Air Traffic Control: Only for the Young Guns

There is going to a huge wave of air traffic controllers retiring soon.  Some estimate the FAA will hire 17-hundred new controllers a year for the next 10 years.  So, if you go through air traffic control school now and get certified by the FAA you are almost assured a job.  Air traffic controllers average about 92-thousand dollars a year and can make 130 to 155-thousand dollars a year with great federal benefits.  But, there is a catch.  This is when everyone in the newsroom heard the bummer buzzer from "Price is Right" show.  You have to start your training before your 30 and must retire by 56.  The FAA will take controllers for training that are 31 if they have had some military training.  It turns out the FAA says this job is so stressful and intense they recruit young people because they can handle the pressure better and are less likely to burn out if they make it through the first year.  L-3 Link out of Arlington just gave young people a fast track on that career as well.  Instead of going to college for four years and then getting certified, L-3 Link's program in Denison in Grayson County is only 10 months long.  Tuition is about 41-thousand dollars.  But, when you graduate you're can basically take your pick of jobs.  It is definately a career young people need to keep on their radar.