Air traffic controller to second officer
An air traffic controller already meets 48% of what the second officer role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.9/ 100
1 How much of what a second officer is expected to do is already part of an air traffic controller’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the second officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A second officer role treats 14 of its required skills as things an air traffic controller already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air transport law
- aircraft flight control systems
- airport planning
- aviation meteorology
- carry out navigational calculations
- common aviation safety regulations
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A second officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an air traffic controller background worth leading with.
- already held read 3D displays information skills
- already held carry out navigational calculations information skills
- already held airport planning engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held interpret visual literacy information skills
- already held electrical systems used in transportation engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held comply with checklists assisting and caring
All 16 carried skills, including the 14 the second officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 20 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn ensure aircraft compliance with regulation required
- still to learn ensure compliance with airport security measures required
- still to learn deal with challenging work conditions required
- still to learn ensure ongoing compliance with regulations required
- still to learn undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements required
- still to learn address aircraft mechanical issues required
- still to learn perform aircraft maintenance required
- still to learn operate cockpit control panels required
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
- still to learn inspect aircraft required
- still to learn perform routine flight operations checks required
- still to learn ensure smooth on board operations required
- optional, not held consider economic criteria in decision making optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- still to learn geographic areas required
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
- still to learn follow verbal instructions required
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a second officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 address aircraft mechanical issues practise this
- 02 airport safety regulations study this
- 03 ensure aircraft compliance with regulation practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held airport planning knowledge
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held carry out navigational calculations skill
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held comply with checklists skill
- already held electrical systems used in transportation knowledge
- already held electronics knowledge
- already held ensure public safety and security skill
- already held handle stressful situations in the work place skill
- already held interpret visual literacy skill
- already held read 3D displays skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
- already held apply airport standards and regulations skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn airport safety regulations required
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
- optional, not held consider economic criteria in decision making optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
20 held skills the second officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role air traffic control operations knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role assist during take off and landing skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the conducting of flight checks skill
- not needed by the target role celestial navigation knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute working instructions skill
- not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role have spatial awareness skill
- not needed by the target role monitor aviation meteorology skill
- not needed by the target role operate airport control tower skill
- not needed by the target role operate radar equipment skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role pre-flight procedures for IFR flights knowledge
- not needed by the target role stay alert skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role use of air traffic services document skill
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn airport safety regulations required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- optional, not held geostationary satellites optional
- optional, not held launching of satellites into orbit optional
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic controller become a second officer?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An air traffic controller already covers 48% of what a second officer is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 14 of which the second officer role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic controller need to become a second officer?
14 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is address aircraft mechanical issues.
How hard is the move from air traffic controller to second officer?
Its learning distance is 58.9 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.