Everyone keeps mentioning Alaska/Guam as like some bad junk place that they offer you because they can't put you in the 2 states you requested...
but just curious, has anyone EVER been not picked for their two places and THEN offered Guam or Alaska?
lol. Just seems like the FAA does it on a regular basis the way everyone talks about it.
Wow i'm like a celebrity, this is nice. . .
I was the one "NOT picked for their two places" and was offered AK instead. The *one* other guy picked for guam declined his offer. I, on the other hand, have accepted the offer to this point, hoping to change locations from within on advice from current controllers including one in AK.
So far, 2 months of calls and emails to OKC have gotten me nowhere. None of the friendly HR ladies wants to lift a finger to help. They all plead ignorance. The
designated HR person who is specifically "assigned" to answer my questions, and makes $50K a year to answer them, does not respond to any of my calls or emails. PM me if you want me to name names.
By the way, Alaska isn't a "junk place" that no one wants to go to, it's
amazingly beautiful... however, it's just very very expensive to live there, and even more expensive to move there. As a poor married guy, just the logistics of moving there are daunting, and the cost will be a bare MINIMUM of $6,000 and up... and oh-by-the-way not a penny is reimbursed by the FAA.
I've been in contact with a veteran controller at ZAN, here is a quote from one of his emails:
"Most of our trainees are from AK and they are still struggling to survive. It is very expensive to live here. $1,000 a month gets you a total crap hole in the bad part of town. Food is double the price for most items. "
And now you know!