Other Job Opportunities w/ a DX Certificate

[ManualDXer]

I am currently a dispatcher for a 121 operation but I'm not sure if this career and lifestyle is for me. My question is what other jobs can you do that look for people with dispatch certificates, or value that kind of experience? This can be anything within or outside of the aviation industry. I'm just curious what y'all have seen or heard of, or any career transitions you've seen former DXers make? Thanks in advance!

 

[manniax]

Train dispatcher, oil/gas pipeline dispatcher, air traffic controller, IT support for flight planning systems, airport operations/management

 

[Flaps80]

Airport ramp control is another good option. The pay is decent and you still get to work directly with airplanes. Having dispatch experience absolutely helped me get hired into my current role as a ramp controller at IAH. If you’re interested, I’m more than happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

[kidjudge]

Airport Operations Supervisor

 

[757Geek]

Route database specialists and International Overflight Rights Specialists are behind the scenes jobs that no one talks about but are decent paying jobs where dispatch certificates come in handy.

 

[bbmikej]

You said the lifestyle wasn't for you. By that did you mean the shift work? If so, most of the options listed wouldn't be a good fit. I think what 757Geek points out would be what to look into.

 

[flywithmyeyesclosed]

Corporate aviation companies seem to look favorably on ones with their ADX certificate. The schedule isn’t always as strenuous, with a bit more flexibility sometimes. You might have to do some things outside of dispatch, but the pay is usually very good.

 

[Karee]

You said the lifestyle wasn't for you. By that did you mean the shift work? If so, most of the options listed wouldn't be a good fit. I think what 757Geek points out would be what to look into.

I’m thinking “the lifestyle” means poverty.

 

[LaCorderaVoladora]

I could see the lifestyle maybe being the long 10+ hour shifts with no real lunch breaks (or regular breaks) like other types of careers. Just eat at your desk and pee when you can. Sitting in windowless rooms in front of a computer the entire time, often little to no sunshine or natural light, and maybe shift work and the bad pay at first too. Although I was very pleasantly surprised to find the legacies have some shifts that are 8-9 hours. And the fact you must live (or commute) where the headquarters are, not like you can live anywhere in the country and apply at your closest local office or branch. This line of work is definitely a way of life all in it’s own. It is interesting to see what else you can do with the dx license.

 

[azmedic]

What do you mean by “lifestyle”? Seniority based shift work? Commuting? Pay? There are opportunities outside of being a line dispatcher in most SOCs


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[Athlaka]

Perhaps the stress on irop days? Haven’t seen that mentioned here.

 

[kacampbell]

Software companies that work with aviation specialties/products are always looking for SMEs (subject matter experts) for training, marketing, product management, etc. You have your standard flight planning groups like CAE, NAVBLUE, FlightKeys, Lufthansa Systems and then you have Aerodata, tomorrow.io, RocketRoute....the list goes on. Any company trying to build software for the end user (dispatcher) can greatly benefit from having an actual dispatcher on their team.