Starting a New Chapter......

e30guy

e30guy

Well-Known Member
Hello to everyone. There is a lot of great information here and I have been learning quite a bit. I am looking to get my Dispatch License here in the next few months and make a career change and have a few questions.

First of all here is a little bit of background on me. I am a life long aviation lover and have worked for an FBO on the ramp and spent 10 years working for a major in ground ops. I had to leave the major due to family reasons and i can honestly say I miss it every day. I am currently a dispatcher for a fuel company serving the oil field. Unfortunately I will be out of a job at the end of May due to downsizing.

I have been looking at schools to earn my license, but the Dallas area will work the best for me. I have a friend I can stay with so I wont have to pay for hotels, so that is a major plus. I have been looking at IFOD but I also see that ATP has a dispatch school there. I have not been able to find much info on the ATP school so I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on these schools.

I am already starting to study for the written and am very excited and nervous at the same time.

Thanks for any advice you may have.
 
Generally, I have heard (not from the dispatch side, but from the pilot side) to stay far away from ATP. But I couldn't tell you anything about either school...though I've heard IFOD is one of the better ones out there. Hope more can chime in and answer your question!
 
I researched both and I went with IFOD. I just felt it was better for me. Best decision I ever made. The instructors are great! If you have any questions send me a pm.
 
I went to IFOD in 2012 and attended the 5 week course. I had some atc background so I was familiar with some of the material, but the instructor was very thorough in teaching and making sure each and every person understood the material and would help after hours if necessary. We had a pretty big class (around 20+ I believe), so there were times we would get stuck on a topic for much longer than the instructor wanted to due to the diverse background within our group. The background of individuals varied from zero aviation experience to 20-30+ year pilots who lost their medical, a few folks from Nigeria and Bahrain as well. Mark Halvoorsen(sp?) was our instructor and I felt he did an excellent job at teaching the material. That guy loves the damn blue weather (or weadder if anyone knows him hah) book! Overall I felt it was a good program to get your dispatch from to kick start your career with a airline of some sort. I took a job with ARINC Direct right after getting my dispatch and recently got back in to atc so I can't comment on how prepared I would have been going to a regional to actually dispatch, but that will most likely come down to the person and how well you know the material. Maybe someone who has been there more recently can shed some light on the program, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer the best I can.
 
Sheffield/Jeppeson/IFOD/Flightsafety are the top 4, I always hear, then any major college/university that offers a dispatcher license. There aren't many out there. If that helps


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I will agree with that Sheffield/Jeppeson and IFOD are considered the best ones out there. I can't say anything good or bad about Flight Safety.
That doesn't mean that a no name outfit is worse. Just like going to a flight school versus taking lessons from a mom/pop FBO. The objective is to learn/understand the basics and get your license in a reasonable amount of time.

I have never had or seen a debate while working in this field that the school I attended is better than yours. I hope I never will.

Find the option that fits your needs. Money should not be the only determining factor.

Best of Luck
 
Welcome! You're getting into the profession at a great time, there is lots of hiring and the airlines are (currently) flush with cash. My advice is to enjoy the heck out of your course. There are few times in life where we get to stop everything and completely focus on something we love to think about. Good Luck.
 
IFOD is a good school and I was happy with the results and knowledge. They had a good mix of people going through - some current airline employees looking to make the jump to dispatch, others were instrument or commercial pilots looking to dispatch, and a few were from international carriers. Although not the case for my class, their proximity to American and Southwest might allow you to visit each airline's operations center to meet some dispatchers.
 
Thank you all for the feedback. I was leaning toward IFOD anyway but I wanted to hear from others that have been there. I plan on taking the 5 week program starting in July.
 
e30guy said:
Hello to everyone. There is a lot of great information here and I have been learning quite a bit. I am looking to get my Dispatch License here in the next few months and make a career change and have a few questions.

First of all here is a little bit of background on me. I am a life long aviation lover and have worked for an FBO on the ramp and spent 10 years working for a major in ground ops. I had to leave the major due to family reasons and i can honestly say I miss it every day. I am currently a dispatcher for a fuel company serving the oil field. Unfortunately I will be out of a job at the end of May due to downsizing.

I have been looking at schools to earn my license, but the Dallas area will work the best for me. I have a friend I can stay with so I wont have to pay for hotels, so that is a major plus. I have been looking at IFOD but I also see that ATP has a dispatch school there. I have not been able to find much info on the ATP school so I was wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on these schools.

I am already starting to study for the written and am very excited and nervous at the same time.

Thanks for any advice you may have.
Click to expand...


> Former ramper of 5 years myself, and loved every minute of it. Well, you know. "Loved." Honestly I still look back with rose-colored goggles but I wonder if I can sneak in some part-time with "The Deeg" at some station just to remind myself of the outdoors.

> Starting to study for the written
Click to expand...

Good. And when you think you're done studying, just take a breather and relax for a little bit. Go over what you've already learned, to make sure you have it. Then, study some more. I went to Sheffield, but I spent (way too much?) time studying up for the ADX before even arriving. I believe most of these programs do their best to get the ADX out of the way as soon as possible, but I can't speak for other programs.

Welcome to the fray - this place is incredibly helpful if you let it. And, before you ask, it doesn't take long to get picked up. I think I'm the latest one to the party at 13 months from getting my license to getting in at a 121 shop -- but I was loving the summer weather in New England. ;)
 
I was in a similar situation as you and had family that I could stay with in Dallas. That was one of the main reasons I chose IFOD. I came from a completely different professional background and had no aviation experience. The class was difficult but nothing that you can not handle as long as you study. My class had over 20 students with at least half domestic and the rest from across the world. We had a main instructor as well as the owner Cash helping out daily. I would recommend IFOD if you are going to be in the Dallas area.
 
IFOD all the way, I was the first to go and then recommended another 5 people there. I'm Western Michigan University alumni and I would say the quality of instruction was equal at IFOD to WMU. They will literally bend over backwards to get you through if you're willing to put in the work.
 
Mainline_or_bust said:
IFOD all the way, I was the first to go and then recommended another 5 people there. I'm Western Michigan University alumni and I would say the quality of instruction was equal at IFOD to WMU. They will literally bend over backwards to get you through if you're willing to put in the work.
Click to expand...
I've been studying for the last three months. This adx seems tough though
 
I think this still holds true but if the answer is a numerical value, 99% of the time it is the middle value of the 3 answers. Doesn't matter if the correct answer is A, B or C, choose the middle value.
 
F9DXER said:
I think this still holds true but if the answer is a numerical value, 99% of the time it is the middle value of the 3 answers. Doesn't matter if the correct answer is A, B or C, choose the middle value.
Click to expand...
ok but i dont want to be that guy, I want to know how to do these calculations. The cg problems are super frustrating.
 
R2D said:
Memorize all the answers.

I was 'that guy' and I turned out okay.
Click to expand...


This.

You have one mission when it comes to the written: Pass the written. Forget trying to actually learn the material, just memorize the answers. It sounds daunting but it is much easier then it sounds as you will effectively be doing "word association". The questions in the study guide are word for word the questions on the exam. You will actually LEARN the material during the course, so just concentrate on getting through the written.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top