Job market

There seems to be alot of openings recently on both the 135 and 121 side, but the only thing is we don't know is if the are for expansion or replacement.
 
Hmmm... ok. I'm a career changer (a HS science teacher); thinking about taking the ADX this June. I'm going to take a little cut in pay, but I can deal with that for a while. Just hope things hold out for a few more months.
 
Having scanned a few posts; I'm getting the impression that it may not be a good career choice. Realizing that some people may be venting frustrations, etc.
Is it really as bad as posters have stated?
 
I don't think that a lot of the recent discussion has been to illustrate that our profession is bad in any way. Mainly, I think that some of the venting has been a result of tempering expectations of those who are under an impression that dispatch salary topping out points within the industry are to be assumed. A lot of people come into the forums and are just beginning considerations as a career dispatcher. Of course, most people want to look at compensation before entering a new career field, in addition to other factors affecting quality of life.

This forum is a good resource to get perspective from professionals within the industry. A potential student can get caught up in any number of introductory facts and figures relating to the aircraft dispatcher from a variety of sources, most from bits of information found on searches or literature, and then some of whom are trying to earn your business to get you certified. Aviation professionals bitch incessantly about their job or the management, regardless of how much they like the job. However, I don't feel that is what has been discussed so much in the dispatch forums as much as different perspectives have been given on the prospect of reaching the pinnacle (both financially and skillfully) of the work that we do.

For the record, I love being a dispatcher. It's not for everyone, neither is being a pilot. Personally, I wouldn't put on a cap and epaulets even if you paid me 8 times my salary but I'll probably do this for the rest of my life.
 
Thanks, Kev. I trying to say that ALL the posts were negative, but some old ones I read seem to cast a shadow is all. You're right, this forum is an excellent source for info on this career. And I am on a "fact finding mission"... :) Being a career changer (potentially) it's good to get as much input as possible. I tend to stay away from schools who promise the moon. If I do go, I'll have made an educated decision. Any and all info sent my way will be appreciated! :)
 
I applied to most of the regionals as did many in my September course. Nobody has heard much back except for a number of rejection letters. Most regionals dont say anything at all. Pinnacle has not responded to me in well over a month. Others in my class have the same experience. I finished the top of the class. I was regarded as the best in the class and so far I have only had 2 calls which so far havent amounted to any interviews. One in the class got called from Raytheon for a South Pole job. Otherwise, nobody is getting taken yet. Even people from the Summer courses are still looking.

Im just eager to get started somewhere. I think with the success I had in class that it would be a shame if all the regionals rejected me. I realize that doing well in dispatch school means nothing to getting a job but I really want to take on a new challenge. When you do well with something you naturally want to try out your skills at a higher level.
 
Anyone ever find ADX opportunity on USA jobs? I've been looking on the site but can't really find any. I wonder if the forest service hires dispatchers for fire season. This could be a great job with excellent benefits.
 
Don

Depends - I saw that mainline CO is looking for 10 yes 10 dispatchers, but like anyone else flying the heavy metal, they want significant experience - one of their prefs is experience with Boeing aircraft. Every now and then, Compass has their oar in the water, and I see that Mesaba is looking as well, but at 12.78 to start - I'd rather be a greeter at Walmart - I have a little more respect for my certificate than that.

My carrier looks every now and then, but due to our type of flight operations (worldwide 121 charter, ETOPS, etc) you need to have some real world 121 experience in order to be successful here.
 
Manniax, are you guys located downtown in the Continental Center or out near the airport? Not that it matters, I already applied hours after it was posted... just curious. Praying that they'll take me with just over a year here at RPA. Not keeping my hopes up though but hell, I'd stick around for life.
 
Lets see, a close approx of the actual numbers go's somthing like this............

Air Wis needs 1,
Hawaiian wants 1
COA wants 10,
Allegiant wants 1,
Miami air wants 1,
Compass wants 2,
Mesaba wants 1
Express Jet is looking for to 2 to 4 _________________ thats a total of 19


Last 6-12 months:
Republic hired 4 to 6
ASA hired 4
Sky west hired 2
Colgan, hired 4 to 6
Pinnicle hired 4 to 6
Southwest hired ?
NorthAmerican hired 1
Jet Blue Hired 3 to 5
Delta Hired ?

The flight schools around the country graduated how many new students? let see,
Ya got AFTDC, Sheffield, Riddle east and west, ATP, Flight Safety, U of North Dakota, and about 20 other smaller schools.. all of which have been pushing students through their doors all year and last! how many would anyone guess that is?? has to be between 250 and 300 new green licenses...

Now lets look at the number of dispatchers that are out of work that have "actual" dispatching 121 experience.. I know of at least 40 with BIG time experience and countless others with regional experience..

So if you like Casino odds.. your in looking in the right field.. It looks like there are about 50 applicants for 1 new job and that is conservative.. :drool:

Yea there are companies that only hire green dispatchers, not many though, budgets are tight and managers are asking us to dispatch more flights with less people.. more duties are being asked of us as well...

Mergers are forcing more changes on less people,forcing families to move to other cities, i.e. Colgan last year, COA nex year..

Its a great career if you can get on board.. I have said it before, people here like to sugar coat the facts.. and think I am too negative but in the dispatch world, all we have are the cold hard facts.. anything else is wishful thinking..
 
dxbear said:
The flight schools around the country graduated how many new students? let see,
Ya got AFTDC, Sheffield, Riddle east and west, ATP, Flight Safety, U of North Dakota, and about 20 other smaller schools.. all of which have been pushing students through their doors all year and last! how many would anyone guess that is?? has to be between 250 and 300 new green licenses...

Now lets look at the number of dispatchers that are out of work that have "actual" dispatching 121 experience.. I know of at least 40 with BIG time experience and countless others with regional experience..

So if you like Casino odds.. your in looking in the right field.. It looks like there are about 50 applicants for 1 new job and that is conservative.. :drool:

Yea there are companies that only hire green dispatchers, not many though, budgets are tight and managers are asking us to dispatch more flights with less people.. more duties are being asked of us as well...

Mergers are forcing more changes on less people,forcing families to move to other cities, i.e. Colgan last year, COA nex year..

Its a great career if you can get on board.. I have said it before, people here like to sugar coat the facts.. and think I am too negative but in the dispatch world, all we have are the cold hard facts.. anything else is wishful thinking..
Click to expand...

I'm not suggesting to anyone that someone with no aviation experience can get a job without trying. It took me a few months before I found a gig dispatching, but I did it fairly quickly...and I had zero airline experience at that point. Also, mergers are stressful, yes, but they also generally provide job openings for new hires, since a lot of people choose to retire rather than make the move. I think there is room in this field for people willing to put in the time and effort to apply for jobs...just speaking based upon my own personal experience and what I have seen others accomplish in my 15+ years in this field.
 
Those figures above also imply everyone who gets a dispatch certificate is in the U.S. job market, which is false.

People with luck and the drive to do it will find success in life. I absolutely believe that.
 
I wish everyone luck as well.. but as I posted they are casino odds, your words used luck.. yeap alot of it... I'm not going to blow smoke up these peoples butts.. no rose colored glasses.. it is what it is...

And for those that have not been out of work in this economy, its a whole different story than just 5 years ago.. it is an employers market big time... the old rules apply, but they dont work like they used too, the time to find a job, the time it takes to network and get an interview is much much longer "if" you even get the opportunity..

As for getting a US dispatch license and going to another country to work... go for it.. almost no one else requires a licensed dispatcher and many countries do not allow foreign nationals to work for there airlines, or you have to live in the middle east where women are not very respected..you might find work, but do you want to really leave the USA??

I'm just telling you folks that you're really up against it, the odds, the new economy we find ourselfves, it will take a whole new level of effort and patients, it will take retirements to make more room for less employees in the future..

If I could start over in aviation, it would be as an A&P.. the demand for them is off the chart.. or ATC if you can get through that process.. Just remember, flight dispatch is the very "smallest" of all airlines " FAA licensed" departments..
 
dxbear said:
I wish everyone luck as well.. but as I posted they are casino odds, your words used luck.. yeap alot of it... I'm not going to blow smoke up these peoples butts.. no rose colored glasses.. it is what it is...

And for those that have not been out of work in this economy, its a whole different story than just 5 years ago.. it is an employers market big time... the old rules apply, but they dont work like they used too, the time to find a job, the time it takes to network and get an interview is much much longer "if" you even get the opportunity..

As for getting a US dispatch license and going to another country to work... go for it.. almost no one else requires a licensed dispatcher and many countries do not allow foreign nationals to work for there airlines, or you have to live in the middle east where women are not very respected..you might find work, but do you want to really leave the USA??

I'm just telling you folks that you're really up against it, the odds, the new economy we find ourselfves, it will take a whole new level of effort and patients, it will take retirements to make more room for less employees in the future..

If I could start over in aviation, it would be as an A&P.. the demand for them is off the chart.. or ATC if you can get through that process.. Just remember, flight dispatch is the very "smallest" of all airlines " FAA licensed" departments..
Click to expand...

Why don't you go work on your A&P then? I did avionics in the military and found that maintenance was not my cup of tea, personally...dispatch has been good to me and I'm very happy to be in the operations area rather than the maintenance one. Nothing at all against mechanics, of course, some people love that field, it's just not for me. Perhaps you could go on the maintenance boards here and learn more about being an A&P rather than always complaining on this board about how hard it is to get a dispatch job.
 
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