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If your teen loves video games, but isn’t interested in coding or engineering, there’s a new career path to consider: Working at the airport. And no, I’m not talking about driving old people around on golf carts.
The Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Transportation are targeting a new generation of air traffic controllers: Video gamers.
If you haven’t heard, air traffic controllers are understaffed. There are a lot of reasons, including government gridlock . . . but it’s generally considered to be an excellent job with good pay and benefits, although it can be intense and stressful.
On Friday, the FAA will open a new round of applications, and their latest campaign is targeting young adults who love video games.
The hiring website makes pitches like, “level up your career” with “high score rewards” including paid training, government benefits, and average pay exceeding $155,000 after three years of service.
And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says, “This campaign’s focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”
Of course, being a controller doesn’t actually involve Xbox controllers, but the government is working to modernize their systems.
And they believe gamers’ positive cognitive influences like thinking quickly, staying focused, and managing complexity will translate well for the intense tasks controllers need to complete.
The “mission requirements” include: Being a U.S. citizen . . . being fluent in English . . . and being under the age of 31.
(CNN)
