Do I have this right?

titansox

titansox

Well-Known Member
Greeting folks, nice to meet you guys. This is my first post here at this fine establishment. Anyways...

I've decided to follow my boyhood dream and I think I want to make a career out of landing aircrafts. I've been doing a good bit of research on this subject and I just want to make sure I got the facts strait.

I am a freshman at George Mason University in VA. I'm planning to graduate with a BS in Information Technologies. Now assuming things don't change and in 3.5 years I still want to peruse a job as an ATCer I would take my BS and apply to be an"Air Traffic Control Specialist Trainee." That program would pay be 17K and would last a year, is that correct?

Then assuming I passed that program and my FAA test I would look for a tower/center that was hiring. Again assuming that all works out in the prior steps, would I be all but guaranteed a job somewhere? The busier the airport, the more money I would get. Also I read numerous places that the average ATCer makes like 110K. However I was looking over one of your threads with the pay bands and it looked like the craziest airports must senior ATCers only made 90K. So where does this 110K come from?

Sorry for all the questions. I hope to be talking to you folks a lot over the next few years.
 
I would also suggest looking into CTI school. It is likely that in 2013 the FAA will no longer be hiring "off the street" (OTS), or those with no prior ATC training or experience. All new hires will come from Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) school graduates, and prior military controllers.

Since you're only a freshman, I would suggest taking gen ed classes this year and looking into transferring into a CTI school program. Some good ones are Geneva College/Beaver County in Pennsylvania, Kent State University in Ohio, the University of North Dakota, and Middle Georgia College. There is rumor that my alma mater, Western Michigan University, is starting a CTI program, but nothing has been announced. I don't know of any CTI programs in Virginia.

Another thing to consider is your age. The FAA does not hire anyone over the age of 30 unless they have previous experience with the FAA or the military as a controller. If you're the average 18 year old freshman then you have nothing to worry about, but if you're a little older, you may want to look into a fast-track program.

ATC is a great career path, and it's one I wish I had chosen when beginning college. I'm going through the (OTS) hiring process now, so if you have any questions about that, feel free to contact me. There are also experienced current and retired controllers on this forum who know a lot more about this than I do, so make sure get in touch with them as well.

Good luck and God bless on your journey.
 
flyingwriter said:
I would also suggest looking into CTI school. It is likely that in 2013 the FAA will no longer be hiring "off the street" (OTS), or those with no prior ATC training or experience. All new hires will come from Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) school graduates, and prior military controllers.

Since you're only a freshman, I would suggest taking gen ed classes this year and looking into transferring into a CTI school program. Some good ones are Geneva College/Beaver County in Pennsylvania, Kent State University in Ohio, the University of North Dakota, and Middle Georgia College. There is rumor that my alma mater, Western Michigan University, is starting a CTI program, but nothing has been announced. I don't know of any CTI programs in Virginia.

Another thing to consider is your age. The FAA does not hire anyone over the age of 30 unless they have previous experience with the FAA or the military as a controller. If you're the average 18 year old freshman then you have nothing to worry about, but if you're a little older, you may want to look into a fast-track program.

ATC is a great career path, and it's one I wish I had chosen when beginning college. I'm going through the (OTS) hiring process now, so if you have any questions about that, feel free to contact me. There are also experienced current and retired controllers on this forum who know a lot more about this than I do, so make sure get in touch with them as well.

Good luck and God bless on your journey.
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Thanks for the reply guys. It is a little dishearting to hear they probably wont be hiring off the street in a few years.

I am a normal freshman (I am 19 instead of 18 though....just how my birthday fell) but I don't think I can convince my father to let me transfer to one of those schools. First and forth most its just to expensive. Before I was looking to do ACT I was looking to transfer the the Univ. of Texas to take part in their aroespace engineering program. However, even after weeks of research and numerous emails with the adviser over there, it all came crashing down when my dad told me it was just to expensive.

So then I moved on to looking into ACT. I've always loved the idea and I liked that I could get a degree here at Mason and go to ACT school. If that ever fell through(which from what I've read here, it happens), I'd have IT to fall back on.

There is a school in VA that has an ACT program: Hampton University. But it's private and the same price as University of Texas. If I was going to pay 15K/ semester I don't really want to go to Hampton University. I just don't see how I could see it to my parents.
 
titansox, i don't know how you feel about going into the military, but the airforce is usually hurting for atcers! i heard they are offering a signing bonus right now, but you would have to call your local recruiter to verify that info. also, if you went that route, you could opt into the gi bill and then get your degree later in life on the house!!! being in the military is a great opportunity for travel and at the end of your enlistment, you could either jump to the faa through a vra(which looks like the only way to go in the near future) or re-up for a hefty bonus(like 65k)! you also get locality pay in the military if you are overseas anywhere and also watch supervisor pay. those are the pro's, but if you enlist and then washout, you are stuck in the military for the next 4-6 years depending on how long you signed up. but you would have your gi bill to fall back on so there are pro's and con's to going the military route. it worked out really great for me so i always share my experience when i can. i lived in japan for a year and a half, met a lot of cool people and got a few ratings in the process which should help me land a job with the faa now. just food for thought. you would also most assuredly have to go on a deployment or two if you did enlist so that's also something to think about. like i said, pro's AND con's!
 
hship said:
titansox, i don't know how you feel about going into the military, but the airforce is usually hurting for atcers! i heard they are offering a signing bonus right now, but you would have to call your local recruiter to verify that info. also, if you went that route, you could opt into the gi bill and then get your degree later in life on the house!!! being in the military is a great opportunity for travel and at the end of your enlistment, you could either jump to the faa through a vra(which looks like the only way to go in the near future) or re-up for a hefty bonus(like 65k)! you also get locality pay in the military if you are overseas anywhere and also watch supervisor pay. those are the pro's, but if you enlist and then washout, you are stuck in the military for the next 4-6 years depending on how long you signed up. but you would have your gi bill to fall back on so there are pro's and con's to going the military route. it worked out really great for me so i always share my experience when i can. i lived in japan for a year and a half, met a lot of cool people and got a few ratings in the process which should help me land a job with the faa now. just food for thought. you would also most assuredly have to go on a deployment or two if you did enlist so that's also something to think about. like i said, pro's AND con's!
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I don't think that is practical. For one, my mother would disown me as a son. The first time I got anything in the mail about joining the army she torn it up and made sure I knew that. That being said, I don't have much interest i joining the Air Force. I really don't want to find myself stuck over seas for 4 years ether. But thanks for the thought.
 
titansox said:
Thanks for the reply guys. It is a little dishearting to hear they probably wont be hiring off the street in a few years.

I am a normal freshman (I am 19 instead of 18 though....just how my birthday fell) but I don't think I can convince my father to let me transfer to one of those schools. First and forth most its just to expensive. Before I was looking to do ACT I was looking to transfer the the Univ. of Texas to take part in their aroespace engineering program. However, even after weeks of research and numerous emails with the adviser over there, it all came crashing down when my dad told me it was just to expensive.

So then I moved on to looking into ACT. I've always loved the idea and I liked that I could get a degree here at Mason and go to ACT school. If that ever fell through(which from what I've read here, it happens), I'd have IT to fall back on.

There is a school in VA that has an ACT program: Hampton University. But it's private and the same price as University of Texas. If I was going to pay 15K/ semester I don't really want to go to Hampton University. I just don't see how I could see it to my parents.
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Your story mimics mine in so many ways. I also had parents who tried to push me away from flight school, ATC, and the military. Flight school was too expensive ("you'll be stuck with debt!"), and they were dead set against the military ("you'll get blown up in Iraq!"). So I majored in aviation business, got my private pilot's license, and I am now a college graduate. I can't buy a job, I've applied everywhere and have been turned down from everywhere. Wal-Mart won't even take me.

The point being that your parents aren't always right, and as an adult you have to branch out and make your own choices, even if your parents aren't exactly thrilled with them. You need to gather all the facts you can and lay out a logical case to your parents of what you plan to do. If they accept, great. If they don't, then you need to consider whether or not this is something that you can do, and if so, figure out a way to do it.

Since it seems like money is an issue, I would suggest looking into scholarships, grants, and loans. CTI programs aren't much more expensive than regular college majors, and many of the schools give out scholarships to students with good grades. If you keep a high GPA this year, you'll have a good chance of getting a scholarship which will help bring the cost down. If your family makes under a certain amount per year, you'll be eligible for Pell Grants and other government college grants. Finally, there are student loans. Since you're only 19, I would assume you don't have the credit history to get a private student loan. However, you are still eligible for Stafford Loans, which are available to all students and subsidized by the government. You'll need to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to apply for grants and loans.

Also, there is no guarantee that the FAA won't be hiring off the street in four years. The FAA's hiring projections only go through 2012, but they are still projecting to hire thousands of new controllers each year until then. Public National (PUBNAT) announcements will probably be discontinued by then, but you never know. For all we know, Sarah Palin could be elected in 2012 and decide to fire all of the controllers like Reagan did back in the '80s. :)
 
flyingwriter said:
Since you're only a freshman, I would suggest taking gen ed classes this year and looking into transferring into a CTI school program. Some good ones are Geneva College/Beaver County in Pennsylvania, Kent State University in Ohio, the University of North Dakota, and Middle Georgia College. There is rumor that my alma mater, Western Michigan University, is starting a CTI program, but nothing has been announced. I don't know of any CTI programs in Virginia.
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The University of Alaska Anchorage also has a good program.:)
 
speculation and conjecture on not hiring OTS, I have yet to see anyone with solid evidence backing up the theory that no one will be hired off the street, everything out here at this time is hearsay.

On the other hand, CTI will improve your chances of selection, but it by no means guarantees you a job, and you still have to go through, and pass, the same training the OTSers go through. Another disadvantage to CTI is it is a special degree and will not help you get any other sort of job if the FAA doesn't work out for you.

you also have a few things wrong about the process. You get hired by your facility before you go to oklahoma city, and academy pay is about 18.5k/yr plus $80 per diem
 
CTI is way cheaper than George Mason. Granted George Mason is cheaper than George Washington and American University (my sister went there), but I'm guessing you can get your CTI for $25K ish, plus room and board. If you want to do ATC, do ATC. If you want a backup degree, go into ATC and get a degree online or at a local school part time. I'm looking to go OTS right now and then get a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering while I control.

Just my 2 cents. If you know what you want to do, do it. There are tens of thousands of people flipping burgers (an honest living) with a 4 year degree or masters degree. The degree doesn't get you the job, you do. So if you want to go into ATC, go after it!
 
ProudPilot said:
CTI is way cheaper than George Mason. Granted George Mason is cheaper than George Washington and American University (my sister went there), but I'm guessing you can get your CTI for $25K ish, plus room and board. If you want to do ATC, do ATC. If you want a backup degree, go into ATC and get a degree online or at a local school part time. I'm looking to go OTS right now and then get a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering while I control.

Just my 2 cents. If you know what you want to do, do it. There are tens of thousands of people flipping burgers (an honest living) with a 4 year degree or masters degree. The degree doesn't get you the job, you do. So if you want to go into ATC, go after it!
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This is so true. If I had ten dollars for every unemployed or underemployed college graduate I know, I could buy my own airplane. Do what you have a passion to do, otherwise you're in for a long, miserable ride. Also, a degree without experience is worth little more than no degree at all. The exceptions to this are engineering, nursing, medicine, law, and a few other fields.
 
Go to Green River in Seattle. My two brothers go there and it's really cheap. For out of state students it's like 12k-14k for the whole thing. And that's with housing. Very very good program too
 
ProudPilot said:
CTI is way cheaper than George Mason. Granted George Mason is cheaper than George Washington and American University (my sister went there), but I'm guessing you can get your CTI for $25K ish, plus room and board. If you want to do ATC, do ATC. If you want a backup degree, go into ATC and get a degree online or at a local school part time. I'm looking to go OTS right now and then get a BS and MS in Aerospace Engineering while I control.
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How do you figure CTI is cheeper than GMU? GMU with housing is 8K/Semester so 16K a year. Now when you say you can get your "CTI for 25K" do you mean a year or for the whole program?
ProudPilot said:
Just my 2 cents. If you know what you want to do, do it. There are tens of thousands of people flipping burgers (an honest living) with a 4 year degree or masters degree. The degree doesn't get you the job, you do. So if you want to go into ATC, go after it!
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I'm a bit confused. Are you suggesting I should drop out of Mason and just enter the ACT pool? Because I thought one of the requirements to get accepted into the program was a 4 year degree or 3 years of work? I would rather spend the extra year getting an education than save a year with the risk of not getting a job and being SOL.
 
titansox said:
I'm a bit confused. Are you suggesting I should drop out of Mason and just enter the ACT pool? Because I thought one of the requirements to get accepted into the program was a 4 year degree or 3 years of work? I would rather spend the extra year getting an education than save a year with the risk of not getting a job and being SOL.
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The requirements for OTS are 4 years of college (not a degree) OR 3 years of full-time work experience OR some combination thereof.
 
titansox said:
Meaning I could do 2 years college and work for a year? :confused:
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Not exactly. One year of college only counts as nine months of experience, so you'd be six months short. You could work for a year and a half and do two years of college, or do three years of college and work for nine months.
 
Ugh this so frustratingly confusing.

-Do I take the safe route and do my 4 years here at mason?

-Do I do 2 years at Mason and try to transfer to say Univ. OK? How well I afford that?

-Do I transfer out of Mason after this up coming semester and go to a smaller ACT certified school?

-Do I drop out of mason and hope I'm accepted into the program?

These are all life changing options.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
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