Tomorrow I will take one last test that will dictate the rest of my life, and video games are going to give me an edge.
First some back story, after college I decided I wanted to changer carers from working in the construction industry (I do not recommend it) to becoming a federal Air Traffic Controller. So, now I've gone back to school to learn these sorts of things, passed with flying colors and in less than 24 hours I will take the federal governments Air Traffic Standard Aptitude Test (AT-SAT).
Much like the SAT that we all took in high school, it's not the kind of thing you can study for. It's built not to test how well you can memorize a book, but how fast your brain works. There will be the standard analogies, psych, and maths to be sure. But some of the most grueling portions of the test are the simulations, screenings and planning tests; and these are built like games, turns out I've been training to be an air traffic controller my whole life.......who knew?
These games not only test how well you can plan ahead, how quickly you can make decisions and how well you can shake off a mistake, but also your dexterity with a mouse and keyboard. Shit, Starcraft 2 may have been the greatest investment I have ever made! People tell me that the AT-SAT is not really about aptitude at all, but it's more of a stress test. Awesome! I don't see how doing 20 min of simulated ATC (basically working with a computer to tell planes how to go where they want to go) can possibly compare to the stress of a 20 min match against a human opponent that knows every inch of the map and wants nothing more than to beat you badly.
The only handicap that gaming might have given me is the dreaded rage quit. Parts of this test is designed to fuck you, deliberately and unavoidably, just to see how you react to an emergency. The reasoning being that if you are controlling traffic and someone crashes and dies, even if it was your fault, the other planes in the sky did not magically go away and it's still your job to control them until you are relieved. So I just need to resist my urge after a screw up to quit and start over, no such thing tomorrow.
So, one more test to see if I am good enough for the job of my dreams and I have been training for this through 18 years of gaming?
Achievement Unlocked - I got this shit
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