Like Queeno or not he's usually right. Doesn't mean his opinion always is
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If your waiting to get hired or sitting with your TOL, you just won't get it until your done with OKC and at your facility for awhile. You'll understand where Queeno and Bip are coming from then. OKC is all sorts of stupid... everything boiling down to one day, where someone bad can get lucky and someone good can have a bad day. They were supposed to be changing that earlier this year to a graded over time system.. but the FAA does nothing on time so I doubt that's happening yet. For whatever reason the standards at OKC are MUCH lower today, than back in the 70's and 80's. Any veteran FPL will attest to that. Somewhere around 1/2 used to pass, because they didn't want to waste time on trainees who "might" make it. One of the younger supervisors at the center even said "OKC was such a joke when I was there."
Everyone who hasn't been there yet or who has failed a PV needs to stop taking the "OKC is a joke" thing to heart. We just mean the screening process compared to what it used to be. Myself and many others got through on the new system, who knows what we would have done on the old system... I consider myself lucky to have landed this job at the time I did. I'm truly sorry to anyone who has failed their PV, it must be a miserable feeling, and it was tough to see classmates fail.
We have people washing out before even getting a single D side, probably should not have gotten through OKC, ya think?
As for the CTI, VRA, OTS battle. VRA's are the only ones with actual experience... but trainers seem to agree they are the toughest to train because of their attitudes and the need to "untrain them." I've seen some real dumbasses get through who are CTI's.. and some very smart OTS flying through training. An area in my center has had 7 deals in the past year, 3 or 4 of those are from the same VRA... it really does not matter which way you get in. What matters is how smart you are.
Not that the AT-SAT is the best tool, but I'm taking the OTS with a 97 over the CTI with an 82
EVERY TIME. Let's face it... the OTS is 99/100 times a smarter person with a better chance to succeed than the CTI student. The CTI student only gets hired because the FAA is bound to hire a certain amount of CTI's from their total hirings.
Good luck to anyone who is in OKC or waiting to go. It is a wonderful opportunity. But please... quit working your panties in a bunch because people actually doing/have done the job say things. Because if you make it to your facility... your going to be surrounded by people like that.