this if you are into military aviation stuff. They have a supercarrier add-on too that let's you manage takeoffs and guide in landing aircraft.
LPNTed@reddit
Welcome to the plot of "The Last Starfighter"
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
There's quite a few ATC games. They are niche and difficult.
inaccurateTempedesc@reddit
I have Air Traffic Chaos on my DS, it's fun as hell even though I can't keep up for shit.
TheBros35@reddit
Air Traffic Greenlight is pretty fun. Seems to be realistic enough without breaking your back. Cheap as well
TheDrMonocle@reddit
There are a dozen or so of varying quality. I remember a few available back in '08 when I was in a CTI program. They've been around.
Drachen1065@reddit
I believe there are a few. Including ones that interact with flight sims for for more of a real world simulation.
SirGranular@reddit
Endless ATC is quite fun. I went so far as to pay for the full game. Still gets updates.
SlapThatAce@reddit
Don't worry guys, they will respawn.
MD-80-87@reddit
Where to apply ?
wateralchemist@reddit
/r:NotTheOnion
CantAffordzUsername@reddit
We don’t work for free, sorry
~Gamers
sonnyempireant@reddit
They would teach gamers to communicate properly though.
huertamatt@reddit
I can’t wait for an approach controller to start talking shit about my mom.
Stoney3K@reddit
Or threaten to ban you like a disgruntled VATSIM controller.
The_Gump_AU@reddit
There will be that one that says "cyka blyat, rush R24" just to see what happens.
MangoAnt5175@reddit
Now JFK has a monopoly on that I think
poser765@reddit
Shit. The first time NY tries that I’ll call their bluff with an alarming speed. Ban me. Please. I deserve it!
HandiCAPEable@reddit
You're cleared for takeoff, like I cleared your mom last night. Maintain runway heading, climb and maintain 3,000 and push someone who cares on 121.2
lostroadrunner22@reddit
https://youtu.be/WAQUhaNT87w?si=BMXI_QizkAY7ZvBf
2018birdie@reddit
We already do, just not on frequency.
Creative_Witness7726@reddit
I just spit my coffee on the dog and probably peed a little.
14Three8@reddit
“Execjet 184 if you go around I’m gonna fuck your mom bro, she’s gonna be begging for it you pussy don’t even think about going missed”
afriendincanada@reddit
The won’t be able to let the word “heavy” go by without a comment
Tyraid@reddit
“Your moms heavy”
Approach_Controller@reddit
I see my time has finally arrived.
How IS Brenda these days anyway?
elkab0ng@reddit
Instead of “g’day”, all frequency changes will be acknowledged with “your mom”
binaryfireball@reddit
it can happen if you filter out the chaff. Games just aren't designed to do so
lostroadrunner22@reddit
I can see it now. ‘Hey asshat you too high!’
Gadshill@reddit
Or at least turn the vulgarity a smidge.
PerfectPercentage69@reddit
Turn it up or down?
Gadshill@reddit
Down. Definitely down.
Stay-At-Home-Jedi@reddit
Turn down for what?
El_mochilero@reddit
“Delta heavy 1-5, hold short of runway 24 and GO MAKE ME A SANDWICH BITCH!”
Cananbaum@reddit
I can just see call signs devolving into “Chode” , “Minge”, or “N***a”
Skeetronic@reddit
Lawdy can you imagine the COD crowd talking to pilots
dragonfly47@reddit
LEEEROY JEEENKINS!!!!
LowReporter6213@reddit
Ill use my soundboard expertly.
RBR927@reddit
I see you’ve never talked to ATC before…
runs_with_airplanes@reddit
And not rage quit.
TenderfootGungi@reddit
They could just hire more of the people that apply. Millions of people try to get those well paying jobs that require nothing beyond a high school diploma, and for some reason almost all of them are not good enough.
Crazy_Arrival_1052@reddit
Sorry if this is insensitive but a majority of the gamers I know are on SSRI's and seek talk therapy. I understand that air traffic controllers have the same rigorous medical standards as pilots?
bovinecop@reddit
How long until they get one disgruntled pilot and the slurs start dropping?
GrthWindNFire@reddit
N towers on CPDLC
Late-Mathematician55@reddit
Working 24hrs straight like it ain't no thang, running on pizza and Red Bull
GrthWindNFire@reddit
I'm going to start repackaging pre workout and call it Cfuel
kind_bros_hate_nazis@reddit
Drinking verification mountain dews so they can get a spot on that runway
GrthWindNFire@reddit
The last words I hear are "skill issue bro, on god" as the 747 obliterates my Cessna on short final
zydeco100@reddit
Just make sure you haven't been within 1000 yards of a Ritalin pill in the last decade.
Either_Lawfulness466@reddit
It was the unpaid student loans that got me.
Gardimus@reddit
Im going to laugh so hard when I make tower rage quit.
Conspicuous_Ruse@reddit
"get off Vent or I'll have you bent"
TheTangoFox@reddit
Hire all you want.
Good luck with retention.
Gripe@reddit
ATC has rage quit
TheTurdFerguson6@reddit
Remove color blind restrictions and I’ll sign up
usmcmech@reddit
The percentage of gamers that can pass an FAA medical are probably less than 5%
LPNTed@reddit
This is where the metal likely meets the road.
hopsnob@reddit
JetBlue 11, you’re following a Super Heavy on final. Speaking of Heavies, tell your mom I’ll be over for the 'bonus round' at 0800 Zulu.
whycantigetwhatiwant@reddit
Wonder how pilots will feel about ATC fucking their moms
Wandering_butnotlost@reddit
I mean, that actually seems somewhat not all that crazy.
Gatt__@reddit
I mean, not really? Like aside from sitting in a chair staring at screens for extended periods there’s next to no overlap.
They’ll still need to be trained to the same high standards or else public trust will be eroded even further, and all the while they’ll be dealing with the poor working conditions, modest pay, long hours, and high stress.
Gods_Gift_To_ATC@reddit
I tell my trainees to play Overcooked for the chaos management and if they're into FPS's, play a medic class or IGL in BRs to help with situational awareness and focus under pressure. Worked for me.
Wandering_butnotlost@reddit
The article says it's a two day online course.
Wendell-Short-Eyes@reddit
I work with someone who was previously was a ATC and he went to school for years before he started
Im_Balto@reddit
My BIL has been trying to start ATC school for the past 8 months.
He got accepted and everything. The fed has just shat the bed and keeps giving him delays on starting his training
AdriftSpaceman@reddit
Isn't there just one FAA school to complete ATC training in the US, in Oklahoma, and it's over capacity?
Tanto63@reddit
Former Air Force ATC here, that's correct but with caveats. There's only one for FAA ATC, but contracted facilities don't require it. There are Associates level programs you can attend to try to start in a contract facility without attending the academy. Military services also have their own FAA accredited schools. FAA owns the busy locations (eg LaGuardia, O'Hare), military branches own theirs, and contracted companies run smaller ones (eg Rapid City Regional).
AdriftSpaceman@reddit
Thanks for the clarification!
Im_Balto@reddit
Sounds right. He mentioned moving to OKC for it.
He got his acceptance letter the week before the first big shutdown last year and has been in limbo since.
AdriftSpaceman@reddit
Yeah, I read a comment here a few weeks back explaining that the school is one of the chokepoints for increasing ATC staff.
rage420@reddit
No it doesn’t
Gatt__@reddit
lol, lmao even
killd1@reddit
I think the idea is that the starting floor is a bit higher than gen pop. Gamers have trained eye/hand coordination, used to tracking multiple areas on screen, those into realtime strategy games are massive multitaskers, etc.
There's some overlap there to at least make it worth exploring. Of course they still go through the same training.
TicTacKnickKnack@reddit
There's enough overlap that gamers do better on the ATSA. Whether that's enough to justify prioritizing them in any way is up for debate, but I wouldn't say you can just ignore that.
njsullyalex@reddit
I mean, what if you’re a VATSIM controller?
Inamanlyfashion@reddit
It's obviously not enough overlap to just hop right in and do stuff, but I used to be a Hawkeye AIC (never an ATC) and it often felt like I was playing a voice-controlled RTS. There's definitely an overlapping skill set but it seems more useful to use that to identify recruiting targets.
Odd_Advisor855@reddit
Theres a lot of overlap. I tell people my job feels like a video game.
habichuelacondulce@reddit (OP)
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/racing-movies/who-is-jann-mardenborough-gran-turismo-gamer-turned-racing-driver/
euph_22@reddit
Pretty sure they've been doing it for years, though this might be an additional push.
Yup, here's an story from 2021: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/faa-recruiting-gamers-for-next-generation-of-air-traffic-controllers-117617733511
Substantial_Brain917@reddit
The air traffic will get managed pretty well but some pilots gonna get told that an ATC Controller is fucking their mom.
Blahkbustuh@reddit
I’ve read that a big part of this is that there is one ATC training center and it’s in Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Congressional delegation prevents a second training center from being opened somewhere else.
BriefCollar4@reddit
Or, like, pay people?
DifferentEvent2998@reddit
Makes senses. I used to coordinate 25man raids in WoW. If I can organize 24 other geeks to all do the right thing at the right time, i think i might be able to do the same thing with some training.
SnooDogs1340@reddit
This would have been great for me years ago. Now my gamer reflexes have slowed. My eyesight has waned. I'm still Platinum on Overwatch console though if the shortage gets really bad.
chancey74@reddit
I took the aptitude test and got well qualified with minimal prep. The reason I didn’t take the opportunity was that ATC gets treated kind of awful. The training is in Oklahoma, with rent not paid for (which I also couldn’t afford), and then after 18 months you get assigned somewhere (which, whatever). But the perpetual cutting of staff and then the government shutdowns just make it seem so bad to be one.
Literally all they need to do is staff properly and PAY YOUR PEOPLE what they deserve and this whole thing goes away.
Yosh145@reddit
With how VATSIM portrays itself maybe not a bad idea
onlyrelevantlyrics@reddit
PilotEdge is staffed by former and current controllers and pilots and used by flight schools and airlines.
Those dudes are absolutely no nonsense.
True-Industry-4057@reddit
Guarantee you there’s a VATSIM guy who has been dreaming of this for years.
Bacon1Waffles0@reddit
Ever heard of a gift article?
poser765@reddit
Lots of people shitting on this and probably rightly so. But, hear me out, maybe it’s not so crazy. I can see some overlap of skills with some certain subsets of gamers. For instance the ability to process large amounts of rapidly changing data, being able to multitask but maintain precision, and being able makes sense of an abstract space while maintaining situational awareness.
Internal-Sleep4323@reddit
Next they will hire streamers. "Chat, are we cooked? Runway situation is crazy!"
FafnerTheBear@reddit
The Flight Sim community: Our time has come!
SeeMarkFly@reddit
Want to hear some of the NEW slogans they're working on?
The FAA: Where Morse code, leaded fuel, and Nurse Ratchet-style mental illness standards continue well into the 21st century.
We're not happy until you're not happy.
We've upped our standards, up yours!
FAA The H is for happiness.
If it isn’t broken, we'll fix it until it is!
It's not getting certified till the paperwork weighs as much as the air-frame.
Why be proactive when you can be reactive
Don't go to the doctor. We don't know what we don't see.
Building the future of aviation... Fax us your ideas.
Safety: Was our mission
When a company is too big to fail, it’s best to let them certify their own aircraft.
If at first you don't succeed the FAA is hiring.
747WakeTurbulance@reddit
This is so fucking stupid it hurts. There are thousands of trained military controllers that could jump in and do the job tomorrow. That’s what Reagan did when he fires all the controllers in the 80’s.
BeefInGR@reddit
That would require them to admit they made a mistake and created a nasty issue.
Swap_n_bang@reddit
Except they couldn’t. It’s not 80’s traffic anymore, and they’d be too busy telling stories of how they used to do things back in their military tower or licking windows to actually separate traffic.
rockemsockemcocksock@reddit
People forget there are full on ATC Larpers in Flight Sim so I might actually work
dotben@reddit
"Ah dammit, one crashed. Can I just restart the game?"
BeefInGR@reddit
As much fun as this sounds, I feel like they're targeting the people who run ATC in the flight sims.
RexMundi000@reddit
LEROY JENKINS
fernst@reddit
Pilots landing through rough weather will now say "gg ez" after landing
theLogicality@reddit
They targeted gamers.
Gamers.
CoolupCurt@reddit
Just get those VATSIM Guys an pay them 😄
sf1sch@reddit
Be cool if they lifted the age restrictions. I get it but I’ve got 3 years ramp control experience working for ups at worldport and would love the opportunity to move to the tower.
thisiscotty@reddit
lol noob learn to fly
NotAnotherBlingBlop@reddit
Gonna be a shortage of gamers when they're hired to fly attack drones
post-explainer@reddit
Please provide a source by replying to the message that was sent to you. Failure to respond to that message will result in the automatic removal of this post. Please feel free to reach out to the mod team through modmail if you have any questions or concerns.
r/Aviation is trialing new measures to prevent karma farming. Please feel free to provide feedback through modmail. Thank you for participating in the community!