New Dispatcher FAQ

nickychang74 said:
Need some help and advice. I will be attending Jeppesen's flight dispatch program(fom 2, international flight planning) in September. what outside studying materials might i want to get and study from before the program starts? I saw Gleim Aviation has some material for this but i am not sure which material applies to the program. Could I get some help and and direction on what i should purchase and study from for the next 2 months. Thanks.
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Start with the adx. I think a lot of people here got the Sheppard Air study materials. My class was a 12 week class and we learned the adx as we went so i didnt pre study it and have no experience with it personally, but lots of people here have liked it. A lot of people take the adx before they go to class.

Next study weather. Fronts, pressure systems, why weather events happen etc. After that learn jep charts. By then class should be starting and you'll have a good base to start with.

DO NOT study the ASRS, various dispatch software, ntsb investigations, or anything similar. The mistakes we have to learn from that you need to know will be told to you in your training
 
autosave36 said:
Start with the adx. I think a lot of people here got the Sheppard Air study materials. My class was a 12 week class and we learned the adx as we went so i didnt pre study it and have no experience with it personally, but lots of people here have liked it. A lot of people take the adx before they go to class.

Next study weather. Fronts, pressure systems, why weather events happen etc. After that learn jep charts. By then class should be starting and you'll have a good base to start with.

DO NOT study the ASRS, various dispatch software, ntsb investigations, or anything similar. The mistakes we have to learn from that you need to know will be told to you in your training
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QFT! The only thing I'd add is to use any ADX prep materials your DX school may offer; they can be a good resource too.
 
Hi all! I've been lurking around on here for a few months and all of the information on here has been super helpful. It really helped a lot with finding a path to get into an aviation profession which I believe will be a perfect fit. I wasn't even aware that flight dispatching was a thing until I stumbled upon it while studying for my private pilot certificate.

I was recently laid off from my job in IT (which I was ready to be done with anyway) and it was apparent to me that this was the perfect time to make a move and get into the game. I figured to myself, "Well, when else will you be off work long enough to take the course?". So, I'm starting the adventure and heading down to iFOD next week! I've been studying the Gleim course for the last 5 weeks or so, and feel pretty comfortable with the material.

Anyway, thanks again to you all for the great info. All the beginner sticky posts are excellent!

Exciting times!!!!
 
ZC said:
Hi, I'm also new to this forum. I had a similar situation. I passed my oral exam a week before I turned 23. I waited until' they mailed me my temporary then I started applying for jobs. But like 4EngineETOPS said some airlines won't get back to you until' months after you apply so applying 2 months out wouldn't be a bad idea either. (also I got a job within' 1 month after I started applying and had at least 2 different companies offering me a job.) However 1 company got a hold of me the same day I applied and the other about 1-2 months.
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I applied for jobs when I was in school. Lots of folks told me not to (to wait after graduation), but here I am with a job, and they are still looking. YMMV

I was also already 23 though.
 
DogwoodLynx said:
I applied for jobs when I was in school. Lots of folks told me not to (to wait after graduation), but here I am with a job, and they are still looking. YMMV

I was also already 23 though.
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How did you go about the whole ICIMS application thing about "do you have an ADX certificate?" Did you check Yes, no, or did you contact the hiring manager somehow and get clearance to put yes down on the app? I know that some apps will have a "no but in the process of getting one" with an expected date box.
 
A1TAPE said:
How did you go about the whole ICIMS application thing about "do you have an ADX certificate?" Did you check Yes, no, or did you contact the hiring manager somehow and get clearance to put yes down on the app? I know that some apps will have a "no but in the process of getting one" with an expected date box.
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You basically asked a question and then answered it yourself...How do you go about it? Well, if there is an option to put an expected graduation date, do it. Other than that its yes or no. Good luck trying to get in touch with a hiring manager
 
nickychang74 said:
Need some help and advice. I will be attending Jeppesen's flight dispatch program(fom 2, international flight planning) in September. what outside studying materials might i want to get and study from before the program starts? I saw Gleim Aviation has some material for this but i am not sure which material applies to the program. Could I get some help and and direction on what i should purchase and study from for the next 2 months. Thanks.
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@nickychang74, if you have already paid for your class, you "should" have received your study kit from Jeppesen, which includes the Gleim book and online access. They also send you EVERYTHING you will be using in the classes. It's a LOT of material, and the box it comes in weighs about 30 pounds :-)

I started in the late July group, completed Week One, and had to return home to CLT due to an ailing family member. I will be returning in September to finish. In the meantime, I'm studying the Gleim material, and other student notes that they provided. The classes are intense, and you will be "tabbing" a lot of pages and references in your books, so purchase some colored sticky tabs, lots of highlighters, and you will need a ruler later on, as well.

The instructor we had is really good, and is a weather guru! The first 2 weeks are heavily weather oriented, so focus on that material before you get there.

PM me if you have any other questions about the facility, hotels, area nearby, etc.
 

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I just started a job at an AA wholly owned regional (not envoy), but I am already seeing things that make me worry about moving up to any mainline. Is there some kind of secret formula? Is it who you know? If some dispatchers at the majors would share their timeline and what they did to help set them up to get their that would be awesome! Thanks in advance.
 
clark_kent7 said:
I just started a job at an AA wholly owned regional (not envoy), but I am already seeing things that make me worry about moving up to any mainline. Is there some kind of secret formula? Is it who you know? If some dispatchers at the majors would share their timeline and what they did to help set them up to get their that would be awesome! Thanks in advance.
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I think it's like many other things in life: timing, right place/right time, who you know, etc. When I was at G7, we had a guy go to United in less than two years; however, his father worked there, and that no doubt helped him.
 
Greetings fellas,
I’m fresh out of dispatch school, trying to land my first job. I have applied to quite a few airlines. I’m having a hard time so far. I’ve had one interview with a company and I thought it went extremely well but was given the rejection letter. Trying to stay positive and keep pushing, is there any specific steps i should be taking to make myself a more desirable candidate? I do have almost two years of 121 expirience as a crew member though I’m not sure that really helps. I am extremely grateful for any insight or advice!
 
futureb737pilot said:
Greetings fellas,
I’m fresh out of dispatch school, trying to land my first job. I have applied to quite a few airlines. I’m having a hard time so far. I’ve had one interview with a company and I thought it went extremely well but was given the rejection letter. Trying to stay positive and keep pushing, is there any specific steps i should be taking to make myself a more desirable candidate? I do have almost two years of 121 experience as a crew member though I’m not sure that really helps. I am extremely grateful for any insight or advice!
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First job is always the hardest one to get. Keep applying, stay persistent, follow up after interviews with emails, try and do some networking if possible. I got my first dispatch job a couple months after I got my certificate; I just kept applying at places my school sent me that were looking for dispatchers and eventually one of them hired me. What kind of crewmember experience do you have? If it was as a flight attendant, then while that is good in that it shows knowledge of the airline industry, it probably won't help much in terms of applicability towards dispatching. Also doesn't hurt to have a professional look over your resume and also practice interviewing (have a stock answer ready for the traditional interview questions.) Good luck!
 
futureb737pilot said:
Greetings fellas,
I’m fresh out of dispatch school, trying to land my first job. I have applied to quite a few airlines. I’m having a hard time so far. I’ve had one interview with a company and I thought it went extremely well but was given the rejection letter. Trying to stay positive and keep pushing, is there any specific steps i should be taking to make myself a more desirable candidate? I do have almost two years of 121 expirience as a crew member though I’m not sure that really helps. I am extremely grateful for any insight or advice!
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Networking can help, no question about it. I landed my first and only gig because I met a DXer at the Sheffield workshops. In between the 5 week courses, Sheffield offers neat workshops on EWINS, ETOPS, and international flight planning, which I took. Anyway, a guy from where I worked attended the workshops, and he was passing out business cards. You bet your bippy I took one! They were looking for DXers, and I was looking for a job. Two of us from my class were hired. Does your DX alma mater have workshops you can attend? If not, would you be able to attend the Sheffield workshops? It's a thought...
 
A-9er said:
Networking can help, no question about it. I landed my first and only gig because I met a DXer at the Sheffield workshops. In between the 5 week courses, Sheffield offers neat workshops on EWINS, ETOPS, and international flight planning, which I took. Anyway, a guy from where I worked attended the workshops, and he was passing out business cards. You bet your bippy I took one! They were looking for DXers, and I was looking for a job. Two of us from my class were hired. Does your DX alma mater have workshops you can attend? If not, would you be able to attend the Sheffield workshops? It's a thought...
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I’ve had fairly decent luck reaching out to dispatchers on LinkedIn. Some people are cool about telling you about their employer.

I’ve gotten a few OCC tours that way.
 
A-9er said:
Networking can help, no question about it. I landed my first and only gig because I met a DXer at the Sheffield workshops. In between the 5 week courses, Sheffield offers neat workshops on EWINS, ETOPS, and international flight planning, which I took. Anyway, a guy from where I worked attended the workshops, and he was passing out business cards. You bet your bippy I took one! They were looking for DXers, and I was looking for a job. Two of us from my class were hired. Does your DX alma mater have workshops you can attend? If not, would you be able to attend the Sheffield workshops? It's a thought...
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I went to ATP, they have given me a list of places hiring. I have applied to all. I have not heard of the Sheffield Workshops, researching it right now. Thanks!
 
manniax said:
First job is always the hardest one to get. Keep applying, stay persistent, follow up after interviews with emails, try and do some networking if possible. I got my first dispatch job a couple months after I got my certificate; I just kept applying at places my school sent me that were looking for dispatchers and eventually one of them hired me. What kind of crewmember experience do you have? If it was as a flight attendant, then while that is good in that it shows knowledge of the airline industry, it probably won't help much in terms of applicability towards dispatching. Also doesn't hurt to have a professional look over your resume and also practice interviewing (have a stock answer ready for the traditional interview questions.) Good luck!
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I was a Flight attendant at F9. I have some flight time too, not really applicable to DX. It did help a bit as far as reading METARS/TAFS as well as the weight and balance topics that we covered in class. I really appreciate your input! Really can’t thank yall enough. I have such a passion for aviation and I’m eager to learn more and begin a great career as a dispatcher.
 
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