Looking for some info

titansox

titansox

Well-Known Member
on the job and the educational requirements out there (or that I can find).

I'm currently in a CTI school and I'll be graduating in December. Given the potential wait time to get hired by the FAA for ATC, I was thinking about getting a dispatch license. I figure at the very least it well look good on a resume, but more importantly it would open more doors if ATC doesn't work for me or if the bills begin to building up. I'd also think that the content learned with a dispatch license would complement my ATC education nicely. Furthermore, there is a FAA certified school 25 minutes from my house. It seems like the cost of getting the license is low and fast (relatively speaking).

However, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read you have to be 23 to get your license. That would throw a monkey wrench in all of this if thats the case. I'd be starting all of this just after turning 21. So I'd have to wait almost 2 years to get my license which defeated the whole purpose.

So can you guys just confirm that 23 is the minimum age. Also, are there any good resources out there on the job? Thanks for any help guys.
 
You can take the written, practical and oral prior to your 23rd, and then on your birthday you can submit the application with the results and get your ticket.
 
Rogo said:
You can take the written, practical and oral prior to your 23rd, and then on your birthday you can submit the application with the results and get your ticket.
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So I can do everything but get a piece of paper that says i'm qualified and then a year in a half later I can submit my info and be certified? I'm not sure if that makes any sense.
 
If you are under 23 and have passed the tests, you will be issued an FAA Letter of Aeronautical Competency, stating that all requirements have been met, and that a Certificate will be issued upon reaching age 23.
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Some jobs don't require a dispatch license. Those being flight folowers. Mostly you will find them in Part 91/135 operations. For those 121 ops that have assistants, one may not need a license but it will depend on the individual company.

Personally, you can't hurt yourself by getting it out of the way - even if you don't get the actual license until you are 23.
 
Ugh I don't understand why it matter if I'm 21 or 23 if I know the stuff and can pass tests. I'm sure there some higher level logic at hand that I don't understand (although we are talking about the FAA so I don't want to give them to much credit), but its still frustrating. I don't know how I feel about all of this.
 
titansox said:
I'm not haha. Haven't flown since I moved up here. I flew out of KHEF in Northern VA.
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The course requires you to have 4 VFR flights and 2 instrument flights. Those will be conducted out of KMTN. I teach those CTI students, that is why i asked.
 
Hold on a sec. I just realized you are in Baltimore... I go to CCBeaverC, not CCBaltimoreC. I grew up in NOVA but decided to move up to Beaver Falls PA to do CTI.
 
Cant tell you the exact reasoning you have to be 23 to exercise operational control but look at it this way. The FAA requires you to be 23 to get your ATP to be captain of a part 121 flight, as a dispatcher you are equally responsible for the flight as the captain so its only fair you should meet the same requirements as him/her or vice versa. I like to think they have to meet our requirement lol. IMO a monkey can fly an airplane, but it takes brains to run an entire airline. And before all you start flaming me for that one I am a commercial pilot and a dispatcher.

On the other note you were talking about. I was 22 when I took my dispatcher checkride. I had to wait 6 months till I was 23 before I was able to "apply" to get my license released from the FAA. Im not sure if it was just my FSDO office but they did'nt know what to do with me and took me about another month just for them to get word from Oklahoma City on how to handle my situation then another 2 months for my license to arrive in the mail.

I would just do it man, its a great license to have under your belt and if for some reason 20 years down the road ATC doesn't work out you have a back up. And like mentioned above, a place could require you to have a dispatchers cert to get the job and technically you would have it but if they are 135 your not legally required to have it to work.
 
Good stuff Izanti.

I think I might do it. At the end of the day I have 8 months to think about it. But it sounds like it well cost 5K and only take 6 weeks. I just can't help but think that this sort of thing would only benefit me as an ATCer although admittedly I'm not too familiar with the curriculum.
 
Thx

Ya and that's the other thing, the cost. No other certifiation in aviation has such a low cost to pay out ratio. Iv only been working professionally as a dispatcher for 6 months, I just started with a new carrier last week and am pulling in mid 40K. Nothing great but compared to the $5 grand I spent on the course it was a wise investment. Considering I'm 60 grand in debt for a 4 year degree and pilot certificates and started flying at a regional for less than half of what I am making now. And I had been flying for over 10 years on my own!

Yes some of the stuff you will cover is below an air traffic controllers experience, it was the same way for me as pilot but I still did learn alot and I think you will too. Dispatch I my experience is a cross from full blown pilot and full blown ATC. With you as a controller I think you would better understand what pilots go through as well as dispatchers because depending on where you will be stationed you will interact with dispatcher on the phone quite often.
 
I feel like if I did this I'd have a pretty rounded view of the aviation world. I'd be:
1) Rec Pilot
2) Pass AT-SAT
3) Pass CTO
4) Pass National Weather Service/Federal Aviation Administration Supplemental Aviation Weather Station (SAWRS)/Limited Aviation Weather Reporting Station (LAWRS) examination
5)Dispatch Ticket.

I mean next to first hand experience, I don't there is much more I can practically(financially) do.
 
If you finish school before your 23rd birthday, like I did, you will receive a "FAA Letter of Competency" stating you have met all the requirements for the license except for the age. This letter will qualify you to work, in the eyes of the company, as an assistant dispatcher (flag/domestic), or a flight follower (supplemental). I know several people who have finished school before their 23rd and went right to work. It's smart to have a Plan B as stated earlier. I was military ATC and got out during the Clinton-mandated ATC hiring freeze. The ATC background helped me significantly on my resume.
 
69beers said:
If you finish school before your 23rd birthday, like I did, you will receive a "FAA Letter of Competency" stating you have met all the requirements for the license except for the age. This letter will qualify you to work, in the eyes of the company, as an assistant dispatcher (flag/domestic), or a flight follower (supplemental). I know several people who have finished school before their 23rd and went right to work. It's smart to have a Plan B as stated earlier. I was military ATC and got out during the Clinton-mandated ATC hiring freeze. The ATC background helped me significantly on my resume.
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So I'd still be able to work, just not as a main dispatcher (don't know the right title for him). Don't you have to work your way up the system before you can be that guy? I thought I read it took 5 years to reach that level anyways? If thats the case, thats no big deal.
 
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