Air Traffic Controller
$138KHigh match
Growing demand
Skills to develop
- — FAA certification
- — Specific ATC equipment training
Live · Guide v1.09930 · Career GuideValidated · Lightcast Labor DataUpdated · Q2 20262027 Cohort · Applications Open
USMC · 9930Career Guide · Operations · VWC.CG.9930.R.04
9930 · USMC · EnlistedAir Control/
Air Control/
Officer.
Marine Corps 9930 (Air Control/Anti-Air Warfare Officer). 480 hours of formal training translate to 5 validated civilian career pathways with salary bands of $82K–$138K. Sourced from DoD training data and Lightcast labor signals.
Training hours480DoD pipeline
ACE creditACEUp to 6 semester hours recommended in Military Science (estimated)
Tech roles4mapped to your code
Civilian pathways5validated
Cert coverage2/5direct + partial
This career guide was generated using AI analysis of military job code data. Salary figures, certification coverage percentages, and career matches are estimates — verify with official sources before making career decisions.
/ 01 · Tech Roles
Roles your code maps to.
Industry tech roles your 9930 background maps to — picked from BLS-anchored occupations using your training, cognitive skills, and systems experience.
Sort · Match descending
/ 02 · Skill Bridge
The gap, named.
What 9930 training already gave you, and the specific gaps to close — not a generic checklist.
Already have08
- 01Airspace Management→ Cloud resource allocation and management
- 02Electronic Warfare→ Cybersecurity threat detection and mitigation
- 03Tactical Data Links (Link 16)→ Network protocols and data communication
- 04Sensor Management (Radar, IFF)→ Data ingestion and processing from multiple sources
- 05Situational Awareness→ Monitoring and managing complex systems
- 06Rapid Prioritization→ Incident response and resource allocation under pressure
- 07Adversarial Thinking→ Risk management and competitive analysis
- 08Team Synchronization→ Project management and team leadership
To learn04
The concrete gap to bridge — specific to the roles above, not a generic checklist.
+AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner+Python programming language+SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tools+Project management methodologies (e.g., Agile, Scrum)
How VWC fits
Vets Who Code is a free, remote-first software engineering accelerator for veterans, active duty, and military spouses. We close the fundamentals — terminal, web platform, AI tooling, portfolio projects — so the rest of this list becomes specialization, not square one.
See VWC Programs →/ 03 · Civilian Pathways
Where your code lands.
Emergency Management Director
$85KGood match
Stable demand
Skills to develop
- — Emergency management certifications (e.g., FEMA)
- — Grant writing
- — Public communication
Logistics Manager
$95KGood match
High demand
Skills to develop
- — Supply chain management certification (e.g., CSCP)
- — ERP systems (SAP, Oracle)
- — Data analysis
Intelligence Analyst
$82KGood match
Very high demand
Skills to develop
- — Data analysis tools (e.g., Python, R)
- — Cybersecurity knowledge
- — Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Project Manager
$90KModerate match
High demand
Skills to develop
- — Project Management Professional (PMP) certification
- — Agile methodologies
- — Risk management
/ 04 · Hidden Strengths
What the code built.
Cognitive skills your 9930 training built — and where they transfer in civilian work.
Rapid Prioritization
Air control officers constantly evaluate incoming data to determine the most immediate threats and allocate resources accordingly, often under intense time pressure.
Transfers to
The ability to quickly assess the urgency and importance of multiple tasks and allocate resources effectively translates directly to high-pressure civilian roles requiring decisive action.
Situational Awareness
This role demands a comprehensive understanding of the airspace, including friendly and hostile aircraft, missile units, and communication networks. Maintaining 'the big picture' is essential.
Transfers to
This skill translates to an innate ability to understand complex systems and anticipate potential problems before they arise, invaluable in roles requiring oversight and strategic planning.
Team Synchronization
Air control officers must seamlessly coordinate the actions of air support, air control, and antiaircraft missile units to achieve mission objectives. This requires clear communication and a strong understanding of team dynamics.
Transfers to
Coordinating diverse teams towards a common goal is a valuable skill in many civilian settings, especially project management and operational leadership.
Adversarial Thinking
Anticipating the actions of hostile aircraft and developing counter-strategies is a core function of this role. This involves thinking several steps ahead and understanding the enemy's capabilities and intentions.
Transfers to
Your expertise in anticipating threats and developing proactive strategies is highly valuable in roles requiring risk management and competitive analysis.
/ 05 · Non-Obvious Matches
Roles the recruiter won't suggest.
Adjacent civilian roles your training maps to that conventional military-to-civilian advice tends to miss.
Emergency Management Director
SOC 11-9161.00You've been trained to maintain situational awareness under pressure, rapidly prioritize threats, and coordinate diverse teams – all essential skills for directing emergency response efforts and ensuring public safety. Your ability to make critical decisions in high-stakes environments will be invaluable.
Adjacent · MatchLogistics Manager
SOC 11-3071.00You've honed your ability to manage complex systems, optimize resources, and coordinate teams to achieve strategic goals. You'll excel at overseeing the efficient flow of goods, information, and resources, ensuring that materials are available when and where they are needed.
Adjacent · MatchBusiness Continuity Planner
SOC 13-1199.00You've developed expertise in anticipating potential disruptions, developing contingency plans, and coordinating responses to minimize impact. Your background in degraded-mode operations and adversarial thinking makes you uniquely qualified to help organizations prepare for and recover from unexpected events.
Adjacent · Match/ 06 · Training & Certs
What you trained on.
Academy
Air Defense Control Officer Course (ADCOC)
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, CA480hHours
12wkWeeks
ACECredit
Up to 6 semester hours recommended in Military Science (estimated)
Topics · 8
- Airspace Management
- Air Defense Planning
- Tactical Data Links (Link 16)
- Sensor Management (Radar, IFF)
- Electronic Warfare
- Air Intercept Control
- Close Air Support (CAS) Coordination
- Anti-Air Warfare Tactics
Partial coverage · 2
- Project Management Professional (PMP)40%
Formal project management methodologies (Agile, Waterfall), detailed knowledge of PMBOK guide, specific tools and techniques used in civilian project management.
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)30%
In-depth knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks (NIST, ISO), risk management principles, incident response procedures, and specific security technologies used in civilian infrastructure.
Recommended next · 03
- Certified Air Traffic Manager (CATM)Adjacent
- Airport Certified Employee (ACE) OperationsAdjacent
- Certified Aviation Manager (CAM)Adjacent
/ 07 · Systems Translation
What you ran, in their words.
Military systems you operated and their civilian equivalents for your resume.
| Military System | Civilian Equivalent | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| Common Aviation Command and Control System (CAC2S) | Air Traffic Control systems (e.g., those used by FAA), real-time data aggregation and display software. | Networking |
| AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) | Advanced weather radar systems, air surveillance radar used at civilian airports. | Signals |
| Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) | Civilian equivalents used in logistics, emergency services, and resource management for coordinating teams, assets, and support in real-time. | Operations |
| Improved Moving Target Indicator (IMTI) | Motion detection and tracking software used in surveillance systems, traffic monitoring, and autonomous vehicles. | Operations |
| Stinger Missile System | Counter-UAS systems for airport or critical infrastructure defense, or advanced drone defense systems. | Weapons |
| AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel Radar | Perimeter security radar systems, short-range air defense radar used for protecting civilian assets. | Signals |
Cohort 2027 · Intake Open
Ship 9930 into a software engineering career.
The pathways above are the destination. Vets Who Code is the route: a free, remote-first software engineering accelerator for active duty, veterans, and military spouses. 17 weeks at 20–30 hours a week, and a body of work that ships.