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Lucrative Career with High Salaries: Become an Air Traffic Controller

Pam Choi at the Santa Monica viewing tower. Pam Choi
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Pam Choi successfully transitioned from a waitress to an Air Traffic Controller (ATC) at age 31, serving a diverse 25-year career at Santa Monica Airport, emphasizing transferable skills like organization and adaptability.
  • The article highlights the ATC profession as challenging, rewarding, and highly compensated, with salaries ranging from $58,000 for new hires to over $180,000 for experienced specialists.
  • Choi advises aspiring ATCs to focus on math and communication skills and obtain any college degree, noting that the FAA Academy remains a primary path to this lucrative career.
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Pam Choi recalls her answer, soon after graduating from the FAA Academy, when the tower chief asked what best prepared her, a former waitress, to be an air traffic controller (ATC).

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