Inquiry into the stuff of paper pilots

[Victor Squawk]

Hello and please forgive me if a thread like this has already been made. I will gladly read it instead.

I have been interested to become a paper pilot (tongue-in-cheek, don't get mad at me) for a few months now, and slowly learning about the work of an aircraft dispatcher. I talked to some dispatchers online and noticed that they seem to be a varied bunch. Some are very helpful, some are terse. One of them recommended to find a forum (which is why I'm here) and it turned out to be a good idea. I'm excited to find so many different viewpoints and situational wisdom.

One of them also suggested to consider the pilot career, since the dispatch license is supposedly the same training. (I'm not really sure what I am saying here, due to my superficial understanding). However, aside from how cool it is to travel all over and fly a large metal (or composite mat) machine through the skies, to be honest I think I would only be interested in flying privately on a single engine plane in a rural area with fantastic views. It would be for personal novelty rather than a career.

So, I'm guessing that calling a dispatcher a paper pilot will probably piss someone off, but no offense meant, I genuinely like the sound of it. However, this intro is getting too long. I'm mainly interested in the experiential element of working as a dispatcher. I have to say my impression of dispatching work has changed in stages as I learned more. For example, the moment I started looking at the meteorological information related to aviation, I started to understand that a dispatcher "parses" a lot of aviation information to do the job. It also used to sound like they just schedule flights, but now I've gotten a hint that they actually plan the movement through the air itself?

It all sounds very exciting and much more fulfilling than just balancing schedules of a fleet of planes (I've done some fleet management (for cars) and freight haul dispatching, but aircraft dispatching sounds far more enjoyable). I like the idea of working out logistical solutions that no one else can really do. I also have a huge appetite for education and gaining knowledge. It sounds like dispatching pulls together a large interdisciplinary range of information to perform crucial, indispensable work.

That's why I wanted to ask about the sorts of tasks that a dispatcher performs on the job. Aside from the technical stuff, the charts, the regulations, and the meteorology, how would you describe the experience of working in the day-to-day? Am I over-hyping myself for what sounds like a rewarding challenge? Is it actually as dynamic as I'm thinking? Or is it more simple and straightforward? Do you spend more time crunching data and reading charts? Do you feel a lot of job satisfaction in being excellent at efficient planning? I'm highly curious!

Please tell me more!
Zeph

P.S. If anyone dislikes my use of the phrase "paper pilot" to refer to the job, please forgive me; I'm sorry, It's just a joke, and I only mean it towards myself.

 

[iono]

is this what AI looks like when trying to communicate?

 

[Victor Squawk]

is this what AI looks like when trying to communicate?

People joke about that towards me all the time. My sergeant used to call me a cybernetic organism and make fun of my tone of voice. Lately, because of Chat GPT (apparently my writing sounds like it, or similar) I've been repeatedly dismissed as AI.

Nope, I'm a human, though. I can post a pic with me holding a piece of paper that says "Jet Careers" and the title of this thread. Let me know if that will help write an answer, instead of dismissing me when I'm trying to learn more about the field.

 

[Victor Squawk]

Alright, this is just in case. I reduced the size of the picture to make it less blatant, but the words should still be visible. I am human.

 

[Yurie158]

Alright, this is just in case. I reduced the size of the picture to make it less blatant, but the words should still be visible. I am human.
View attachment 71850

Scary when robots can take selfies with a piece of paper now

 

[Victor Squawk]

Scary when robots can take selfies with a piece of paper now

Very funny.

I've done enough! Please address my questions instead, or at least tell me why the thread sucks.

 

[iono]

not dismissing, only joking

this forum has a lot of info about the career, comb through old threads and the FAQ. i would skip the hiring threads (unless it's an airline you wish to work for) as they mostly just pertain to the job posting at the time. youtube has some good videos, but keep in mind the dispatcher role over in europe is pretty different than over here in the states. if you are near a FAA approved school, i would contact them and see if you can do a tour and learn more about the career. same for an airline, you may be able to reach out and see if you can shadow someone (covid made being able to shadow less likely)

as far as the job goes, yeah reading charts and analyzing meteorological data is important, but you will learn this stuff in school and on the job. what the school may not teach you are soft skills like attention to detail, communication, and teamwork... which are very important traits to have in this field

 

[iono]

oh and you gotta be comfortable sitting/standing at your desk for up to 10 hours, without any real break or lunch break. this seemed obvious to me, but at my last job, somebody quit during training because they came to this realization then

 

[Victor Squawk]

oh and you gotta be comfortable sitting/standing at your desk for up to 10 hours, without any real break or lunch break. this seemed obvious to me, but at my last job, somebody quit during training because they came to this realization then

How often does the job demand that? My impression so far has been that there are busy days and less busy days, but this is the first time I'm hearing about having no real breaks (which I would assume happens on the busy days).

 

[iono]

yeah that sounded more grim than it actually is. what i meant is that you aren’t scheduled a paid lunch like in other fields. you can absolutely leave your desk for a break or go get something to eat as long as another dispatcher is able to watch your desk while you are away. but yeah, there have been some crazy IROP days where i haven’t left my desk at all

 

[DsrtRat08]

How often does the job demand that? My impression so far has been that there are busy days and less busy days, but this is the first time I'm hearing about having no real breaks (which I would assume happens on the busy days).

The job demands this every time you sit down for shift. When you take a desk you are assuming operational control and flight following. When you get up to take a break the flights are still going and another dispatcher must monitor your desk, answer phone calls, and reply to messages from crews. On days I am slammed I may only be able to get away from the desk a couple of times for a quick bathroom break. On slower days dispatchers usually get up every couple hours or so to use the restroom, heat up their food, grab a coffee or stretch their legs. These (breaks) are usually 5-10 minutes. If you go to heat up food, you go get it and bring it back to your desk to eat.

 

[Victor Squawk]

yeah that sounded more grim than it actually is. what i meant is that you aren’t scheduled a paid lunch like in other fields. you can absolutely leave your desk for a break or go get something to eat as long as another dispatcher is able to watch your desk while you are away. but yeah, there have been some crazy IROP days where i haven’t left my desk at all

Okay, yeah that's good to know. It goes to show that, like you say, teamwork is essential.
I've taken your advice to search up some old threads and already had a few of my questions answered by posts from over a decade ago. Thanks for the guidance.

 

[Victor Squawk]

The job demands this every time you sit down for shift. When you take a desk you are assuming operational control and flight following. When you get up to take a break the flights are still going and another dispatcher must monitor your desk, answer phone calls, and reply to messages from crews. On days I am slammed I may only be able to get away from the desk a couple of times for a quick bathroom break. On slower days dispatchers usually get up every couple hours or so to use the restroom, heat up their food, grab a coffee or stretch their legs. These (breaks) are usually 5-10 minutes. If you go to heat up food, you go get it and bring it back to your desk to eat.

Understood. That puts my expectations into perspective.

 

[Victor Squawk]

Learning about the aircraft dispatcher career, for me, has been somewhat like this...
I've confused myself about what a dispatcher does in just about all of these examples:

 

[rogerthatbravo]

First before applying to your local college or any dispatch school:

-go to a regional or a mid tier airline and see what it’s actually like before you spend the money, yet alone time (You will see how it can be an easy day or not an easy day, you will see dispatchers/mx control/crew scheduling etc. have a potty mouth and look at them on how they deal with the stressful situation.

-As for religion being a huge factor in your life (looking at your other post)that’s fine. I’ve seen a manager that was religious doing a top notch job and I’ve seen a dispatcher quit because the SOC language at times not very Friendly

 

[Victor Squawk]

First before applying to your local college or any dispatch school:

-go to a regional or a mid tier airline and see what it’s actually like before you spend the money, yet alone time (You will see how it can be an easy day or not an easy day, you will see dispatchers/mx control/crew scheduling etc. have a potty mouth and look at them on how they deal with the stressful situation.

-As for religion being a huge factor in your life (looking at your other post)that’s fine. I’ve seen a manager that was religious doing a top notch job and I’ve seen a dispatcher quit because the SOC language at times not very Friendly

My understanding (at the moment) is that I don't have many, or any, regionals near me, so I want to be sure I know what I'm doing when I travel a bit to get some tangible experience of what they do. Is there someone in particular who I should contact, or can I get to know a regional dispatcher on LinkedIn (as some have suggested) and that would be enough to get the invitation to visit (if I ask)?

Hopefully the question makes sense, though it's a bit convoluted.

Edit: Regarding the potty mouth and unfriendliness, I think I'll be okay. My concern is more about the conflict of time being spent at work vs outside of work. However, it seems that it is realistic to work a 4x10 schedule and have 3 days off, which could actually work out just fine (and maybe I'll get lucky with the time-of-day for my shifts, too).

 

[Victor Squawk]

I did also contact the faculty at my nearby community college that has an FAA approved testing center and let them know about my interest. They might help me with finding an opportunity to shadow at a regional airline and see what they do (though I don't know how far I can go at the moment).

 

[rogerthatbravo]

LinkedIn works (This forum definitely works, lots
Of us got jobs because we contacted people
Here) So I would google all the cargo airlines or regional Airlines/ mid tier , or try to google a number for HR in the company website and ask for a tour.

Reason I say regional/mid tier / cargo airline is your most likely gonna start there. With you having military experience that’s a bonus
(also thank you for your service)

There’s also a place in Scott AFB where they pay dispatchers a lot of Money/ you could check the dispatcher pay spreadsheet
(you may wanna look at that route since you got your clearances)

 

[Victor Squawk]

LinkedIn works (This forum definitely works, lots
Of us got jobs because we contacted people
Here) So I would google all the cargo airlines or regional Airlines/ mid tier , or try to google a number for HR in the company website and ask for a tour.

Reason I say regional/mid tier / cargo airline is your most likely gonna start there. With you having military experience that’s a bonus
(also thank you for your service)

There’s also a place in Scott AFB where they pay dispatchers a lot of Money/ you could check the dispatcher pay spreadsheet
(you may wanna look at that route since you got your clearances)

Thank you. You've given me a ton of useful pointers and information about how to proceed.

 

[retrodx]

OP, you sound like a well spoken guy. A bit wordy, but it reminds me of old school forums. Dispatchers can be an odd bunch, but really aviation is that way anyways so you’ll fit right in. Get your certificate, and hit up SkyWest or Breeze for some regional experience.

Also, this is probably up your alley with reading and info you’re looking for.

The Joint Responsibility of Flight: A Closer Look at the Role of a Dispatcher

PS: for entry level cargo, look at smaller scale ops. UPS and FedEx (maybe Atlas) will likely crush your entry-level dreams.