US turns to gamers in search for air traffic controllers

The recruitment of air traffic controllers as a professional flight specialist by the U.S. government through video game experience and skill set (including reaction time and speed, situational awareness, distractions, and fast-paced multitasking) can be traced back to the need for more personnel in US aviation.

Gamers provide the U.S. Government (the U.S. Air Force) an alternative to "traditional" job recruiting methods, such as newspaper advertisements and job fairs, because they provide a more “modern way” for potential employees through their marketing and recruiting efforts using vlogged (video) messages, which is a huge departure from the way job fairs were used to recruit employees in the past.

Though the purpose for creating job opportunities for air traffic control specialists using video game skills was to fill in gaps in available personnel in the aviation field, many have expressed an objection to having sole reliance on skills gained through a lifetime of experience with video games (an activity that is viewed to be very male dominated) in favor of finding a "well-rounded" new employee.

The military may also have additional use for this recruitment strategy through its partnerships and collaborations with video games.

This same position has significant advantages, such as highly satisfying salaries and the potential to advance in your career. There is a major compensation aspect as well, so once someone hears that this is an excellent salary opportunity and that you need to be a gamer to apply, many will jump at the chance to apply for this job.

Like any job, completing training successfully is an absolute must; you won't be able to get a start on the job until your training session is complete.

To summarize, the entire initiative has changed the approach to recruiting gamers, making "gaming" more than just a pastime or form of entertainment; it has become a way to develop specific skills that can only be acquired in this way. It has become commonplace in today's world for a child to develop an interest and charm for video games beginning at around age 10—if not sooner. With that being said, there are also negatives, such as the attempts or attacks on the gaming industry to turn gamers into an army, and create soldiers out of children who play video games, and thereby recruit other children, who end up being integrated into our military and become an actual weapon used toward our military/our world.