Decisions, decisions, need some insight

J

Jonnyboy20

New Member
im 19 years old and just finished my 1st semester. im on my second now & just getting the basics out of the way. l always have wanted to be a pilot, but ATC has really has intrested me alot more. i am now waiting on my transfer status from OU(99% sure). i know that AT-CTI is only an Associates degree, and im fortunate enough to have my parents pay for my tution, books, etc. so im taking full advantage of it and getting a Bachelors whether its needed or not.

The question i have is it necessary to get a Bachelors of Science Degree in Air Traffic Managment? i know it takes experience to get to that postition so expecting to be a manager right after being hired is absurd, obviously.

do you think this degee helps in the long run or make a difference for the job? or is it more promising to get some sort of general business degree just for safety?:confused:
 
I'd look at it a couple ways... Keep your eye out for OTS announcements and apply to them if you have enough experience... it cannot hurt. If your parents are going to pay for everything, going CTI is a good way, because when OTS hiring stops, you will still have a ticket in. The hiring boom is supposed to be going on until ~2017, so if you decided to get a 4 yr degree in aviation management, they should still be hiring... but then you need to be picked up in an OTS announcement not a CTI. It's a tough choice, because if you can get picked up OTS why even consider CTI?
 
This is a good question. How relevant is education to promotion, or is Experience and performance more relevant?
 
K-Dog said:
This is a good question. How relevant is education to promotion, or is Experience and performance more relevant?
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all you have to do to get promoted is to be a real crappy controller, hate controllers , and kiss a lot of butt. the bigger the screw up you are the farther you will go, a college dergree may or not help.
 
:yup:


:whatever: but for some reason it really does seem that way sometimes. i think the best thing is to get a little tenure first, then start showing up to work with kneepads and chapstick.:bandit:
 
queeno said:
the bigger the screw up you are the farther you will go
this is true in any government job.... i mean look around

To the OP: ATC aside for the moment.... if you had just said you wanted to be a pilot I would absolutly tell you to get a 4yr degree in something as far from aviation related as possible this way you will always have a backup plan, since the industry is a mess. However since you mentioned atc, like Cheezypoof said, its kinda a double edge sword. You can apply and get in via OTS, then get a degree in something else that interests you, cause the FAA doesn't care at that point. This would give you another option should ATC not work out for you for some reason down the road. By going the CTI route, you'll have the advantage of applying to more annoucements..... but give up the option of a backup plan.

best of luck... i envy the fact the you are 19 and thinking about this, however try not to stress about the career for now and enjoy college, you have sooooooo much time.
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I am finishing a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology this semester and I got selected for a TRACON facility in the Southwest region (luckily my hometown). Regardless of what you want to do regarding ATC, I would highly recommend getting a degree that is non-aviation related just for backup. Because you don't really need a CTI degree in order to be an ATC, and you can get hired off the streets with work experience and college combined. I'm not even 22 yet and I will be *hopefully* done at the academy before I'm 23.
 
being able to retire in your 40's sounds like a good thing if you ask me....

the sooner you start here, the sooner you can get the rest of your life going.

my dad's almost 60 and he's still struggling to make his retirement work.

the degree is awesome... personally I never had the patience to sit around in the collegiate environment. I'm intelligent. Just don't want to do it.

This ATC bit is the best opportunity I ever had. And who knows.. maybe I'll get my degree after I retire when I get study what I really want to study and not have to worry about getting a "marketable" education.
 
Raydon said:
being able to retire in your 40's sounds like a good thing if you ask me....

the sooner you start here, the sooner you can get the rest of your life going.

my dad's almost 60 and he's still struggling to make his retirement work.

the degree is awesome... personally I never had the patience to sit around in the collegiate environment. I'm intelligent. Just don't want to do it.

This ATC bit is the best opportunity I ever had. And who knows.. maybe I'll get my degree after I retire when I get study what I really want to study and not have to worry about getting a "marketable" education.
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Hawaii?

Raydon, I'm freaking jealous. But I have to say I'd hate to leave my friends around the area I live in now. Plus I'm pretty involved with my local community. How are you feeling about moving to HI?
 
Jonnyboy20 said:
The question i have is it necessary to get a Bachelors of Science Degree in Air Traffic Managment? i know it takes experience to get to that postition so expecting to be a manager right after being hired is absurd, obviously.

do you think this degee helps in the long run or make a difference for the job? or is it more promising to get some sort of general business degree just for safety?:confused:
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You don't need that particular degree -- or any at all. As you probably know by this point, in order to apply OTS, you just need to demonstrate three years of either college coursework or job performance with increasing responsibility.

But, with that said, you have to decide how you want to play the odds. When it comes to increasing your chances of getting hired, CTI will give you a little bit of an edge. It's not huge, and it's probably not worth going back to school for if you've already got a degree, but at your point it's not a bad idea to go for it. Shoot, if you want a virtual guarantee of being a civilian controller, spend a few years doing it for the military... but that, of course, comes with a host of other things you have to weigh and decide about.

Now, when it comes to management... obviously a degree in AT Management would help some, but anybody who's been out of college for a few years will tell you that your degree matters for about ten minutes after you graduate. There are people in every field who excel at their jobs with an unrelated collegiate background, and people who are terrible at what they do with a related degree. Myself, I have a degree in political science and am transitioning from a background in sports management to one in ATC. Just depends on how you apply yourself... but if you're willing to work hard, I don't doubt that an aviation degree would give you a few more tools to get the job done well, so to speak.

But like swinet00 said, you may want to have a backup. You may fly through the Academy, check out in a year, and be lining planes up successfully at a level 11 in no time at all, but you may also fail your PVs miserably, wash out after a few months at your facility, or just decide that ATC isn't for you. It happens, so it'd be good to at least have some experience in another field that you can move into something else if you need to.

Anyway. Just some suggestions from a guy who hasn't been where you are and isn't yet where you want to be. Hope some of it helps. Good luck.

Oh, and before you aspire to management, spend some time at faafollies.com first. Don't be too eager to join the dark side yet, eh?
 
Rosstafari said:
You don't need that particular degree -- or any at all. As you probably know by this point, in order to apply OTS, you just need to demonstrate three years of either college coursework or job performance with increasing responsibility.

But, with that said, you have to decide how you want to play the odds. When it comes to increasing your chances of getting hired, CTI will give you a little bit of an edge. It's not huge, and it's probably not worth going back to school for if you've already got a degree, but at your point it's not a bad idea to go for it. Shoot, if you want a virtual guarantee of being a civilian controller, spend a few years doing it for the military... but that, of course, comes with a host of other things you have to weigh and decide about.

Now, when it comes to management... obviously a degree in AT Management would help some, but anybody who's been out of college for a few years will tell you that your degree matters for about ten minutes after you graduate. There are people in every field who excel at their jobs with an unrelated collegiate background, and people who are terrible at what they do with a related degree. Myself, I have a degree in political science and am transitioning from a background in sports management to one in ATC. Just depends on how you apply yourself... but if you're willing to work hard, I don't doubt that an aviation degree would give you a few more tools to get the job done well, so to speak.

But like swinet00 said, you may want to have a backup. You may fly through the Academy, check out in a year, and be lining planes up successfully at a level 11 in no time at all, but you may also fail your PVs miserably, wash out after a few months at your facility, or just decide that ATC isn't for you. It happens, so it'd be good to at least have some experience in another field that you can move into something else if you need to.

Anyway. Just some suggestions from a guy who hasn't been where you are and isn't yet where you want to be. Hope some of it helps. Good luck.

Oh, and before you aspire to management, spend some time at faafollies.com first. Don't be too eager to join the dark side yet, eh?
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I was kind of in ur situation. I'm 60 credits into my CTI 4 year program. I got selected OTS. I figure this opportunity is here now. School can wait.

Just my .02
 
aviatorchris said:
I was kind of in ur situation. I'm 60 credits into my CTI 4 year program. I got selected OTS. I figure this opportunity is here now. School can wait.
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I'm sure there're plenty of people who'd say to finish first, but hey, I'd take it. Besides, with the somewhat haphazard scheduling of academy dates, you might be able to finish in time anyways. And postponing the Academy to finish classes isn't unheard of...

Which school are you at, out of curiosity? Would they let you transfer in credit from elsewhere to wrap up your degree?
 
Rosstafari said:
I'm sure there're plenty of people who'd say to finish first, but hey, I'd take it. Besides, with the somewhat haphazard scheduling of academy dates, you might be able to finish in time anyways. And postponing the Academy to finish classes isn't unheard of...

Which school are you at, out of curiosity? Would they let you transfer in credit from elsewhere to wrap up your degree?
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I can finish a semester but I only have 60 credits. I still have a ways to go. I'm moving to new orleans so untill I can get in state tution so way am I paying for school at out of state prices. I go to metro state college in Denver.

School can wait. Itll ALWAYS be there. These opportunities will not.
 
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