Does FAA pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, FAA employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at FAA. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at FAA?

71% of FAA employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated FAA 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at FAA?

Air Traffic Control Specialist (153) , Air Traffic Controller (122) , Airway Transportation Systems Specialist (47) , Aviation Safety Inspector (40) , Management and Program Analyst (33) , ATC Specialist (29) , Aerospace Engineer (29) , ATSS FG-2101 (28) , Intern (24) , Engineer (23) , Civil Engineer (20) , Program Manager (20) , Manager (17) , Air Traffic Controller Trainee (14) , Computer Specialist (14)

What are the pros of working at FAA according to real employee reviews?

"benefits are great and day to day work is great" ((in 200 reviews)); "Pay is good but not great unless you are a controller or have been in for a while." ((in 151 reviews)); "Great people that care about aviation and the work they do." ((in 64 reviews)); ""Job security" is great and once you know what you are supposed to do you can then explore other areas or job functions." ((in 50 reviews)); "I enjoyed my 30 years with the FAA and found the salary good and the work exciting." ((in 26 reviews))

What are the cons of working at FAA according to real employee reviews?

"Management is incompetent and often take the path of least resistance to progress their own careers." ((in 52 reviews)); "Initial training could be great or it could be terrible depending on your location." ((in 24 reviews)); "bureaucracy Upper management is on their own power trip, often forget to do their actual JOB." ((in 16 reviews)); "Shift work and rotating schedules" ((in 16 reviews)); "I had seen where other reviews pointed out poor leadership caused by people being promoted due to poor performance." ((in 13 reviews))

What are employees saying about FAA layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about FAA layoffs and their outlook for job security at FAA in 2026.

FAA reviews

3.8

71% would recommend to a friend

(1,455 total reviews)

Pete Buttigieg | Michael G. Whitaker | Kathryn “Katie” Thomson

68% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Culture & values

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.3

Senior management

FAA has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,455 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The FAA employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Gobierno y administración pública industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

1K reviews

5.0

Jul 19, 2014

air traffic controller at National Airport.

Air traffic controller

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

aviation is wonderful....something new happens every day....you cannot make a mistake so every day is perfect. Everyone respects the ATC and the job he does.

Cons

equipment breaks down much too often. The controller must maintain strict awareness 100% of the time while on duty.

3.0

Jul 18, 2014

It's good, but it could have been better

Computer scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I was a student intern here and got a permanent job right after. The people are great. The job is easy. The benefits are good. It's a laid-back typical government office working environment.

Cons

A lot of politics. Watch your back, and there are a lot of back stabbers that are just looking for opportunities to bring you down if you are looking to a higher position. Some managers, program offices and program managers do NOT know anything about management, leadership, or even the actual project that they are supposed to be "managing" . If you do well, and the project has a great turn out, they'll take all credit and not even to mention your name. It is very hard to get to upper management level as you have to have connection and majority of the people that I work with are just so l-a-z-y and s-l-o-w-w-w

3.0

Jul 17, 2014

Proactive Agency

Management and program analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Convenient to Metro Autonomy when leadership is happy with your work output

Cons

Always proactive never reactive. Multiple meetings to discuss what was discussed - wasted time. Things have to go through several layers of approval before it's actually given any thought. Nepotism and favoritism is rampant. Disconnect between what senior leadership verbalizes and what actually happens at the worker level.

Viewing 1327 - 1329 of 1,455 Reviews

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FAA

FAA reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

air traffic controller at National Airport.

It's good, but it could have been better

Proactive Agency

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