Having a Dispatcher License & MBA

Rory

Rory

Well-Known Member
Hey Guys,

A little off topic for a bit...

So today I was listening to a fellow aviator friend of mine who was discussing how hard it is to get promoted into management positions in aviation.He has a dispatcher certificate along with a MBA and is working for a global airline as manager of flight ops. As such, he was stating that having a higher level degree can equally get you where you need to especially if you want a change and become a flight dispatcher supervisor or something alongside management.

Do you think that having a MBA along with a dispatcher certificate is beneficial for advancement into management positions in aviation/dispatcher? Or does aviation emphasize mostly experience for career advancement?

Love to hear some feedback, as I was little shock on a few things he stated today.
 
Management positions at airlines are extremely political. I suppose having a graduate level degree doesnt hurt but in no way does it guarantee anything at an airline.

Typically, an airline in dispatch is run with a manager of SOC, manager of dispatch and possibly an assistant manager. Operationally, you have shift/duty managers and supervisors. These positions get filled by a wide range of people. Operational experience is normally valued over degrees. I dont know of any manager or supervisor that didnt have at least some experience dispatching. In general flight operations, you need experience either in dispatch, pilot side or maintenance to get in management positions at an airline.

I would be very careful about being open about wanting to be in airline management. Not only might interviewers see you as a threat to their own ambitions but your dispatch co-workers know the type of people that come in and want to be managers and these guys arent normally well liked.

If you want to get into management in dispatch, you need to get into equipment coordinating/routing. Very few people go from dispatch straight into management though it does happen. Typically, people go from dispatcher to equipment router/coordinator and then to management positions. When you get into equipment coordinating, you become part of the politics of running the airline.


Most managers are hired internally. Those hired externally almost always have prior experience in that type of position at another airline. Having advanced degrees will not allow you to get hired off the street into dispatch management.
 
Wait !.....You have an MBA and can't figure out if that will work to your advantage????

Ladies and Gentleman....an excellent example of how our educational system is failing our students and our country !

And we wonder HOW and WHY management got to be so stupid ?????
 
I have been wondering the same thing recently. If having a Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate would be preferred by an employer over multiple years of dispatching experience. But I also believe it is all about who you know
 
TrotFox ADX said:
I have been wondering the same thing recently. If having a Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate would be preferred by an employer over multiple years of dispatching experience. But I also believe it is all about who you know
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I don't know a single dispatcher that has gotten hired at a major soley because of his education background. Having an aviation degree from a place like ERAU can help a lot but even those people often need either internal work experience or external dispatch experience to get hired by a major in dispatch. I dont know anyone hired by a major because he had an MBA or masters.

I do know dispatchers that have felt their education and non aviation work experience has hurt them with the major airlines.

Dispatching is not rocket science. The job has its challenges but you can train most people to do the job.

Regional airlines dont care about degrees at all. When they hire, they simply want a pulse and a heartbeat.

It is extremely rare these days for anyone to get hired at the majors in dispatch without some kind of airline or dispatch experience. Even minorities and women need at the bare minimum a token amount of experience in airline or dispatch work to get hired.
 
Anonymous......Tell me, do you lecture the people you work with in this manner ?

It won't make you popular.

Dispatching is not rocket science. The job has its challenges but you can train most people to do the job. I find this quote particularly noxious. So will the rest of the community of hard working Dispatchers. Try not to denigrate our livelihood.

Regional airlines dont care about degrees at all. When they hire, they simply want a pulse and a heartbeat. Just a pulse eh? Such a low opinion you have of so many of your colleagues.
 
@Anonymous
AnonymousDxer said:
Management positions at airlines are extremely political. I suppose having a graduate level degree doesnt hurt but in no way does it guarantee anything at an airline.

Typically, an airline in dispatch is run with a manager of SOC, manager of dispatch and possibly an assistant manager. Operationally, you have shift/duty managers and supervisors. These positions get filled by a wide range of people. Operational experience is normally valued over degrees. I dont know of any manager or supervisor that didnt have at least some experience dispatching. In general flight operations, you need experience either in dispatch, pilot side or maintenance to get in management positions at an airline.

I would be very careful about being open about wanting to be in airline management. Not only might interviewers see you as a threat to their own ambitions but your dispatch co-workers know the type of people that come in and want to be managers and these guys arent normally well liked.

If you want to get into management in dispatch, you need to get into equipment coordinating/routing. Very few people go from dispatch straight into management though it does happen. Typically, people go from dispatcher to equipment router/coordinator and then to management positions. When you get into equipment coordinating, you become part of the politics of running the airline.


Most managers are hired internally. Those hired externally almost always have prior experience in that type of position at another airline. Having advanced degrees will not allow you to get hired off the street into dispatch management.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with you. It was just alarming that he was emphasizing getting a MBA can help . I know from just personal experience it's about working hard, making connections and being determined to get where u want to in aviation.
 
No I have
LTDXER said:
Wait !.....You have an MBA and can't figure out if that will work to your advantage????

Ladies and Gentleman....an excellent example of how our educational system is failing our students and our country !

And we wonder HOW and WHY management got to be so stupid ?????
Click to expand...
No I do not have a MBA. I have two bachelors . My friend who has a dispatcher license n a MBA was recommending me to do the same. Stated I could get into dispatch management faster if that was the route Iwanted to take .I disagree with him but wanted to get feedback n clarify for those in the field for a while .
 
Dispatching isnt that hard. If dispatching was something extremely challenging, dispatchers wouldnt be making 30K per year to start at a regional. Its a job that takes 4 weeks of schooling, requires no degrees, and then 2 months of training at an airline to do. It is a simple reality that our job is threatened by technology that could easily do a large number of our functions if the airlines could ever be relieved of the requirement to have dispatchers.

Dont believe me? Every major airline supported the FAA relaxing rules to outsource dispatching. If they could, they would have computers doing most of what we do.

Regionals get very desperate for workers. Anyone who has ever worked at a regional knows that it isnt very difficult to hired by a regional. You have very good people hired at a regional and they typically leave either to a major or find a well paying job outside of the airlines fairly quickly. When a regional gets desperate they will literally hire just about anyone that applies and sign off just about any dispatcher they can hand hold through a comp check.
 
If you have two degrees, that demonstrates that you are an educated man. I am puzzled why an educated man such as yourself seems not to understand the value of that education. Really, you should know that the only person who can answer the questions you are posting...is you.
 
AnonymousDxer said:
Dispatching isnt that hard. If dispatching was something extremely challenging, dispatchers wouldnt be making 30K per year to start at a regional. Its a job that takes 4 weeks of schooling, requires no degrees, and then 2 months of training at an airline to do. It is a simple reality that our job is threatened by technology that could easily do a large number of our functions if the airlines could ever be relieved of the requirement to have dispatchers.

Dont believe me? Every major airline supported the FAA relaxing rules to outsource dispatching. If they could, they would have computers doing most of what we do.

Regionals get very desperate for workers. Anyone who has ever worked at a regional knows that it isnt very difficult to hired by a regional. You have very good people hired at a regional and they typically leave either to a major or find a well paying job outside of the airlines fairly quickly. When a regional gets desperate they will literally hire just about anyone that applies and sign off just about any dispatcher they can hand hold through a comp check.
Click to expand...


What is your job title ? Because you write very much like Management trying to convince a Dispatch group that they make too much money.
 
Yes that
LTDXER said:
If you have two degrees, that demonstrates that you are an educated man. I am puzzled why an educated man such as yourself seems not to understand the value of that education. Really, you should know that the only person who can answer the questions you are posting...i

Yes that I am aware of. As stated in previous posts I wanted to get the feedback on those in the field. Regardless of my opinion it's always good to get DIFFERENT feedback/opinions. Never hurts
Click to expand...
 
There are no waiting lists and entry requirements to get a dispatch license. Very few people fail dispatch school and very few dont manage to get signed off at any airline. Everything that we have to know on the job is either written down in some manual or learned through tribal knowledge. Almost every test you take at an airline is open book. Almost every function we perform can be accomplished by computers.

Try getting into medical school without literally being perfect. Dont make this job into being something it isnt. Ive known people that have been signed off and dispatched at regionals that dont know how to read a TAF or METAR. How can anyone possibly say this job is hard if people like that can not only get by but also get promoted and teach new dispatchers?

Do you think Microsoft would ever hire a programmer that didnt know the basics of programming? Only at the regional airlines can a dispatcher get promoted to training positions that doesnt even know the basic regulations of when an alternate is required.

LTDXER is probably one of those dispatchers that thinks he works for NASA and wonders why majors wont hire him despite his terrible attitude toward life and dispatching.
 
AnonymousDxer said:
There are no waiting lists and entry requirements to get a dispatch license. Very few people fail dispatch school and very few dont manage to get signed off at any airline. Everything that we have to know on the job is either written down in some manual or learned through tribal knowledge. Almost every test you take at an airline is open book. Almost every function we perform can be accomplished by computers.

Try getting into medical school without literally being perfect. Dont make this job into being something it isnt. Ive known people that have been signed off and dispatched at regionals that dont know how to read a TAF or METAR. How can anyone possibly say this job is hard if people like that can not only get by but also get promoted and teach new dispatchers?

Do you think Microsoft would ever hire a programmer that didnt know the basics of programming? Only at the regional airlines can a dispatcher get promoted to training positions that doesnt even know the basic regulations of when an alternate is required.

LTDXER is probably one of those dispatchers that thinks he works for NASA and wonders why majors wont hire him despite his terrible attitude toward life and dispatching.
Click to expand...


I have a terrible attitude???? You better be able to back that up with facts chum !!!

YOU ARE MANAGEMENT !!!!!
 
To all Forum Members.......AnonymousDXer REFUSES to disclose his job title !!!!!

Yet he continues to maintain that job is no big deal !!!

Why does he do this? Well, he is a Manager and he wants us to knuckle under and work for very, very little......Because if he can accomplish this, he gets a great big bonus !!!

This guy is NOT a working Dispatcher.....just follow the words that he writes.
 
A dispatch certificate can really pay off if hired by a major. Very low cost and very little time required to get the ticket. Especially compared to college and grad school. There are dispatchers at delta, ups, swa etc making well into 6 figures. I know people with mba's outside of the airlines happy making $80-$100k. I think a degree and masters degree is not required to be a good dispatcher, but may be nice to have should you find yourself furloughed and looking for a job in a different industry.
 
This looks pretty interesting if my company had tuition reimbursement. Stanford would would look great on a resume, and be a definite topic of conversation at a job interview.

The Stanford - IATA Aviation Management Certification Program combines the curriculum from the award-winning Stanford Advanced Project Management certificate program with that of IATA's Training and Development Institute, the leading provider of global aviation education solutions. Only $5400.00. Much less expensive and only takes a year.

http://scpd.stanford.edu/public/cat...eProfile.do?method=load&certificateId=9139514
 
Hey LTDXR, Do you work at Southwest like someone claimed? What is your title? You're not in management, right?
Please disclose your job title(I read that somewhere:"). Those of us that dont' know are curious. It will help put all the pieces together.

And Aeroscout, Very nice post! Link didn't work but I figured it out cause I went to Berkeley. Go Bears!
 
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