Flagging & Traffic Control

What Flagging & Traffic Control Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to flagging and traffic control and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Flagging and Traffic Control Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Flagging and Traffic Control Majors

When studying flagging and traffic control, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Abilities for Flagging and Traffic Control Majors

As you progress with your flagging and traffic control degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

What Can You Do With a Flagging & Traffic Control Major?

People with a flagging and traffic control degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Highway Maintenance Workers	6.9%	$39,690

How Much Do Flagging & Traffic Control Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

The median salary for someone in a career related to flagging and traffic control is $41,440. This median refers to all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Flagging & Traffic Control

Some degrees associated with flagging and traffic control may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to flagging and traffic control have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	5.0%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	85.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.9%

Is a Degree in Flagging & Traffic Control Worth It?

The median salary for a flagging and traffic control grad is $41,440 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 4% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $30,800 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Flagging & Traffic Control

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to flagging and traffic control.

Major	Number of Grads
Truck & Bus Driver/Commercial Vehicle Operator & Instructor	20,171
Construction/Heavy Equipment/Earthmoving Equipment Operation	1,070
Other Ground Transportation	137
Railroad & Railway Transportation	102

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.