# What happened to all the air-traffic contollers that Reagan fired? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846 "2002-07-01T16:20:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/1 "2002-07-01T16:20:07Z")
Were any of them ever able to go back to work as ATCs, or in the aviation industry at all? Or were they all forced to get new careers? ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/2 "2002-07-01T16:22:47Z")
oops…could a kind moderator please remove the hypen and add the missing “r” in controllers in the subject? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/3 "2002-07-01T16:27:51Z")
I can only answer for one—my old schoolfriend Nancy, who was one of the air traffic controllers fired back then. She got married, moved to Texas and got a paralegal degree. I imagine a lopt of others just “re-careered” themselves, too. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/4 "2002-07-01T20:39:36Z")
bump ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/5 "2002-07-01T22:42:26Z")
One I knew went back into the Army. Yes, as an ATC. We both were drinkers at the time, and it was kind of funny when we’d kid around about that–I thought he should’ve been banned from having that MOS. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/6 "2002-07-01T23:52:02Z")
My grandfather was one, he got a job consulting airlines after the firings, and only for a few years because he was 59 when he was fired, but less experienced people (he had worked with airplanes since the start of World War II) weren’t so lucky. Few had the qualifications to do much else and were stuck with much worse jobs. Many did go into the military and try for new careers, but not all were able to get back on their own two feet after being fired and were much worse off than before Reagan fired them. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/7 "2002-07-02T02:13:00Z")
I knew one who landed a government job in information technology (IT). He was one of the laziest people I’ve ever come across… He was so completely useless that the organization had to hire a semi-permanent outside consultant to do his job. (God forbid they fire him.) :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@ski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ski)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-all-the-air-traffic-contollers-that-reagan-fired/116846/8 "2002-07-02T02:33:56Z")
A lot of them went to work for private companies that provide ATC under contract to the FAA, generally at smaller airports. In this capacity, they aren’t government employees, so they don’t violate Reagan’s firing order.