r/ATC

Busy sector blending arrivals.

Thinking about putting in paperwork for BNA. How is it? Do ya like it there?

Let’s say you’re taken off an arrival and getting vectors to intercept and haven’t been given a speed yet, are you guys usually cool with us slowing down to like 210 or 180/190?

I’m a Long Island native and was wondering since no body wants to be there would it be easier to get my way into n90. I take the test next week but unfortunately missed the direct to N90 spree they did last year. I know they send you wherever they need you but I’m wondering if I’m upfront about wanting to be there will it increase my chances ?

Just wanted to say this is the end of the road unfortunately. I wasn’t aware that having an active ICD was a disqualification. I really wanted to do this as a career. Yall know any other jobs I can do in aviation?

To put this in perspective, this would be enough money to give every single Air Traffic Controller a one-time bonus of nearly $1,000,000 each.

I’m so thankful our fearless leader, Nick Daniels, has worked so hard to advocate and fight for the fucking equipment. /s

I'm currently almost 3 years into a somewhat cushy office job where I get to wine and dine folks in central OH with my company pitching in quarterly for a solid Health Savings Account (wife has Type 1 Diabetes so it's been a God send) with a salary just shy of $60k. What does the pension for a 50+ year-old Air Traffic Controller look like and are the health/medical benefits any good? The more specificity the better as I'm seriously considering making the shift and jumping into this career long-term if it'll allow my wife and I to have a larger family and increase our quality of life having just had our 1st kid in January❄️

Question for new controllers!

I understand that besides two weeks of moving leave, the FAA does not help you whatsoever with the process of moving to your assigned station.

It seems the average AG pay is roughly $26-29/hr.

Given that, and that landlords usually require you make 3x the rent in gross pay, how have you all gone about finding a place to live?

I'm a New England native so maybe I have a distorted view of how expensive apartments are, but it's still something I'm curious about.

Anyone have any experience taking a voluntary separation from the FAA and coming back through the reinstatement process? How long did it take? Any lessons learned?

Has anyone had a failure or termination from an IQTR graduate at their facility? How about a certification? Most 8 and 9s are at least 1.5 years to certification if not 2.5

I was told I would receive an email detailing what they needed from me to start my security clearing within a week, then they told me I could expect an email in the near future, now a month on and I still haven’t heard anything. Is this pretty normal?

Just realised I used the wrong their in the title

😮‍💨

I'm currently 19 and finding myself in a weird spot where I don't know what to do with myself, I have very high expectations and a lot of drive but I struggle to find where to put it. Currently I am trying to make a career in real estate work but being a salesman feels awful and the industry is far too sharky for me. I am fortunate to have the ability to go to college without inheriting debt however, I've yet to find a career path that seems worth those funds and time. Long story short, some recommendations from those around me as well as some minimal research on my end has led me to considering ATC as a possibility.

I was hoping to get some thoughts from those that associate with the job on a few things.

Firstly I've noticed that the bar to even touch the position is quite high, my question is if things don't go well is the education and experience applicable elsewhere?

Secondly, what are all of the paths one could take to potentially land the job? It seems like college, military, or you just test and apply.

Lastly, I of course did notice (and was intrigued) by the very fluffy pay but I do realize that must be for a reason. Is it a case of the job demanding a lot out of you, or is it more that obtaining the requirements is difficult so the amount of people the qualify are scarce?

Side note, this is my first time posting on Reddit so my apologies if this hasn't found the right place.

Thank you guys in advance for any thoughts or advice!

I am in the Netherlands in the selection process at LVNL and just did FEAST round 1. I basically feel almost certain that I failed. I know that the test is designed to push you beyond your limits and that some parts are literally impossible to do 100% accurately for any human being, but somehow I did not have enough time for any of the exercises.

On every single time-limited exercise, I fell short a few questions once the time ran out. Even on an exercise where it clearly said in the instructions that you have "more than enough time to answer all of them", I still fell short even though I was really doing my best to be as fast as possible.

On top of those questions that I missed altogether, I also made many mistakes during the chaotic exercises.

I understand that you shouldn't view your score as a comparison to a "perfect score" (since it is designed to be impossible to do perfectly), but rather as a comparison to the other participants or the average. But even that worries me because I was sitting in the back, and I glanced at other people's screens a few times to see how good they were and I saw them nailing it 😂

Praying for good news

I feel like working a job like this takes a very specific type of individual that one does not normally come across in every everyday life.

I am a 27F single in Texas and I have made it to the next step where it’s time for me to schedule a date to go into the testing center and take the assessment. Which isn’t really a flex. I feel like the overwhelming majority of people make it to that step.

I just wonder how am I supposed to know if this is for me? How do I know if I could even do something like this? I watch videos online and even listening to them talk and knowing that every single decision you make affects hundreds of lives, how does one operate in a job like that?

I’m going to go as far as I can in the process and if I somehow make it to training (I would be surprised honestly, I was not great in school), I’m going to give it my all. Maybe I’m built for it. Maybe I’m not. I originally wanted it to be a flight attendant and that’s what I was looking forward to this fall, but I don’t know which job would be better.

How did you get used to the schedules? That is probably the worst of it all, constantly working different shifts. Do you regret going into this field?