My brother has been an ATCS for almost 20 years. I will say that he has a LOT more greys than the rest of my siblings in his age group, which might be attributed his work stress lol.
@lord999 is spot on. It's a hard job to get and an even harder one to keep. Even after 20 years - no consistent schedule (pretty much random rotation between overnight and day shifts), no ability to relocate (he's been on a 'waitlist' for 10 years or so in an effort to move to a less desirable area closer to family), and of course the constant stress of potentially harming hundreds of people with just one 'little' mistake. A lot of people think its an easy job since you don't really need a degree, but what they don't understand is that it's a VERY complicated and time consuming process to get hired- the FAA looks for specific skills and they are very picky lol. Or people think that its an easy job to perform since 'you're just staring at a computer screen' (very far from the truth -its rated as one of the most stressful jobs). My bother has been flight instructor on the side and is currently going through more schooling in preparation for his mandatory retiring... just because they earn more money doesn't necessarily mean they have it made.
There's just no way to compare the stress levels of an ATCS to being a pharmacist lmaoo. And yes, I have worked retail - its really not that bad! I can't speak for an ED physician - but how many patients can a physician harm with one mistake? I'm hoping that number is not in the hundreds lol. I've got nothing but respect for physicians and I'm not trying to downplay the critical role they play - I just don't think its a fair comparison.
Thanks! This was helpful. That’s so cool that your brother is an air traffic controller. I can’t believe he’s been on waitlist for so long to go to a less desirable area.
From everything you wrote like the stress, the bad schedule, the inability to move, I’m surprised people would think it’s worth it. I wonder what made him want to make the sacrifices required to be an ATC.
I’d always heard that it’s one of the most stressful jobs out there due to having to be alert and knowing that a mistake could cost hundreds of lives. Is that not the same for pilots? It just seems like there’s not a huge risk of that happening, since they’re already highly trained on how to do the job correctly. I didn’t think they had to deal with constant interruptions and multitasking like ED docs do, while being expected to make zero errors.
In my initial post, I thought maybe being an ED doctor would be more stressful for the following reasons:
1. Constant interruptions and distractions while needing to stay alert. This increases the risk for errors in that busy environment.
2. Multiple emergent issues at the same time, pulling them in different directions, requiring multitasking. Research has shown humans are not good at multitasking.
3. Not knowing any patient history a lot of times, and having to make split decisions on very little information.
4. On the front lines, and at risk for catching an infectious disease, like COVID-19.
5. Dealing with hospital politics and some difficult nurses. It can be stressful if the team you work with is not good, because so much of the outcome does depend on team effort.
6. Some of the trauma and things they see in the ED can be quite difficult to witness.
7. Having to worry about liability and getting sued at the drop of a hat.
8. They never know what’s going to come through the door. It’s impossible to know everything. They have to make important decisions without clear cut answers.
9. Having to constantly explain to family that their loved one didn’t make it.
I’ve seen multiple patients die due to medical errors, but I haven’t seen death due to ATC making an error. That made me think perhaps the employers of ATC take safety more seriously, minimize interruptions, have adequate staffing, create work environment where risk for errors is decreased. All of this helps with stress in a job that’s already inherently stressful. I can’t say that employers in healthcare prioritize safety. In fact, it seems like they do all they can to make things unsafe, expecting more with less staff, etc. A lot of them think of lawsuits as just the cost of doing business.
Just explaining why I asked my initial question, and my thought process.
🙂
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