It should be a fairly simple relationship. Pilots fly airplanes. Controllers watch the airplanes, either visually or using radar, and provide instructions that help those pilots reach their destination safely. However, we all know that any interaction involving lots of communication can quickly get complicated. To make matters more difficult, pilots and controllers can’t see each other. They may speak with differing accents. Static and other transmissions often degrade or interrupt their attempts at communication. Yet life and death decisions are often made based on those fragile interactions.
Even though controllers and pilots work in the same aviation environment, there is one major difference between us. Controllers receive extensive training before they are allowed to push a transmit button for the first time. Day after day they work the same specific geographical area, with more training if they change positions or locations. A significant percentage of controllers are pilots or even instructors, and most controllers who are not pilots have ridden along in airline cockpits to see how the other side lives. Basically a controller majors in aviation management and communications.
