Air Traffic Controller Jobs Pay What?

One would think that air traffic controller jobs at Logan, are one of THE most important jobs on the food chain of air travel. If you want to rank the order of importance of the people that keep these massive multi-million dollar computers with wings in the air, where would you start? What is the order of importance? Well, let's start with:

Of course, there are many, many important jobs in airline travel that are designed to keep us safe. But if you agree that these four jobs are very important at keeping flyers safe, the next obvious question is, what do these jobs pay?

Let's start with an aircraft engineer. According to Glassdoor.com:

The estimated total pay for a Aircraft Engineer is $162,846 per year in the United States area, with an average salary of $124,143 per year.

What about a pilot's salary? According to Epicflightacademy.com:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the median U.S. pilot salary at $211,790 in 2022. This means 50% of pilots earn more than this, and 50% earn less. However, there are pilots working for major airlines making more than $700,000 per year. Many factors impact airline pilot salaries. 

How much does a TSA Security Officer make? According to indeed.com, the high end salary of a TSA Officer can be around $76,000 a year. The average salary pays $48,457 a year.

Finally, we get to the last of the top four most important jobs for safe air travel, according to this post, the air traffic controller.

You'd better fasten your selt belt and put your seat in it's upright position. The FAA is looking for air traffic controllers. But to me, the pay structure doesn't match the salaries of the other important jobs mentioned above. Air traffic controller jobs don't pay nearly enough at 35,000 A year.

According to Boston 25, the FAA is hiring:

“The safety of the U.S. Aviation system is due in large part to our skilled and dedicated air traffic controllers, so hiring and training new controllers is a major priority,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in the news release announcing the hiring blitz. “We are encouraging anyone interested in a new challenge and rewarding safety career to explore this opportunity.”

But there are a few hoops to jump through to be considered. A successful applicant must be:

The salary range is between $35,947 and $37,145 during training. If the applicant passes training and continues through the training process, it will be increased to $45,782.

The salary, seeing it's importance, seems low to me. But, an air traffic controller job, is still a job. The FAA has more than 13,000 air traffic controllers and is looking to hire 1,800 this year and another 2,000 in 2025, the agency said.

For more information and to apply, visit USA Jobs.

Just because you don't have the best credit, that doesn't mean you have to give up on improving it. There are actually some pretty easy and quick ways to bring up your credit score. Even if you already have good credit, there's always room for improvement. I recently learned that paying off a big debut, such as a car or house, can actually bring down your credit score. That surprised me, but the reasoning makes sense.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but it's true. Paying off a big debt can actually ding your credit score and make it lower. "Paying off debt might lower your credit scores if removing the debt affects certain factors such as your credit mix, the length of your credit history or your credit utilization ratio," Equifax.com states. "Paying off your only line of installment credit reduces your credit mix and may ultimately decrease your credit scores." Also, closing or paying off a credit card could also make sure scores drop. That's "because your total available credit is lowered when you close a line of credit, which could result in a higher credit utilization ratio," they state. That said, it's not all doom and gloom. Investopedia.com adds that often times, paying off debut helps your credit score. That's especially true if you're someone who has too much debut. That's also true if you already have a low credit score.

So, let's say you're in a situation where you really want to improve your credit score. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to do so. There are some more complex ways, too. We'll get into those, as well. But, even a few small changes can make a big difference. Here are some quick ways to try to improve that coveted credit rating.

If your credit limit increases and your balance remains the same, that will lower your credit utilization. It can improve your credit. This is one of the quickest ways to improve your credit score. Moreover, if your income increases or you have more years of positive credit experience, your credit can go up, too. So, try to not max out your credit. You could even open a new credit card and not touch it, just to help lower that credit utilization even more.

Missing payments can obviously really lower your credit rating. It's a mistake you don't want to make. So, sign up for an autopay option. This might not the be quickest way to improve your credit, but over time, it can really help, especially if you find yourself missing payments once in a while.

Before your really improve your credit, you have to see where you are the weakest. So, check your credit history, and study it. Find a copy of your credit report from each of the three major national credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Then, look the reports over to see what's bringing down your score or helping it. Improve on those negative areas.

When you open a line of credit or apply for a variety of other things, such as a loan or apartment rental, you have have to get a hard inquiry done on your account. But, each hard inquiry can bring down your credit scores a little bit. Over time, that can build up. So, try not to open too many accounts at once. These hard inquires are a minor factor, but they still count.

We usually pay off debts, such as a house payment or credit card payment, once a month. Instead, try splitting that payment into every two weeks. That could help you save on interest. But, it could also help lower your account balances and credit utilization ratio. That, in turn, could raise your scores.

This is among the biggest ways to improve your credit score. If you have a relative or even friend with a credit card account and high limit, plus a good history of paying on time, ask them if they would consider adding you as an authorized user. If they're uncomfortable and you using their card, they actually don't even have to let you use the card of give you their account number. Just the act of adding you to the account will improve your credit. It could improve it a lot.

I have personally found credit records to be pretty accurate. But, today, there are so many fraud cases out there, that you really have to be vigilant. If you have a mistake on one of your credit reports, it could really hurt your credit. So, dispute that error. If you win, that can quickly improve your credit.

While these tips could help raise your credit score, and hopefully quickly, getting stellar credit doesn't happen overnight. There's no magic bullet to wake up with an 850 credit score. So, try these tips and do your best to keep your credit perfect, or at least near perfect. Over time, it will all add up. You'll hopefully see a meaningful, and long-lasting change.