Congratulations. I recently left after 3.5 years there.
Use the 3 weeks you're in the hotel to figure out your housing situation. Multiple dispatchers popped into my initial training class saying they were looking for roommates. Talk to your classmates and see what they're doing. Keep an eye on Craigslist too; I found a cheap studio sublet for $500/mo for 2 months after the hotel. That gave me some time to figure out something more permanent. $800/mo won't get you much in the Twin Cities, but I've seen some bare-bones studios on Craigslist for around that price.
Minneapolis is my favorite city I've ever lived in. People are very friendly. Traffic isn't bad. Most neighborhoods are safe. There's a large population of young people right out of college. In the summer, the entire city comes to life. Patios and rooftops at bars, breweries, and restaurants open. Trees line the streets and fill the parks. Summertime activities like cycling, swimming, boating, fishing, and camping are very popular. There's always some fair or festival going on each weekend. Most days are hot enough to go swimming and most nights are cool enough to sleep with the windows open. It's a great place to be. (And don't take it for granted; the city I live in now is the complete opposite of the above, though it admittedly does have nicer winters.)
Yes, the winters are frigid, dark, snowy, and pretty miserable, but if you lived in North Dakota, you're used to worse already. Hop on one of the many seasonal direct flights to Mexico, Florida, or the Caribbean for a weekend if you need to warm up.
My favorite spots: The Nook in St. Paul and Lion's Tap in Eden Prairie for burgers, Cecil's in St. Paul for sandwiches, Parkway Pizza for pizza, Amore or Nightingale in Uptown for brunch. UpDown is a fun arcade bar in Lyn-Lake. If you like craft beer, there are dozens of breweries in the metro area, most of which are very good. On a nice weather day, the Mississippi River downtown (Stone Arch Bridge), Minnehaha Falls, and the caves and cliffs just south of downtown St. Paul are fun to walk around. Duluth is a cool city, too, and a good summer weekend trip (2.5 hr drive).
Endeavor is a great regional to start at, and you'll work with some really awesome people on the dispatch floor. Some advice I have:
- Be humble, eager to learn, and receptive of constructive criticism and suggestions from your trainers/coworkers. Nothing will irk them more than a new person that acts like a cocky, conceited know-it-all. How you work with others is just as important as how much you know about dispatching.
- You're going to make a lot of mistakes when you first start; own up to and learn from them.
- Aviation is a small industry, and dispatch is a very small subset of the industry. All dispatchers and supervisors/managers are only a few degrees of separation apart, at most. If you develop a bad reputation, it will get around to other airlines, majors, etc. Avoid burning bridges.
- Be personable and friendly with your coworkers and managers, help them out when they need it, and show them that you're trying your hardest. When your coworkers move on to jobs at majors/mid-tier airlines/other internal jobs, and their manager comes up to them with your app in hand and says "Hey, did you work with this sam19ny person at 9E? Think they'd do well here?", their answer could decide the fate of your application.
Let me know if I can answer anything else for you. You're going to enjoy it there.
P.S. You do your FAM flight during your last week of OJT, right before you do your desk check and get fully signed off.
