Gamer Recruitment Campaign Sparks Record Air Traffic Controller Hiring: FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration reached historic hiring levels for air traffic controllers through its campaign to target gamers.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an Aug. 9 post on X that the campaign “supercharged the entire hiring process to get the BEST & BRIGHTEST in faster.”

As a result, the TSA hit 94 percent of its hiring goal this year, which is the fastest the agency has reached that goal.

Those figures translate into 2,000 new controllers hired, which, as Savannah Hulsey Pointer details below for The Epoch Times, is the most ever hired in a single year. According to Duffy, those candidates made it to training faster than any class before them.

“We’re building the strongest, sharpest workforce in aviation history,” he said.

The Department of Transportation ad campaign included the slogan “It’s not a Game. It’s a Career.”

The department stated that it targeted gamers for their “unique and transferable skillset, including high cognitive functions, spatial awareness, multitasking, and strategy and problem solving.”

The FAA announced its plan to target gamers for recruitment in April, saying it could help solve the industry’s decades-long shortage of controllers.

“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt. This campaign’s innovative communication style and 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,” Duffy said at the time.

The hiring window opened on April 17, and the agency called it an opportunity to apply for “one of the most dynamic jobs in the world.”

The FAA has suffered a shortage of controllers since the 1980s. The issue was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic when thousands of industry professionals retired.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, working as an air traffic controller “can be stressful because maximum concentration is required at all times.”

Another cause of strain is the fact that controllers are responsible for the safety of aircraft and passengers, and they often rotate through night and weekend shifts.

However, the typical entry-level education for a controller is an associate’s degree, with no related field work experience. The median pay for the position was more than $144,000 per year.

Staffing shortages have increased pressure on controllers, and the FAA has acknowledged that the lack of air traffic controllers has contributed to mandatory overtime and fatigue concerns.

CareerCast has repeatedly put air traffic controlling as one of the nation’s most stressful occupations, citing the responsibility for public safety, constant deadlines, and need for sustained concentration as contributing factors.

The recruitment news comes just days after the TSA welcomed David Cummins as its new administrator. The agency announced the confirmation on Aug. 7, saying, “TSA is building for the future—innovation, cutting-edge technology, and a checkpoint experience making travel smoother and more secure than ever before.”

Cummins said of his new role: “We do not have to choose between a secure checkpoint, an efficient checkpoint, or an elevated experience. In fact, our mission demands that we achieve all three at once.

“TSA will deliver on its role to secure the Golden Age of Travel.”