Why ATC?

boondr

Penalty Vectorer
Just curious as to why/how everyone chose ATC as a career path. I'll start with my story.

When I decided college wasn't for me I went to see the Marine recruiter and told him I wanted to be a sniper. He looked at my ASVAB score, which was fairly high (99QT/136GT), and told me as a former sniper he didn't recommend I do that because I was qualified for any MOS. He said I should pick a job that will give me something to do after I get out. (Not much calling for One Shot, One Kill outside of a Swat team). So I looked at the list and saw ATC which intrigued me as my dad was a pilot when I was a kid and I always loved aviation.

So that is what I picked. Fast forward five years, I got out of the Corps the FAA was in a hiring freeze, so I went to go do something else I loved which was building houses. When the FAA started hiring again I was well established and compensated doing something I really enjoyed so I stuck to it. Well as everyone is aware the market for new homes has dropped to record lows so even though I lasted through the first few series of layoffs, I eventually ended up without a job. So here we are after almost a year of fill the gap jobs, 2 weeks away from headed to OKC to start a career doing something else I love. Not a bad fall-back option IMO.

So what's your story?
 
Last night Darth Vador came to me and said that if I didn't choose ATC as a profession, he'd melt my brain.
 
ive always had an interest in aviation. i cant work on things (nor would i want to make my living working on airplanes), and i dont want to fly for a living.
glad to hear things worked out for you. and it looks like they inadvertently worked out for you because military guys get that 20k bonus...
 
ive always had an interest in aviation. i cant work on things (nor would i want to make my living working on airplanes), and i dont want to fly for a living.
glad to hear things worked out for you. and it looks like they inadvertently worked out for you because military guys get that 20k bonus...

Trust me we earned it.
 
ive always had an interest in aviation. i cant work on things (nor would i want to make my living working on airplanes), and i dont want to fly for a living.
glad to hear things worked out for you. and it looks like they inadvertently worked out for you because military guys get that 20k bonus...

Actually if hes been working odd jobs for the last year theres a good chance he WON'T qualify for the bonus. You have to have 52 consecutive weeks (here's where a lot of people get hosed) of atc in the last two years. Experience only helps if you're currently controlling and shift to the FAA:(

My quick story, I failed out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a music major (something about not going to class affects your grade???). Dad was (still is) a controller and convinced me to join the AF. He said by the time my enlistment was up the FAA would be hiring like crazy. I thought the job was really boring but it was a way out of California. I had some good times in the AF but my overall love for the job has kept me doing it in the FAA.


HD
 
Actually if hes been working odd jobs for the last year theres a good chance he WON'T qualify for the bonus. You have to have 52 consecutive weeks (here's where a lot of people get hosed) of atc in the last two years. Experience only helps if you're currently controlling and shift to the FAA:(

My quick story, I failed out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a music major (something about not going to class affects your grade???). Dad was (still is) a controller and convinced me to join the AF. He said by the time my enlistment was up the FAA would be hiring like crazy. I thought the job was really boring but it was a way out of California. I had some good times in the AF but my overall love for the job has kept me doing it in the FAA.


HD

Didn't think about that.
 
After I defeated the Covenant there wasn't much of a calling for a cybernetically enhanced superhero any more. I bounced around from job to job until I saw the PUBNATS listed. As they say, the rest is history.
 
After I defeated the Covenant there wasn't much of a calling for a cybernetically enhanced superhero any more. I bounced around from job to job until I saw the PUBNATS listed. As they say, the rest is history.


You here all week?
 
Hmmm...went to college, got a receipt after 4 years that that says I know how to work in Communications and Marketing. Ended up doing Marketing for 3 years and saw on MSN one day that the median pay is $106,000. So I applied not knowing whether I was really going to follow through...and here I am! :panic:
 
Actually if hes been working odd jobs for the last year theres a good chance he WON'T qualify for the bonus. You have to have 52 consecutive weeks (here's where a lot of people get hosed) of atc in the last two years. Experience only helps if you're currently controlling and shift to the FAA:(

My quick story, I failed out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as a music major (something about not going to class affects your grade???). Dad was (still is) a controller and convinced me to join the AF. He said by the time my enlistment was up the FAA would be hiring like crazy. I thought the job was really boring but it was a way out of California. I had some good times in the AF but my overall love for the job has kept me doing it in the FAA.


HD

Good call no bonus for me. Didn't hear about that deal until after I had applied anyways so when I did hear I looked into it and realized i didn't qualify. Anyways, I am not doing it for the money, although it is a factor.
 
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