United States Department of Transportation
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Studies of Next Generation Air Traffic Control Specialists: Why Be an Air Traffic Controller?
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2011-08-01
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Abstract:With phrases such as “Managing Millennials” (Gimbel, 2007), descriptions of generational differences are a staple in the
human resources (HR) trade press and corporate training. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) offers a course in
managing generational differences through its Center for Management Education and Leadership. Most management tips
and descriptions of generational differences are anecdotal, prescriptive and impressionistic. Few empirical studies are
available, and those that do exist are based on cross-sectional surveys, confounding the effects of age and career progression
with generational differences. Yet the generational comparisons could be important to occupational recruitment; what
appealed to one generation might not appeal to another. For example, the job security and stability that appealed to “Baby
Boomers” might be less important to “Gen-X” and “Millennials,” who are said to be looking to “make a difference” with
some level of “work-family balance” (Partnership for Public Service, 2009, undated). The purpose of the current study was
to compare the factors influencing occupational choice in two distinct generations of employees in the FAA’s highly visible
air traffic control specialist (ATCS) occupation. We hypothesized that factors such as job security, benefits, and pay would
be less important to the “Next Generation” of controllers, recruited from Gen-X and Millennials, than to the “Post-Strike”
generation (largely Baby Boomers) and non-material factors such as the opportunity to benefit others would be more
important to the Next Generation of controllers. Method. The responses of controllers hired in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009
(n=955) were compared to those of controllers hired in FY1986 through FY1992 (n=13,227) following the 1981
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike. The two groups did not overlap in age or birth year. The
new controllers in both generations took the Biographical Questionnaire (BQ) for research purposes while at the FAA
Academy for initial occupational training. The BQ includes 14 items asking to what degree material factors such as pay and
non-material factors such as the opportunity to benefit others were important to their choice of the controller occupation.
The proportions favorably endorsing each factor were compared with a standard Z-test of proportions. The rank-order of
the factors in each generation was also compared using Spearman’s rho. Results. Contrary to our hypothesis, job security,
benefits, and pay were more important to Next Generation than to Post-Strike controllers. However, the overall rank-order
correlation of the factors by generation was high (Spearman’s rho =.824, p < .001), suggesting a shift in degree rather than
one of kind between generations. Discussion. The young Next Generation controllers hired by the FAA did not conform to
the public stereotype; job security, benefits, and pay were just as important to them, if not more, than to the previous
generation. This might be an effect of economic insecurity engendered by the 2007-2010 financial crisis in the U.S. The
similar rank-ordering of factors influencing occupational choice suggests more similarity between generations than might be
expected on the basis of the HR trade press. Implications for agency recruitment are considered in closing.
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