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US hires over 2k video gamers as air traffic controllers
- mannyv 2mo agoJust like the old rumors of Missile Command players being recruited for NORAD etc. Really, there are people that play ATC games for fun.
- mellosouls 2mo agoWhat could go wrong with preferring people who have ingrained disconnect between the objects on screen and real living humans.
- lbriner 2mo agoI think what has already gone wrong with US Air Command having drone pilots for foreign wars based in shipping containers in Texas. Starts off as surreal/not morally challenging, and then it sinks in, these are real people. Also, I am not on the frontline with my comrades so am I a coward? Can I face my family tonight after this.
- righthand 2mo agoYou are not on the front lines but USA does not have military service requirement and hasn’t been defending itself for well over half a century now. The drone pilot is not on the front lines but they were never killing people to protect the country (as we haven’t had to defend the homeland for over half a century). Most people join the modern day military so they can have a chance to kill people, not because the country is under any real threat. It is a jobs program. What is left in embarrassment hat makes facing your family difficult, when your family is programmed to believe you’re saving them somehow?
- budman1 2mo ago"Most people join the modern day military so they can have a chance to kill people". Strong disagree. Jobs training, money for college. Exciting way to spend your 20's (99% of the military does not directly kill anyone). Patriotism, family tradition.
- SkyMarshal 2mo agoIt could reduce stress and cognitive load and improve their focus, efficiency, and stamina.
- chasingthewind 2mo agoSome interesting takes on Reddit Aviation https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1vlnlq9/faa_hires_2000_gamers_to_be_air_traffic/ https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1vlnlq9/faa_hires...
- jejdjfjf 2mo agoseems like the beaten to death shit jokes like all reddit posts
- frollogaston 2mo agosudo echo "127.0.0.1 www.reddit.com" >> /etc/hosts
- Avicebron 2mo agoIf this is a glass house joke well done.
- qwerpy 2mo agoReddit is way worse. At least we pretend to be here for tech discussions, even if we can’t help but get baited by politics most of the time.
- Sabinus 2mo agodangs moderation here is pretty good and I think that helps.
- frollogaston 2mo agoThis is honestly the command I ran
- simoncion 2mo ago> This is honestly the command I ran Mmm. Unless your /etc/hosts is wide open or your shell is running as root, you got something like -bash: /etc/hosts: Permission denied because the way to do what you intended is to sudo 'tee' or something similar in function. AFAIK, you can't 'sudo' shell redirection.
- Neywiny 2mo agoNo mention of what games they're playing? Also no mention of when the NYC ones were told to move to Pennsylvania or be fired? Interestingly also cbs's article https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-philadelphia-air-traffic-controller-move-audit/ https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/new-york-philadelphia-a...
- embedding-shape 2mo ago> No mention of what games they're playing? According to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, people typically play video games about controlling traffic in the air? Or the quote was just completely butchered to be something completely else than what was said: > "A lot of what they do playing games ... is what they do ... controlling traffic in the air," Duffy told CBS News
- wahern 2mo agoPresumably they meant staring at a screen for hours on end while talking through a headset.
- jader201 2mo agoProbably this: https://airport.apunen.com/ https://airport.apunen.com/
- malshe 2mo agoAngry Birds, of course
- 2mo ago
- comrade1234 2mo agoI had a coworker from the democratic republic of Congo who insisted that if he was back home he would do ok fighting because he played lots of first-person shooters. I mean he was 100% serious about this. We argued about it. He got a commitment from our employer to pay his undergrad tuition. But he disappeared one day, probably went home to fight and die. I search for him every now and then but I think he's gone. I think his naïveté is equal to this policy.
- kevin_thibedeau 2mo agoThe planes will just respawn after disappearing from the radar, right?
- skeeter2020 2mo agoI played A LOT of flight controller on my ipod / ipad back in the day, and habour master too, and you need to start from scratch when you have a collision, just like in real life!
- mrheosuper 2mo ago>start from scratch when you have a collision, just like in real life! Sorry to break it for you, but irl you will likely spend a long time in prison first.
- retired 2mo agoJust delete the app before they find out!
- morkalork 2mo agoReminds me of this. Probably dead now. https://old.reddit.com/r/NonCredibleDefense/comments/1gcp7mt/i_dont_know_what_i_was_expecting_to_find_on_rmeth/ https://old.reddit.com/r/NonCredibleDefense/comments/1gcp7mt...
- random3 2mo ago
- rawgabbit 2mo agoOnly 10% make it through the first week? At least the weed out process is quick.
- pavel_lishin 2mo agoWhere do you see it taking a week? > Historically, fewer than 10% of applicants met the FAA's requirements to work as an air traffic controller and gain admission to the agency's training program. It sounds like they are weeded out before even being accepted.
- projektfu 2mo agoThe medical certificate weeds out many of them. Many video gamers are proud of their ADHD, and that is a no-no. If they've been depressed, have sleep disorders, etc. They would have to go through a difficult process to be issued a certificate if they eventually are able to. I doubt a casual, "sure, I could try it", applicant would spend the $6000+ to get the medical in that situation.
- rawgabbit 2mo agoIt was this quote: ” Aspiring controllers must also pass an exam that the FAA says predicts candidates' "aptitude to be an air traffic controller." Within a week, they are notified if they have passed”
- shagie 2mo agoAs noted in a sibling comment, that there is no "in a week" implied in the 10%. The requirements themselves are at https://www.faa.gov/air-traffic-controller-qualifications https://www.faa.gov/air-traffic-controller-qualifications Individuals must meet the following minimum qualifications in order to be eligible for an Air Traffic Controller position: Be a United States citizen Be under the age of 31 Pass a medical examination Pass a security investigation Pass the FAA air traffic pre-employment tests, including the Air Traffic Controller Specialists Skills Assessment Battery (ATSA) Speak English clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment Have one year of progressively responsible work experience, or a Bachelor's degree, or a combination of post-secondary education and work experience that totals one year The medical requirements are furthermore: Air Traffic Controller candidates must have the capacity to perform the essential functions of these positions without risk to themselves or others. Candidates must be physically and mentally fit and meet standards for vision, hearing, cardiovascular, neurological and psychiatric health. (and there's a long list on the site for the specifics for each standard)... for example, the first one under eye: Applicants must demonstrate distant and near vision of 20/20 or better in each eye separately. The use of bifocal contact lenses for the correction of near vision is unacceptable. ... It goes on for the training requirements... Entry-level applicants must complete required training courses and spend several months at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. Applicants are paid while in training. After graduating the academy, individuals are placed in locations across the country and must gain 2-3 years additional training, both classroom and on-the-job experience, before becoming a certified professional controller. This rigorous training includes close supervision and evaluation by senior controllers that ensures controllers are competent, professional, know their airspace environment and can deal with the pressures and high pace of the job. And the specifics for that can be found at https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_JO_3120.4S_AdminUpdate.pdf https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_JO... with is a 285 page pdf.
- _--__--__ 2mo agoATCs are chronically understaffed in a way that endangers all of us, and the FAA has been under scrutiny for their hiring practices for over a decade https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39184451 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39184451 It's equally plausible to me that this is an example of "we need to try something and this is something" or just deflection from the prior criticism.
- madrox 2mo agoAs trying things go, it doesn’t seem that crazy of an idea. I imagine air traffic control would even make for a pretty fun video game.
- vunderba 2mo agoWhen I was working on my PPL, I used VATSIM which is a worldwide network where volunteer hobbyists actually act as virtual air traffic controllers, so you can practice traffic patterns, instructions, and just get more comfortable when you are operating real-life radio comms. https://docs.xpilot-project.org/ https://docs.xpilot-project.org/
- throwawayffffas 2mo agoWhen I read the title I though that was the pool they were trying to access.
- ahstilde 2mo agoit's stressful! https://apps.apple.com/us/app/planes-control/id1015114550 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/planes-control/id1015114550 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rarepixels.planeslittle&hl=en_US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rarepixels...
- SkyMarshal 2mo agoApparently it does, there are tons of ATC games. https://store.steampowered.com/search?term=%22air+traffic%22+atc https://store.steampowered.com/search?term=%22air+traffic%22... https://bigfatsimulations.com/game/approachcontrolremastered https://bigfatsimulations.com/game/approachcontrolremastered https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unmatched-air-traffic-control/id1010849769 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unmatched-air-traffic-control/...
- monster_truck 2mo agoHave played competitive fps games with a couple of ATC dudes for almost half of my life now. They're all very sensible, level headed people who get justifiably upset when you do not do the procedurally and objectively correct (lowest risk, highest percentage) thing to win in a given situation and will calmly spell it all out every single time.
- 5m17h 2mo ago[dead]
- cosmicgadget 2mo agoleroy_jenkins.wav queued up on the Discord soundboard.
- monster_truck 2mo agoNobody uses discord if they're trying to win, lower latency on teamspeak
- scrapcode 2mo agoWhen I got interested in flying I took to flight simulators and the VATSIM network[0], as I had seen mentioned multiple times that the radio work can be a difficult aspect of flying to pick up on when flying out of a towered/busy field. By the time I started, I was comfortable on the radio and pre-flight checks, and this seemed to gained quite a bit of favor from my CFI. I'm not saying it made me a well-versed pilot, but simulating these situations can do a lot to get one going. [0] https://vatsim.net/ https://vatsim.net/
- chneu 2mo agoI got my PPL a few years ago. VATSIM and flight sim were huge tools. I would, literally, fly my training flights a few times using full VATSIM and then show up IRL to do the same thing. It made a massive difference. My instructor even said it makes his job so much easier. He had to do nothing with me. I was able to cut my rental time over half. It paid for itself a dozen times over. Like literally it saved me $5k or so. I recently gifted my yoke and controls to my GF who is getting her commerical cert. She is so excited. She is already flying her training flights using it. It's so helpful.
- Glyptodon 2mo agoAre they focusing on RTS players with high APM?
- lrae 2mo agoThey tried, but the max hiring age is still 31.
- paxys 2mo agoWhy are they saying “video gamers” as if it is a job title? Qualification for ATC is to be under 31 and the job is male dominated. No shit everyone they hire plays video games.
- ro_bit 2mo agoWhile their normal demographic might happen to contain a lot of gamers, the article is talking specifically about the results of a recruitment campaign that targeted gamers
- anigbrowl 2mo agoI think the headline should have emphasized that they were hired as trainees. I am not a fan of the Trump admin but Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, is one of the few people in it that I think steers clear of politics and prioritizes doing a good job. A horrible air traffic disaster that occurred a couple of weeks into the new administration threw him into the spotlight while he was still getting settled in, and it seems like he took the lesson to heart. I actually think gamers are a good population to recruit from because you do want people that internalize cognitive abstractions, maintain focus for long periods, juggle competing priorities etc. But one can also imagine some less attractive gamer stereotypes like poor emotional containment or cognitive saturation leading to a rage quit. It will be interesting to see what the attrition rate will be like for this cohort vs others.
- floren 2mo agoSean "DEI Bike Lanes" Duffy?
- anigbrowl 2mo agoIt's still the Trump administration. I mean relative to the general (absurdly low) standard thereof. I'm trying to be charitable because I can easily picture someone 10x worse.
- platevoltage 2mo agoSean Duffy? Steers clear of politics?
- effnorwood 2mo ago[dead]
- Waterluvian 2mo agoWhat could possibly go wrong? https://youtube.com/shorts/OT7yVBF1EOQ?si=TkLfjrvpsdIyBm7X https://youtube.com/shorts/OT7yVBF1EOQ?si=TkLfjrvpsdIyBm7X
- pclowes 2mo agoFrom a very naïve perspective, why isn’t air traffic control a solved problem? Would love to be educated here, but it seems like there are just not that many moving pieces per airport (<10,000) and all of them are tagged with transponders, etc. And a human in the loop with respect to coordination might be the biggest source of risk. This all seems like queuing theory and collision avoidance, which are very well done by computers.
- isubkhankulov 2mo agoThe collision in LGA in March revealed to me that not all objects are tracked.
- jackling 2mo agoBut wouldn't that be a case where regardless of human or machine, the outcome wouldn't change since there was no tracking information?
- ChrisMarshallNY 2mo agoI remember in the 1980s, when there was an attempt to rewrite the US air traffic control system in Ada. A friend of mine, was on that project. It did not end well. It's a very hairy problem, and mistakes are very costly. On another note: Those video gamers are gonna have some pretty clunky video experiences.
- jimbo808 2mo agoWeather conditions, ground/runway conditions, obstructions, mechanical issues. There are tons of edge cases with huge consequences for error. Same reason self driving is not a solved problem, but with dramatically less tolerance for error.
- taiwan_num1 2mo agoBut it feels like planes have a huge advantage in that they all have trackers constantly broadcasting their location to one another. Almost like they are working as a team compared to FSD systems which are limited to a small range of self collected info from vision/lidar. Not that it can ever be fully automated but it seems like much easier problem to solve.
- kortilla 2mo agoIdiotic headline. This is a trainee pipeline. The headline is meant to mislead you into thinking they hired some people based on video games and they are now air traffic controllers.
- wat10000 2mo agoI blame the readers. It shouldn’t be that hard to think about it for two seconds and conclude they’re probably not just plopping gamers in front of a radar screen. But apparently that’s too much to ask.
- themadturk 2mo agoI don't know why hiring gamers for ATC would be any different than hiring anyone else to do it. There's extensive training required, and I don't think it's something you can get a college degree for anyway. Maybe there's some advantage for gamers, but I don't see where it would be all that important.
- freetime2 2mo agoFrom the article: > Duffy added that many current trainees started out as gamers. Only about 25% of controllers hold a traditional college degree, while former controllers note that gaming requires many of the same skills that air traffic controllers use on the job, such as thinking quickly, staying focused and managing multiple sources of information as they guide more than 80,000 flights to their destinations daily. There is also a rigorous application process to get into the training program that only 10% of applicants pass: > Among the criteria to become a controller are to hold U.S. citizenship, be under the age of 31 and pass the FAA air traffic pre-employment tests. > Aspiring controllers must also pass an exam that the FAA says predicts candidates' "aptitude to be an air traffic controller." Within a week, they are notified if they have passed. > Historically, fewer than 10% of applicants met the FAA's requirements to work as an air traffic controller and gain admission to the agency's training program. So if gamers on average tend to be younger, and do better on the aptitude test than the general population, I think it makes sense to target them with recruitment campaigns to attempt to increase the number of qualified applicants coming into the funnel. Presumably non-gamers are also still welcome to apply. And if it doesn’t work out and gamers don’t end up getting accepted at a higher rate than anyone else, then it’s no great loss, either.
- Ozzie-D 2mo ago[flagged]
- davidfekke 2mo agoThis probably explains why I saw the Ghost from Pacman trying to eat my plane when I was making that ILS approach for runway 32 Right.
- ytch 2mo agoThere is a ATC game from Japan: BOKUKAN (I am an Air Traffic Controller): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Traffic_Controller_(series) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Traffic_Controller_(series...
- ilyagr 2mo agoSteam has screenshots and an English translatio of the publisher's description. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1348390/I_am_an_Air_Traffic_Controller_4/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1348390/I_am_an_Air_Traff...
- ksymph 2mo agoTo be clear, they began a recruitment ad campaign targeting gamers, and ended up meeting their hiring goal of 2,000+. It's not like they pulled 2,000 gamers off the street and stuck them in ATC towers. Better link (.gov): https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-and-federal-aviation-administration https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transpor... > With only about 25 percent of controllers holding a traditional college degree, this effort is focused on reaching talented young people pursuing alternative career paths, many of whom are active in gaming. Feedback from controller exit interviews reinforces this, with several controllers pointing to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity.
- red-iron-pine 2mo agothere are similar campaigns in Canada for NavCanada hiring ATCs as well their ads have been targeting busy waiter/waitress staff, as handling a bumping restaurant floor gives the multi-tasking skills needed, or so goes the thinking
- ViktorRay 2mo agoWait after reading the article it simply says that many of these hired people also play video games. Their definition of “video gamer” is literally just somebody who says they play games. I don’t see what the big deal is. Lots of young people play games every now and then. Many medical students play video games. You don’t see articles saying “America’s new surgeons…are video gamers!”
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- ipsod 2mo agoMovie watchers and food eaters, too.
- sbodnar 2mo agoYou deserve a coffee and donut for the laughs on this one good sir.
- whoamii 2mo agoYeah but do they read hacker news? Are they hackers?! Are hackers controlling our skies now?!
- ddejohn 2mo ago100% of air traffic controllers had consumed dihydrogen monoxide prior to an aviation disaster.
- eth0up 2mo agoSo a chemist and his student walk into a bar. The chemist says "I'll have an H2O" Bartender says, "fine. What'll it be for you, young man?" Student says "I'll have an H2O too" And dies.
- altmanaltman 2mo agoIf the medical school put out adverts like this and specially asked "gamers" to apply then it is okay to focus on it: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/us/politics/air-traffic-controller-gamer.html https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/10/us/politics/air-traffic-c... yes many of them also play video games and they were specifically focused on this recruitment drive. it wasn't a side effect that just happens to correlate
- gcanyon 2mo agoSo instead of training Air Traffic Controllers to play video games, you trained Gamers to direct air traffic? It's Armageddon! :-)
- rxyz 2mo agoone of the greats of early League of Legends esports, Froggen, went into ATC recently
- sahabaj 2mo agowhy is that? are they good at observing
- timcobb 2mo ago> The exchange ended with Mr. Trump telling Mr. Duffy that he had to hire people from MIT as air traffic controllers. These air traffic controllers need to be “geniuses,” he said. I guess MIT didn't work out...
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- 37384848 2mo ago[flagged]
- SkyMarshal 2mo agoIt's not a terrible idea, especially if they find people who are already good at one of the many Air Traffic Control realistic sim videogames: https://store.steampowered.com/search?term=%22air+traffic%22+atc https://store.steampowered.com/search?term=%22air+traffic%22... https://bigfatsimulations.com/game/approachcontrolremastered https://bigfatsimulations.com/game/approachcontrolremastered https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unmatched-air-traffic-control/id1010849769 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unmatched-air-traffic-control/...
- cakbeslik 2mo agogamers might be good fit for the job, and if everyones happy no need for dramatize it
- tsoukase 2mo agoIt would be more interesting if they control for the games played. Eg Air traffic controllers that play Flight Sim, truck drivers that play GTA5 or teachers with Call of duty.
- db48x 2mo agoI remember playing atc on a Unix machine which had dial–in access back in the BBS days.
- 31337Logic 2mo agoSomething, something, "Ender's Game".
- jmpman 2mo agoOne of my pilot friends told me that he knew of someone training to be an air traffic controller, and they completed the training but were denied the job due to an Obama era racial quota program which discriminated against him. I was skeptical of his claim, as he leans as far right as they come, and anything that Obama touches, he criticizes. But in this scenario, his anecdote was correct. Don't know if that's still the case, but recently it was.
- CorvusCrypto 2mo agoOh boy. So... I have some ties still to the FAA and its ATC staff despite living in Sweden and This article is just painting a picture I've seen time and time again when there are staffing woes. I'm gonna ignore the gamer hype because that's just recruitment that has happened even in other admins (Level Up campaign was the last one in 2022 or so) They got near to their quota in the training pipeline but it's not like training as most think about where someone can just study hard. Going to the Academy (there's only one in OKC and congress will almost always shut down ideas of opening another elsewhere) is not like a guarantee that someone intelligent or hardworking will pass like in uni. If historic stats are any indicator we will see a ton of washouts there (30%+) and then they need to qualify as a CPC (certified professional controller) in which time they may also wash out while training for their facility which the article didn't actually touch on. The bottleneck is still this process and until that 2000 converts to CPCs I'm not going to be raising hell or singing praises. Great that more are passing the ATSA and going to the academy, but that's step 0. Not like any of this is Duffy's fault but as we say here: comes with the title man. I really would like to see more staff get there so best of luck to all the candidates, given the amount of OT I've seen (not just from facilities that game it mind you) the FAA needs all the controllers it can get.
- watwut 2mo agoWhy are they "washing out"?
- CorvusCrypto 2mo agoVarious reasons. A lot comes down to the individual facility requirements and there are special needs at each. LOAs to memorize, and unique challenges like with PCTs control of airspace around DC where they run extremely compressed finals to fit all the traffic. ZHU is also notoriously hard for some (weather is a big factor) and then you do ofc have some not so great historic trends of intentionally trying to wash trainees so OT can be guarded for the CPCs (N90 was infamously known for this but seems to have quelled in latest years) Shortly said the job is not cookie cutter even after the academy and you need to certify on all positions to be a CPC at your chosen facility. There's levels to each btw up to 12 being the busiest. When you wash there's a chance to retrain and go to another facility as well and there are NATCA (controller union) approved processes to transfer, but yeah many just change jobs after that.
- mrbigbob 2mo agoi think too many people are getting hung up on the fact whether these air traffic controllers play video games or not. Being an air traffic controller in the past has been a very difficult job not just to do but to get (for good reason) We have been short air traffic controllers for a long time now and all of a sudden were getting 2,000? How? Did they lax their requirements? Im not saying that some qualified air traffic controllers havent been hired but considering this current administration lies/mishandles to a spectacular degree almost everything it touches im doubting there are actually 2,000 air traffic controllers and if there are how qualified a lot of them are
- jambalaya8 2mo agoI wanted to do this job since the late 90s. Too old now (not old, just too old for this or the military). Pity. I think they have an upper limit of 40 years old or something. Probably why they reached out to gamers. I am not sure what the psychological reasoning of their choosing gamers is though. In practice, yes, they are able to focus and think fast, but they also tend to have a short attention span when it isn't engaged continuously and under a certain amount of stress or perceived duress. While ATC is certainly stressful from what I have read, it is not at all high stimulus.
- agenticworldcup 2mo agoIf there's one civilian class that's going to be adept at fast macro-micros, it's gamers, and specifically ones from Real Time Strategy (RTS) games.