Career Change Advice

R

RampItUp

Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting on this forum and I would appreciate some advice.

I currently work in shipping and desire a career change to aviation. I enjoyed working as a ramper for a regional some years ago but needed to change jobs to pay the bills. I am considering earning my dispatch license in early 2022 and applying to work at a regional with the hopes of someday working for a mainline carrier.

It's pretty clear what qualities one has to have in order to be a good dispatcher: quick thinking, ability to work under pressure, good communication skills etc. However, are there any signs that someone is NOT cut out to be a dispatcher? When people end up quitting, why? How often do people enter this line of work and realize it's just not the right fit for them? Are some people just--you know--not smart enough?

I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can take steps to change my career. I just want to hear the educated opinions of people in the industry.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd say the main reason most people quit the regionals is for pay reasons. Regional dispatch seems to pay $13-16/hour, and it can be tough to make that work, especially if you have a family. Other options you can look at is to see if you can get into crew scheduling at a mainline carrier right away and move into dispatch as an internal candidate. Pay isn't too bad, benefits are a lot better than what you find at a regional.

I wouldn't be too worried about "not being smart enough." If you have a good head, you'll do fine. Dispatch school can be like getting fed by a fire hose. It's a lot of information in a short amount of time. Don't let that discourage you. You're there to build a base knowledge. Specifics will be trained when you get hired on as a dispatcher.

To get an idea of dispatch knowledge, reviewing the Practical Test Standards for dispatchers might be a good overview. https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/test_standards/media/faa-s-8081-10d_change1.pdf
 
Bobber said:
I highly agree. Once restrictions to visitors have been lifted. Dam covid
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That is true, probably couldn’t visit a SOCC.

Dispatching at a regional airline in my opinion is like juggling. You got to prioritize what’s important and what’s not. If your behind on flight plans , tell ur supervisor to get some releases to relieve your board. Dispatcher can be stressful at times.

ive seen people in the line that are book-smart, but still struggle and can’t prioritize the problems in the dispatch line.

ive seen people quit every few months in the regionals. People move to another state away from family, mix it up with people struggling to keep up with release due to holding patterns, reroutes, pop up thunderstorms,MELs then they get overwhelmed and quit.

i feel like passing dispatch course is one thing, but actually dispatching signed off by yourself is another thing (once you work for an airline for about 1 year you will feel really comfortable)

lol it would be nice to shadow a dispatcher
 
Integrity and courage are essential. As a Dispatcher there will be times when you will be pressured to make a decision that goes against your judgment. That pressure will come from the supervisor, the maintenance team, customer service, and sometimes even the flight crew. Do you have the courage and integrity to say No when everyone else is saying Yes?
 
One thing that I have seen that causes people to fail is they can't remember what they read 5 minutes ago.

A couple of examples:

Trainee reads the forecast for XXX. Forecast is CAVOK for the whole day. 2 flights later, student goes back and reads said weather again.
This happens with both experienced and brand new dispatchers. I'm more accepting of it from a brand new dispatcher.

Notam closes airspace 2 hours after flight is planned to go through it. Student read the notam and talked about it, releases flight, and starts working on next release.
Halfway through that one, company delays previous flight by 2.5 hours. The delay doesn't cause any concern. I let the student finish the release they were working on.

Then I ask the student if everything is ok with all that has been done, not just on the last release but on everything that he/she has done today up to this point. Student still didn't realize that that delay caused an issue
 
LastMinuteAirline said:
The main thing I have seen people quit over is the pace. Everybody says their job is "fast paced". But, dispatch really is fast paced. You have to multi task, make decisions, and sift through loads of information. And you need to do all that quickly and accurately.
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“quickly and accurately” (your answer is on point lol)
 
This is a job that requires dealing with high levels of stress, multi-tasking, working waaaay too early in the morning, and working weekends/holidays. All for the same pay as someone at the cash register at Target. People quit for many reasons. A lot of the time I think people don't really know what they are getting themselves into before getting hired.

As far as are people being just not smart enough? From the first day at dispatch school it takes a lot of dedication to get to the majors. For those starting fresh in the aviation world it's routine to go to class 8am-5pm then study for several hours before bed and then all weekend for 5-6 weeks. A person's knowledge base and background can defiantly help make things a bit easier but like Salkadi said its like getting fed from a fire hose. Some think they can just show up to class and get the certification and sit back at the regionals two years and get to the majors. Those folks won't make it. You have to really want it, put in 110%, and learn something new every day for the rest of career.

Even though there are days I want to pull my hair out, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. It may not be for everyone but for for many of us this is the best job in the world.
 
fsxflyhigh said:
Even though there are days I want to pull my hair out, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. It may not be for everyone but for for many of us this is the best job in the world.
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I agree, I can't think of a job that would be a better fit for my interests and personality. That being said, I almost left the industry at one point. It took me a long time to make it to a major - I'd had to return to the regional sector because the startup airline I was at ended up going out of business (partially because of 9/11.) I actually went through the whole process to get hired for a law enforcement position, but ultimately ended up deciding not to leave the airline industry. A couple months later, I got interviewed and hired by a major. Very glad now that I held out.
 
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fsxflyhigh said:
Even though there are days I want to pull my hair out, I couldn't see myself doing anything else. It may not be for everyone but for for many of us this is the best job in the world.
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Love my job, even when I walk in the door to a • show before the sun comes up on a Sunday morning.
 
As so many others have mentioned, it would be great to visit an OCC (even on a "slow" day) just to see what it's like.
 
I would say to make sure you are OK with all the stuff around it also. Working a shift that starts at 3am, working one that ends at 11 pm, working every weekend because you won't ever be senior enough at a regional, being on a relief shift where you are constantly changing start times. And even from a broader standpoint, do you want to live in the cities where the job is at. If one of the big 4 is your goal are or OK with Dallas, Chicago, or Atlanta. The dispatching is the easy part, making life work around it is the hard part.
 
Is anybody allowing tours right now? We are still closed to visitors due to COVID, so I'm curious if that is a viable option for OP at the moment.
 
flynryan692 said:
Is anybody allowing tours right now? We are still closed to visitors due to COVID, so I'm curious if that is a viable option for OP at the moment.
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I know we aren’t. We actually just reinstated some Covid restrictions in the SOC again


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If you’re ok with the following, I think you would do fine;

-Ok moving for a job
-Ok with $14-$18/hr when you first get your license - usually folks with a passion for aviation have a higher threshold to accept this because they enjoy the work and have an eventual strategy to move to larger carrier with higher pay down the road.
-Multi-Tasking - probably what causes many to give up. You must understand there are many facets to being an aircraft dispatcher, but at the end of the day, you job is to solve problems and come up with solutions (how to make the most effective flight plan (w&b, best route based on weather, tanker fuel, etc). Some folks really struggle here. Some people flourish in this environment when others see stress.
-Schedule - you’ll likely be bidding a schedule based on seniority. Be ok knowing your schedule may change either every 3, 6 or 12 months.

This isn’t an exhaustive list but some stuff that came to the top of my mind. I’ve been in the industry for 20+ years.
 
I hope it's ok if I interject. I'm a certified dispatcher but I work as a pilot. (Never worked at the dispatch desk)

As a flight crew, I want a dispatcher that is passionate about aviation, that learns everything about that airplane and it's capabilities - and even enjoys learning about other types. That passion translates into performance at work. When the computer spits out a flight plan, do you just accept it? Or do you look at it, even for just a minute, and ask yourself if you would be comfortable putting your family on that airplane?

(Don't file us through lines of storms, or at max altitude through an area of turbulence. Don't load a bunch of tanker fuel if we are going to be operating to a short, wet, runway. Don't be chintzy on fuel when there's only one runway at the destination. Stuff happens)

People who have a passion for all things aviation make great dispatchers. :)

Good luck!


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