Newbie Questions

Ryan89 said:
Should I wory about studying the common NOTAM contractions or is the test more focused on format with the contractions provided? My class doesn't start for a month but th school sent me online PDFs so I can start studying now. Should I focus on weather?
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I'd say read what they sent you, but once you get to class work hard and you will learn it all then. It's tough, but if you are interested and study every night you'll be fine.

Take it easy for now and don't expect to go in knowing anything...that includes whatever you may learn from the study package.
 
Ryan89 said:
Should I wory about studying the common NOTAM contractions or is the test more focused on format with the contractions provided? My class doesn't start for a month but th school sent me online PDFs so I can start studying now. Should I focus on weather?
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NOTAM Contractions are important BUT there's not necessarily a need to study them prior to your class. You'd really want to study NOTAM contractions prior to a pre-employment/pre-interview knowledge test. It's far more important to understand the meaning of a NOTAM, though, than it is to just know what a given contraction is short for.

Same deal with wx. Don't feel the need to overstudy it because you'll get plenty of exposure in class. You definitely want to pay attention, though, because the stuff you learn in Dispatch School is the stuff that you'll be tested on to get jobs at major airlines (and it's likely you'll forget a great deal of classroom fundamentals while you're learning workplace finesse).
 
I am frustrated. The amount of knowledge required is huge! The level of complexity can be very high. The responsibility of the dispatcher is enormous. Yet the pay being described in this forum is very disproportionate to all of the above. What's $13/hr?! Why then not go for ATC school instead and get paid 4 or 5 times more? I love this stuff and I want to learn everything there is to know about it but every time I think of the financial prospect of it I get discouraged.
 
You earn $13 for the opportunity to gain that knowledge. IMO, the knowledge you need can't be learned in books. Regional Airline pilots start at about the same pay rate if not less in some cases. The best jobs are for those with perseverance and a love of the industry.
 
Badis said:
I am frustrated. The amount of knowledge required is huge! The level of complexity can be very high. The responsibility of the dispatcher is enormous. Yet the pay being described in this forum is very disproportionate to all of the above. What's $13/hr?! Why then not go for ATC school instead and get paid 4 or 5 times more? I love this stuff and I want to learn everything there is to know about it but every time I think of the financial prospect of it I get discouraged.
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You think our pay sucks to start? Take a look at what a first year regional pilot makes! And he steps into that job after dropping at least 50 large for all of his training.

ATC is a great job, If you can get it, then survive the long and perilous training program, and not be older then 29, and and and...

When you really think about it, the investment to payoff ratio of a dispatcher is outstanding.
 
5 years 6 months of regional hell to get to a major. The interviews all came rapid fire at about the 4.5 year mark. Life at the major really was worth ever second of pain.

As far as pay goes, it's all relative. regional dispatchers are amongst the highest paid employees in the regional industry. They come nowhere near major pay levels but it's is hardly an unlivable wage.
 
Considering where some of these regionals are, you can carve out a very nice living as a regional dispatcher. You won't get rich, but you'll be well taken care of.
 
Study the regs that deal with fuel requirements and really be able to recite them by heart. Same with the minimum vis and ceiling regs. Learning to recite them word for word will take some effort and will not be a waste of time.
 
Badis said:
OMG! :)
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Well, I'm probably on the high end - I know some people who've gotten on with under a year's experience although that's pretty rare. I would say that most majors like at least 2 years, but the average for a new hire is probably closer to 4-5 years. Everyone's situation is different. Very glad I stuck with it and made it to where I'm at now though.
 
I worked at 2 National Airlines and never at a regional. I was comfortable with were I was at and the quality of life it provided. So I never applied to any majors. When I finally got hired at a major (for other reasons) I was at the 16 year mark as a dispatcher.
 
F9DXER said:
I worked at 2 National Airlines and never at a regional. I was comfortable with were I was at and the quality of life it provided. So I never applied to any majors. When I finally got hired at a major (for other reasons) I was at the 16 year mark as a dispatcher.
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Yes, part of why it took me as long as it did is that I was at a national airline that I quite enjoyed - bought a house and everything - and then they went out of business. So, I went to a regional airline from there, as I needed a job right away, and got hired by a major a few years after that. Life in this industry is rarely dull!
 
I guess it took me about 5 to get to a "major". Keep in mind, I got my license in June of 2001. And we know what happened in September. That put a lot of career paths in hold, not to mention a flurry of national carriers going under.

So, there's a chance that with the current hiring trends that come with a profitable industry, and impending retirement trends (boomers punching out), that getting to a major could take less time.

But, as @manniax said, life in this industry is rarely dull. Another war and oil spike or economic fallout could reverse all the hiring trends and next you know there are furlough letters going out.
 
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