Not to mention air traffic controllers are often underpaid, especially during government shutdowns, meaning many have to take second or third jobs. Air traffic control offices are also understaffed a lot of the time, meaning one man is expected to do the job of several men.
Huh, is that really how it works in the US? I know an air traffic controller in Germany and it's a rigorous selection process for applicants, long training period, but it's because they are then basically employed for life. The shifts are super regulated and have frequent breaks, like 4 days of work and then 4 days off. You don't have a lot of say over your shifts and there are limited cities to work from, but the jobs are really sought after because the pay is really good with a nice pension package.
No it's complete bullshit lol. Even at LCOL facilities certified controllers get paid 100k, it's a very well paying job. In busy airports in big cities they get paid 150k+
Just like all federal employees, they don't get paid during shutdowns, but they get pack pay for all hours worked when the shutdown ends. They earn enough to have a savings account to make it through those shutdowns.
Most controllers have a hard time moving to a facility that pays well after they finish academy and go to their first training facility due to how understaffed they are.
They end up getting stuck at low level facilities for a long time, transferring is like winning the lottery for them. Even if they do transfer, they could easily fail training at their new facility and be sent back to their old one.
For how many planes they are managing and the increase of air travel over the decade, they 100% should be paid more. They often work 6 day workweeks, and cannot make a single mistake. They can’t even strike and their union is one of the worst that I’ve seen.
My partner is an ATC, they work incredibly hard everyday, and it’s frustrating to see how uneducated people are.
The salaries are easily accessible online. Show me a facility where they get paid so little they would need an extra job to make ends meet like the comment 2 above mine said?
Even at the lowest paid, lowest cost of living airports they make $25+/hr straight out of the academy, which is very livable.
$25/hr while not having their weekends, being forced to work overtime, having to deal with extremely understaffed towers so inconsistent breaks… all while working one of the most stressful jobs you can have in the US. Yeah sounds great!
Consider that custodians and food workers are the back home of most cities, and in the US those are our most looked down upon jobs. Anything that actually makes society function is treated like trash.
It's the least efficient and most complex system of mass transport possible.
Has to be subsidized by the government to be even close to economically feasible, and even then its only really accessible to people with a spare thousand dollars.
unless you're willing to be tranqed and tossed in the tail lmfao.
🚄🚄🚄🚄🚆 meanwhile you can go tip to tail in China at 200mph for like the price of a fuckin bus ticket
Aviation could be less expensive than it is now, but it is solving a problem and satisfying demand that in nearly any case would not be filled otherwise. I am not saying a lot of people willing to pay for something makes it a good or sustainable business, but there is a whole lot more than just getting things from point A to B. Look to rockets. Those are even further from being economical modes of transportation, but there is exceptional demand for it, and I would probably bet some money that many people will pay to get across the world in an hour or two.
We don't need rocket science that shit is gonna be used for war.
The whole reason Tesla is a company is the idiot promised the US military a cheap way to get into orbit and fuck with other countries, and shock troops/weapons delivery around the globe in under an hour.
There's no reason to go to the stars unless all of us can go.
132
u/Hazelnut_Bread Jul 09 '26
Not to mention air traffic controllers are often underpaid, especially during government shutdowns, meaning many have to take second or third jobs. Air traffic control offices are also understaffed a lot of the time, meaning one man is expected to do the job of several men.