Hey, LMFS here. :hiya:
The career outlook isn't very promising. With companies like flightplan.com, DUATs, AOPA, Foreflight, etc that have taken over the electronic world it's been really hard for us to hold a steady market. We were elated when we found out our contract was extended until 2013. But honestly, we're not sure how much longer we're going to be able to make it. With all the advances in technology, our demand is dwindling. People don't need us. And especially from the customer service aspect. We can't just tell you, "Yep, looks good. See ya!" We have a whole slew of other crap we have to say to you guys, and we get caught up in the legality of it all. There was a time where flight service was safe and we could provide wholesome briefings. But now-a-days, you talk to somebody who covers 1/3 of the country. Our local area knowledge sucks. It's really hard to keep track of weather trends because (from our side) we might talk to somebody in Indiana, then New York, then Florida, then Mississippi. And it's like that all day long. Nashville Flight Service went from monitoring 23 different flight service frequencies to monitoring 176 frequencies. We're bound to lose a call or two (on the phone or the radio).
Then there is the NOTAM handling. All that is destined to go to the US NOTAM office one day, I'm sure. We function as a middle man who does the key strokes on the keyboard, but the NOTAM office has 90% of the final say of what actually gets issued. So, if needed, we could easily get rid of our NOTAM's, and about 30% of the work force that handles them.
We also do Search and Rescue for VFR aircraft as well as aircraft orientation services (help, I'm lost! calls). But with GPS, and everybody having a transponder now-a-days people don't tend to get lost. Again, making us obsolete.
The only people who really stand a chance at having a future is EFAS, or Flight Watch. We are specially rated and certified by the National Weather Service (we have to have a certain amount of experience doing Flight Service, take a two week long class, pass a written and an oral exam to become Flight Watch capable). They work in the same building as Flight Service, but they are the ones who field the inflight radio contacts of "Help, I'm VFR stuck above an IFR cloud deck!" or "Holy crap, where the hell did this line of thunderstorms come from and how do I get around it?", those types of calls. And even then, they will still have a job, but they will be sitting at an En Route Center some day instead of a flight service building, and their paychecks will come from the FAA - again.
But all that being said, they are starting the school house up again. I know there is a class of new hires going through training right now, but that was the first class in about a year and half. I'm not sure on the plans of hiring more and if you want to PM me your info, I can try and get you some contact information.
Another thing that we've really been screwing up is we became unionized last year. We have a big-time, big-ballin' union (think in terms of ALPA), up against a big-time, big ballin' company. They both have been around the block a time or two when it comes to unions and management. There is a great divide between the union and management and it's only getting bigger. Each end pulls shady-ass , and the work force - us - gets thrown in the middle of their fowl play. In the end, Lockheed is all about the bottom line, bean counting, and bonuses. The union tries hard, they do. They're really making LM pay for the stuff they've done, but I'll be honest, it didn't stop over 500 employees from getting laid off from across the country, right before our busy season (when daily traffic counts nearly double). I could go on about the union for days. If you need further explanation just let me know.
Lastly, pre-requisites. The minimum they want from you is a 2 yr degree in an aviation-related field. So we get a lot of hires from Beaver. But we have a ton of Embry Riddle, Uni. North Dakota, Dowling, and Middle Tennessee State Uni. That the broad spectrum of it. I think there was a time they only wanted CTI students, then there was a time where they wanted you to have a pilot certificate etc. Me personally, I'm a grad from a major 4 year university, with numerous pilot's certificates, a CTI grad, and a Meteorology minor.
The money is fantastic. There are certain benefits we don't get that they used to get in the FAA such as Sunday pay, Training pay, Holiday pay etc. There is hope of one day getting paid for these activities, but in the mean time, we only get night differential.
Now I'm sorry, I just sat here a dogged Lockheed for a while. But there are some awesome parts to it, primarily when you are helping the pilots. When you're getting them around thunderstorms, icing or TFR's and they are insanely grateful; especially when it's their last leg of the day to get home. Today, I was delivering a clearance to a pilot, and we got disconnected, so I called him back and we were able to finish the clearance and stuff, he was grateful for that, he thanked me profusely. Or talking to a student pilot who has never called before and his voice is quivering because he's so nervous. It's things like that that can really make my day.
I apologize for the longevity of this post. Please let me know if you need any clarification on anything. I'd be more then happy!
