Considering a Career as a Flight Dispatcher - Seeking Guidance and Advice!

[Bananananny]

Hey, fellow aviation enthusiasts!

I've always had a deep passion for aviation and I'm seriously considering a career as a flight dispatcher. I feel like it could be an excellent fit for me, but I'd love to hear from those with experience in the field.

I'm currently located in the greater New Jersey/New York area, so I'm wondering if anyone could provide insight into the opportunities and options available in this region. Specifically, I'm interested in:

1. Flight Dispatcher Schools: Are there any reputable flight dispatcher schools in the NJ/NY area or nearby regions? Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.
2. Regional Airlines: What are the regional airlines in the area that are known for hiring flight dispatchers? Any insights into what it's like to work for these airlines would be awesome.
3. Training in Atlanta: I also have the option to take classes in Atlanta. If anyone has information on flight dispatcher training programs or opportunities in Atlanta, please share your knowledge.
4. Day-to-Day Expectations: What can I expect in terms of day-to-day responsibilities as a flight dispatcher? Any insights into the job's challenges and rewards would be fantastic.

I'm eager to embark on this aviation career path, so any advice, stories, or recommendations would be immensely valuable. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[DaWolf85]

Flight Dispatcher Schools: Are there any reputable flight dispatcher schools in the NJ/NY area or nearby regions? Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

No. The vast majority (95+%) of dispatchers go to Sheffield (Fort Lauderdale, FL), IFOD (Dallas, TX), ADTC (Dallas, TX), Jeppesen (Denver, CO), or Aircraft Dispatch Academy (St. George, Utah). The rest mostly go to community colleges or aviation colleges that also have dispatch as a minor or additional course that can be taken.

Regional Airlines: What are the regional airlines in the area that are known for hiring flight dispatchers? Any insights into what it's like to work for these airlines would be awesome.

There are no significant regional airlines in the Northeast. The closest realistic regional is probably Piedmont in Salisbury, MD. Check out the dispatcher pay spreadsheet for locations and pay.

Training in Atlanta: I also have the option to take classes in Atlanta. If anyone has information on flight dispatcher training programs or opportunities in Atlanta, please share your knowledge.

Delta is in Atlanta, but unless you are an internal (which they do love hiring), you are almost certainly not getting hired there straight out of school. To my knowledge, there's not much else in Atlanta for dispatch.

Day-to-Day Expectations: What can I expect in terms of day-to-day responsibilities as a flight dispatcher? Any insights into the job's challenges and rewards would be fantastic.

Legally, you are 50% responsible (along with the captain) for preflight planning, delay, and dispatch release of a flight; and 100% responsible for monitoring the progress of the flight, issuing necessary information for the safety of the flight, and canceling or redispatching the flight.

In practice, you will be planning the flights with occasional input (some would say whining) from the captain, and you will be following the flights in progress and making sure they have information about weather, airport status, airborne holding, etc. You will also help with diversions. Largely the job centers around fuel and weather, i.e. what you have the fuel to do with the flight, and what the weather dictates that they need to do. You may have additional responsibilities depending on how your particular airline handles things, especially if you're handling long-haul or charter flights.

 

[Dogmomma3]

List of FAA Part 65 schools

Adobe Acrobat

acrobat.adobe.com

 

[AF10James]

Jetblue is based out of NYC in Queens. But you'd have to be willing to get your schooling and some experience at regional elsewhere first. Spend a year or two getting some 121 experience then you could maybe end up back in your home area at Jetblue.

 

[Bananananny]

Yea, I've been trying really hard to get 121 experience but its been proving to be very difficult. I was in contention for a few jobs and couldn't secure much.

It seems, based on my research and what I've learned from this site, I'd go to school, work hard to get this cert and license, interview with regionals, ideally get hired, work for a year, then have the "maybe" to move around to majors or larger networks. Does this seem relatively correct?

I also take it moving is likely in the picture if I want to work at any of these regionals.

 

[TRIGGERED]

Yea, I've been trying really hard to get 121 experience but its been proving to be very difficult. I was in contention for a few jobs and couldn't secure much.

It seems, based on my research and what I've learned from this site, I'd go to school, work hard to get this cert and license, interview with regionals, ideally get hired, work for a year, then have the "maybe" to move around to majors or larger networks. Does this seem relatively correct?

I also take it moving is likely in the picture if I want to work at any of these regionals.

You always have to option of commuting to work, might not be possible worth regional play but very possible at a major. So say you got on with American or something you just find a room to rent in DFW for cheap and fly in for the week to work and fly back on your off days. Not the most ideal but a lot of people I know are happy to do it so they have choice in where they live.

 

[gopherdx]

There is a good school out on Long Island that some our recent hires went to and a bunch of people in the SOC are either going to now or recently finished. But if you’re in NJ like I am, that schlep would get pretty old pretty fast. Academy of Aviation in Woodside is another good option that is probably closer to you. It’s run by a guy named Jim and several instructors. I’d say 75% of our dispatchers got their licenses there. Heard very good things.

JetBlue has always been a predominantly internal hirer but that changed recently with the post-covid hiring frenzy where we hired a ton of external dispatchers. Whether that continues is unknown to me.

Another option is to get on with Jetblue anywhere within the SOC. They’re always hiring crew schedulers, load planners, etc.

Hope this helped. And good luck!

 

[Bananananny]

JetBlue has always been a predominantly internal hirer but that changed recently with the post-covid hiring frenzy where we hired a ton of external dispatchers. Whether that continues is unknown to me.

I'm not terribly concerned about moving, if I have to move somewhere, my partner is a mobile therapist so we can kind of go anywhere with a change of scenery. The staying local-ish part was just to accrue any experience and build up from there then go where I need to.

We can make it work anywhere which I think works in my favor.

Thanks for the info though, useful!

 

[Bananananny]

On a kind of side note, I went through the hiring process with United, and bailed out right after the offers and scheduling went out for initial hire and processing for a FT Ramp Agent.

In the moment, I didn't think it was going to be a great fit, I'm going to be honest, I've done the outside thing for a bit when I worked in car rentals at the airport. I didn't want to do it again, and so I sent HR a letter saying I was going to back out, and wanted to keep my opportunities for something inside and management related, I was then brought in for a couple interviews for a business partnership program so I guess they didn't see it as a bad mark, but ultimately I didn't make the final cut and never got an offer.

Point being, moving forward, maybe I should have taken that ramp position for the 121 1 year experience then transitioned into something else, but that 1 year would have reallyyyy not been pleasant since EWR they have mandatory OT and most of those guys are there til late into the night from some people I know there.

I could look into scheduling and maybe someone can look at my resume and guide me into the right path to get in and get any 121 experience. Unsure if that should be started as a separate thread. Any guidance is appreciated.

 

[who'swho]

I'm not terribly concerned about moving, if I have to move somewhere, my partner is a mobile therapist so we can kind of go anywhere with a change of scenery. The staying local-ish part was just to accrue any experience and build up from there then go where I need to.

We can make it work anywhere which I think works in my favor.

Thanks for the info though, useful!

If you're willing to move, get your certificate then take the 1st regional job offered. Get 1-3 years experience and move on to pretty much anything above a regional. That's how most of us have done it. Commuting is for the birds IMHO.

 

[Pepwave1]

Hey, fellow aviation enthusiasts!

I've always had a deep passion for aviation and I'm seriously considering a career as a flight dispatcher. I feel like it could be an excellent fit for me, but I'd love to hear from those with experience in the field.

I'm currently located in the greater New Jersey/New York area, so I'm wondering if anyone could provide insight into the opportunities and options available in this region. Specifically, I'm interested in:

1. Flight Dispatcher Schools: Are there any reputable flight dispatcher schools in the NJ/NY area or nearby regions? Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.
2. Regional Airlines: What are the regional airlines in the area that are known for hiring flight dispatchers? Any insights into what it's like to work for these airlines would be awesome.
3. Training in Atlanta: I also have the option to take classes in Atlanta. If anyone has information on flight dispatcher training programs or opportunities in Atlanta, please share your knowledge.
4. Day-to-Day Expectations: What can I expect in terms of day-to-day responsibilities as a flight dispatcher? Any insights into the job's challenges and rewards would be fantastic.

I'm eager to embark on this aviation career path, so any advice, stories, or recommendations would be immensely valuable. Thanks in advance for your input!

My only actual advice is to look at North American Flight Control in Minneapolis, MN. Inexpensive school. Better preparation for working at a regional.

 

[HereComesShaggy]

My only actual advice is to look at North American Flight Control in Minneapolis, MN. Inexpensive school. Better preparation for working at a regional.

Can confirm. Currently at the end of week 3 and it's been great. Chris and Tom really know their stuff and do a great job at conveying how what we're learning in class will actually translate to working a dispatch desk. A great deal too. I paid a little over 5 grand for both the 5 week dispatch course and my airbnb.

 

[Bananananny]

So, I'm having a really hard time getting into any of these 121 jobs. I've applied to the scheduler positions and all that. Unsure if there's something i'm missing that theyre specifically looking for? any advice here?

 

[who'swho]

So, I'm having a really hard time getting into any of these 121 jobs. I've applied to the scheduler positions and all that. Unsure if there's something i'm missing that theyre specifically looking for? any advice here?

Might be how you wrote you resume or your interview skills. Speaking from experience, here.

Try this link, it did as much for my career as my certificate.

Knock 'em Dead Resumes: A Killer Resume Gets MORE Job Interviews! (Knock 'em Dead Career Book Series) https://a.co/d/i2pGUbV

 

[Puckgoalie]

So, I'm having a really hard time getting into any of these 121 jobs. I've applied to the scheduler positions and all that. Unsure if there's something i'm missing that theyre specifically looking for? any advice here?

SkyWest just opened up and goes through to Nov. 15.

Aircraft Dispatcher in St. George, Utah | SkyWest Airlines

skywest-airlines is hiring a Aircraft Dispatcher in St. George, Utah. Review all of the job details and apply today!

jobs.skywest.com

 

[retrodx]

So, I'm having a really hard time getting into any of these 121 jobs. I've applied to the scheduler positions and all that. Unsure if there's something i'm missing that theyre specifically looking for? any advice here?

Don't waste your time with scheduler positions unless you're aiming for a specific shop and attempting to go internal. Even then, that's not guaranteed. If you're having trouble with regionals, then the days of TBNT's and 121 experience being king are fast approaching. Cast a wide net with the regionals and see who bites.

 

[Bananananny]

I guess it was a consideration of doing internal. I did for the hell of it apply to delta flight attendant stuff and have gotten pretty far. Still in the middle of, I’ll see about looking at resume again and changing.

Thanks for all the help folks.