Off the Street Hiring ending?

That doesn't make sense that the FAA would stop hiring off the street. I have visited a few towers and they have people that are able to retire, but are holding off until they can restaff. If the FAA has noticed that most OTS hires wash out at higher level facilities, then they can certainly change the locations of OTS to give them training a smaller facilities first.

I talked to my uncle who is an instructor at the academy last night. He told me they he believes they will slow down hiring people for enroute, but the FAA still needs a ton of new controllers.
 
dredding said:
That doesn't make sense that the FAA would stop hiring off the street. I have visited a few towers and they have people that are able to retire, but are holding off until they can restaff. If the FAA has noticed that most OTS hires wash out at higher level facilities, then they can certainly change the locations of OTS to give them training a smaller facilities first.

I talked to my uncle who is an instructor at the academy last night. He told me they he believes they will slow down hiring people for enroute, but the FAA still needs a ton of new controllers.
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I can second that. I talked to my dad last night; he is an ATM. He said no way are they stopping OTS hiring. They cannot get enough CTI/VRA applicants to fill the void. The majority of people heading to his facility are OTS guys and gals. He also mentioned that he has 3 people joining his facility (level 9 tower) that are coming from a center. They washed out of the center so the FAA is moving them to a lower level to help them succeed.
 
I know that this may be up in the air, but anyone know when abouts the next announcement may come out? When was the las one and how many were posted last year? 7 or 8? Thanks!
 
I am joining. I love the vulgarity in the group purpose. It totally makes us seem professional and worthy of the high pay our predecessors had and we desire.:sarcasm:
 
nathanw said:
In 2007 they had state-specific OTS applications. Before that I don't know.
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I just toured a facility yesterday and while I cannot remember exactly what it was that he said he went through it was just another acronym. It was something like the "Seal" process or.. "Shield".. or "field" or something weird like "face"..
:buck:
 
The contact number they give you when you apply for the position does help a bit. I called, and the lady said that there might be another PUBNAT at the end of feb/early march. *shrug* May be worth remembering.
 
I definitely think the OTS hiring will be coming to an end once the FAA/NATCA contract dispute is resolved and the pay is restored. As far as OTS people "already" washing out that some of you seem to not believe...we've already had 1 OTS guy wash out from my facility (level 5) and I know of several others who have been sent packing from other facilities.

As far as the FAA needing OTS guys so bad to fill the gap because they couldn't possibly hire enough military guys. Let's not forget that if this contract issue is resolved less and less veteran controllers will retire as soon as they are eligible (providing the FAA more time to recruit military/other). More and more military people will opt to get out of the military and go where the money is (providing a bigger pool for the FAA to draw from). And there are other avenues besides military/CTI...how about the thousands of controllers currently working at contract towers just waiting until the pay is fixed before coming to the faa, or the controllers who quit (not retired), quit the faa due to the white book who would come back once fixed.

I do not think that the OTS hiring will end overnight, but I would put money on it being over within the next couple of years. My advice to any of you OTS people currently going through the process is: DO NOT turn your offer down. There's no guarantee you'll get another chance. Get in while you can if this is what you want and just try to transfer later.

Also be aware that it is a completely different academy than it used to be. The academy used to be the "screen" for the FAA. People would wash out at a much higher rate leaving behind the ones who stood a good chance of making it. Now nearly (nearly, not all) all people who attend the academy make it through, meaning that there are people going to the facilities who by the "old" standard never would've made it past OKC. They are using the facilities as a screen now which is completely ridiculous. The "quality" of developmental we're receiving is far inferior to what it should be. They are showing up lacking basic knowledge that should be taught in OKC. I've talked to other training managers in my region and they say the same thing (most unprepared developmentals ever). I spoke with the training manager at a level 12 who received 10 OTS hires and was livid. When he called HR to find out what would happen once these 10 wash out the reply was "We'll send you 10 more." Guess it's the "throw enough 'crap' at the wall some of it's bound to stick" mentality of the current FAA (no offense, strictly metaphor).

So, take your offer while you can. When you get to the academy study, study, study. Passing the academy does not make you a controller and does not earn you any "rights" at your facility. Once you get to your facility study, study, study. If your not on position you should be in a book. You should constantly be asking to get time, not just waiting to be called to position. Knowledge and determination can go a long way to make up for what you may lack in skill (meaning: if you're struggling at your facility people will be more willing to help you if you know the books and show that you really care about your job, as opposed to just washing you out and not thinking twice).

This got off on a tangent, but to answer the original question...Yes. OTS hiring will come to an end if the contract is fixed. Just my opinion, not based on any fact so take it or leave it. Good luck to everybody who gets hired, I wish you all the best.
 
well done dave,what he says is 100% on the money. the FFA is using you nubees to make the numbers look good and they dont care if you make or not becaue there is a ton of people ready to take your place in a heart beat.
 
atcdave said:
I definitely think the OTS hiring will be coming to an end once the FAA/NATCA contract dispute is resolved and the pay is restored. As far as OTS people "already" washing out that some of you seem to not believe...we've already had 1 OTS guy wash out from my facility (level 5) and I know of several others who have been sent packing from other facilities.

As far as the FAA needing OTS guys so bad to fill the gap because they couldn't possibly hire enough military guys. Let's not forget that if this contract issue is resolved less and less veteran controllers will retire as soon as they are eligible (providing the FAA more time to recruit military/other). More and more military people will opt to get out of the military and go where the money is (providing a bigger pool for the FAA to draw from). And there are other avenues besides military/CTI...how about the thousands of controllers currently working at contract towers just waiting until the pay is fixed before coming to the faa, or the controllers who quit (not retired), quit the faa due to the white book who would come back once fixed.

I do not think that the OTS hiring will end overnight, but I would put money on it being over within the next couple of years. My advice to any of you OTS people currently going through the process is: DO NOT turn your offer down. There's no guarantee you'll get another chance. Get in while you can if this is what you want and just try to transfer later.
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I don't necessarily disagree -- and take what I say with a huge grain of salt, since this is coming from an applicant and not a veteran controller -- but I don't see how resolving the contract will buy enough time to counter the stated FAA need of "17,000 controllers over the next ten years". I understand that the IWR and everything coming with it has caused serious problems, but I don't see the resolution to that coming quickly, nor am I sure that it'll turn around everyone who's decided on an earlier retirement.

In any case, the retirement bump isn't just caused by FAA mismanagement; my understanding has been that the primary reason is due to the 1981 firings and that the pay cuts have just sped things up. There may be a slight increase in military controllers signing up with the Iraq pullout, but I don't see it being enough to meet that massive need.

With all that said -- and again, take it as you will, being the opinion of someone who's not even through the doors yet (although I do try to form my opinions on what I hear from actual controllers, not other applicants) -- I do agree that no matter how things go, things will certainly be more challenging for OTS applicants. We're the bottom of the barrel, and with a stepped up effort by the FAA to try and recruit us, the competition is only going to increase. And I agree that it'd be an unwise decision to turn down any offer made, given that OTS are the least valuable and most plentiful group for them to draw controllers from... if you're not willing to work somewhere, there are plenty of more people with the same AT-SAT score who are.

All right, feel free to pick that apart mercilessly. Some of the most informative things I've read here have been when vets have torn apart a misguided applicant's opinion... *cough*
 
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