Air traffic safety technician to airline transport pilot
An air traffic safety technician already meets 30% of what the airline transport pilot role asks for. The move turns on 25 required skills not yet in the profile.
76.6/ 100
1 How much of what an airline transport pilot is expected to do is already part of an air traffic safety technician’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 airline transport pilot role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An airline transport pilot role treats 12 of its required skills as things an air traffic safety technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic control operations
- air transport law
- aircraft flight control systems
- aviation meteorology
- common aviation safety regulations
- comply with air traffic control operations
What stands in the way is 25 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 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An airline transport pilot role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an air traffic safety technician background worth leading with.
- already held implement airside safety procedures assisting and caring
- already held operate cockpit control panels working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held operate radar equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held air traffic control operations services
- already held comply with air traffic control operations assisting and caring
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation assisting and caring
All 12 carried skills, including the 12 the airline transport pilot role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 35 missing skills fall into 8 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 inspect aircraft required
- still to learn perform routine flight operations checks required
- still to learn analyse weather forecast required
- still to learn analyse work-related written reports required
- still to learn have spatial awareness required
- still to learn manage financial risk required
- still to learn read 3D displays required
- still to learn read maps required
- optional, not held carry out navigational calculations optional
- still to learn apply signalling control procedures required
- still to learn operate two-way radio systems required
- still to learn perform flight manoeuvres required
- still to learn perform take off and landing required
- still to learn undertake procedures to meet requirements for flying aircraft heavier than 5,700 kg required
- still to learn operate radio equipment required
- still to learn operate radio navigation instruments required
- still to learn ensure compliance with civil aviation regulations required
- still to learn ensure ongoing compliance with regulations required
- still to learn undertake procedures to meet aircraft flight requirements required
- still to learn create a flight plan required
- still to learn supervise crew required
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- still to learn civil aviation regulations required
- still to learn visual flight rules required
- still to learn follow verbal instructions required
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held give instructions to staff optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an airline transport pilot role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply signalling control procedures practise this
- 02 balance transportation cargo practise this
- 03 civil aviation regulations study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held air traffic control operations knowledge
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held comply with air traffic control operations skill
- already held ensure aircraft compliance with regulation skill
- already held follow airport safety procedures skill
- already held implement airside safety procedures skill
- already held operate cockpit control panels skill
- already held operate radar equipment skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn balance transportation cargo required
- still to learn geographic areas required
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held carry out navigational calculations optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held respond to changing navigation circumstances optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held give instructions to staff optional
- optional, not held handle customer complaints optional
- optional, not held make independent operating decisions optional
- optional, not held respond to customers' inquiries optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- optional, not held write work-related reports optional
43 held skills the airline transport pilot role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role address aircraft mechanical issues skill
- not needed by the target role advise aircraft in hazardous conditions skill
- not needed by the target role air traffic management knowledge
- not needed by the target role aircraft mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role airport electrical systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role airport safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role assess operating cost skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the conducting of flight checks skill
- not needed by the target role carry out preventive airport maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role conduct airport safety inspections skill
- not needed by the target role conduct safe aircraft marshalling skill
- not needed by the target role deal with air traffic issues skill
- not needed by the target role debug software skill
- not needed by the target role design control systems skill
- not needed by the target role design electrical systems skill
- not needed by the target role design electronic systems skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role electrical systems used in transportation knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure safety in international aviation skill
- not needed by the target role follow industry codes of practice for aviation safety skill
- not needed by the target role global navigation satellite system performance parameters knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement safety management systems skill
- not needed by the target role implement the airside safety auditing system skill
- not needed by the target role inspect aircraft for airworthiness skill
- not needed by the target role install electrical and electronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role install software skill
- not needed by the target role maintain electronic equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage air navigation services skill
- not needed by the target role monitor customer safety on apron skill
- not needed by the target role oversee quality control skill
- not needed by the target role perform aircraft maintenance skill
- not needed by the target role perform necessary checks before moving aircraft onto stand skill
- not needed by the target role safety engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role surveillance radars knowledge
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role test circuitry skill
- not needed by the target role test electrical equipment skill
- not needed by the target role types of aircraft knowledge
- not needed by the target role undertake navigation safety actions skill
3 further entries not listed here
3 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 civil aviation regulations required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- still to learn visual flight rules required
Other moves recorded from air traffic safety technician
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic safety technician become an airline transport pilot?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An air traffic safety technician already covers 30% of what an airline transport pilot is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 12 of which the airline transport pilot role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic safety technician need to become an airline transport pilot?
25 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply signalling control procedures.
How hard is the move from air traffic safety technician to airline transport pilot?
Its learning distance is 76.6 out of 100, which is the career change 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.