Pilot/ATC pay over career

There is that always looming "NextGen" thing that could make us obsolete.:eek:


You have to remember that these are numbers for Level 11/12, whereas a large majority of facilities are in the lower scale with pay numbers that are not as high.


Believe you me, I count my blessings everyday at how lucky I am to have been given this opportunity. And "more stressful" is relative. There is definitely stress involved but my previous job in between military and FAA ATC stints was far and away more stressful than this.

If it makes you guys feel any better i wanted to be a pilot back in the day but figured college would be a waste of time for my highschool self. The Marine Corps fixed that though.
 
Hootie said:
I stand corrected. But still I bet 25% of that total is locality pay due to having to live in a NYC,SFO, or BOS style $$$ situation. Either way impressive. And a lot more stress than being a pilot.
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Yeah but aren't a majority of major pilots on the big stuff based out of these cities for the same reasons big ATC facilities are? Sure you can commute but locality percentage is relative. Everywhere in the US sees at least 14%
 
dasleben said:
So....what's that number to check my CTI eligibility again? :)
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(405) 954-4657

that is the real number if you are really interested.


Wow I didn't realize ATC pay was so good, I thought they took large pay cuts.
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There was a period from 2006-2009 where pay was cut/ raises nonexistant but the new contract last year fixed most of it.

There still is a large disparity (30k+) between those checked out pre-2006 and those post but the new contract takes a lot of that away over the next two years.(the first step was in Jan of this year)
 
boondr said:
You have to remember that these are numbers for Level 11/12, whereas a large majority of facilities are in the lower scale with pay numbers that are not as high.
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That's something I've thought about before. I'd assume it's just as easy to get sent off to some Level 5 where you'd be sitting around watching Jethro do touch and goes in his Cub, topping out at $60,000/year. :bandit:

boondr said:
If it makes you guys feel any better i wanted to be a pilot back in the day but figured college would be a waste of time for my highschool self. The Marine Corps fixed that though.
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Honestly, even though I may sometimes say "Man, ATC might have been cool," at the end of the day I still don't see myself leaving the cockpit. I've tried to get out of flying (more than once, even), and each time I keep crawling back. I'm just a junkie in need of a fix. :beer:
 
boondr said:
(405) 954-4657

that is the real number if you are really interested.
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Thanks brother. I called and left a message for the CTI lady. That said, I've pursued ATC twice and both times decided to keep flying. As I said, I don't think I can give up flying that easily... Can't trade this for a darkened room :D:

sunriseontop.jpg
 
dasleben said:
That's something I've thought about before. I'd assume it's just as easy to get sent off to some Level 5 where you'd be sitting around watching Jethro do touch and goes in his Cub, topping out at $60,000/year. :bandit:



Honestly, even though I may sometimes say "Man, ATC might have been cool," at the end of the day I still don't see myself leaving the cockpit. I've tried to get out of flying (more than once, even), and each time I keep crawling back. I'm just a junkie in need of a fix. :beer:
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One of these days I am going to set out a bidding war to all the CTI's here on JC for the opportunity to provide my PP/IFR training, it's definitely something I want to get done.:D (Actually I got something like 4 hrs training pre-16 before my dad a CFII lost his med)

J/K I will make sure whoever does it will get a fair wage.


At least 3 bags of peanuts per flight should do it.
 
I think I'm dumb not to take the ATC route...but I think I would be regretting not being a pilot. I've just got to get flying out of my system in the next couple of years.
 
flyeagle111 said:
I think I'm dumb not to take the ATC route...but I think I would be regretting not being a pilot. I've just got to get flying out of my system in the next couple of years.
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No reason you can't fly on your own while working ATC. I would say at least half of my co-workers have PPL and more than a few have CFI's (one has an ATP).
 
boondr said:
No reason you can fly on your own while working ATC. I would say at least half of my co-workers have PPL and more than a few have CFI's (one has an ATP).
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...and since you guys can retire after ONLY 25 years, you can probably pursue a flying career after ATC!
 
SIUav8er said:
...and since you guys can retire after ONLY 25 years, you can probably pursue a flying career after ATC!
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Speaking of that, I ran into a retired Atlanta center guy who flew for ASA for a couple of years and then was hired on at Netjets. Talk about banking some money!
 
boondr said:
One of these days I am going to set out a bidding war to all the CTI's here on JC for the opportunity to provide my PP/IFR training, it's definitely something I want to get done.:D (Actually I got something like 4 hrs training pre-16 before my dad a CFII lost his med)

J/K I will make sure whoever does it will get a fair wage.


At least 3 bags of peanuts per flight should do it.
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Ain't gonna be me. I require at least 5 bags of peanuts. I am an ATP, you see. :D

Actually I did do some freelance CFI work not too long ago. Fun, but I quickly realized that I wasn't terribly interested in instructing any more. Trying to do 140 knots down final in a Grumman AA1 probably wasn't the best lesson to be teaching a pre-solo anyway. :pirate:

Oh, I got a phone call back from the CTI lady (that was quick). She said that she has a note on my file saying that I'd dropped out of the program in 2006. Definitely not true, but that basically means that I'm well out of consideration at this point anyway.

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Somebody may have mentioned this, but being a pilot is a lot more forgiving from the viewpoint that if you mess up on an interview or don't do very well for a company and get let go, you can usually start the process over again and find another job (assuming you don't have accident or violation, and even then, it's still possible). HOWEVER, if you wash out of your ATC facility, how many more shots do you have before you must pick a new career?
 
hambone said:
Somebody may have mentioned this, but being a pilot is a lot more forgiving from the viewpoint that if you mess up on an interview or don't do very well for a company and get let go, you can usually start the process over again and find another job (assuming you don't have accident or violation, and even then, it's still possible). HOWEVER, if you wash out of your ATC facility, how many more shots do you have before you must pick a new career?
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So in Airline Piloting failure IS an option?
 
Hootie said:
Also NO WAY does atc pay 120k at year three. Where are you getting your data!!
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At level 11/12 facilities, it does. When I make CPC my pay at ZME will be just short of $120k per year, assuming that the locality pay remains the same through 1/1/2012. As mentioned earlier this also does not take into consideration night/Sunday differential, overtime, and any other premiums (CIC, OJTI) one could earn.

On average after three years, it is certainly less, but probably by not too much. I'd say it is probably still in the $80-100k range, simply because of the large number of controllers concentrated in higher level facilities.

Quite a few controllers go on to working at contract facilities, or working as classroom/simulation instructors at a facility or OKC after retirement as well. Most of them do quite well in either endeavor, in addition to their pension.
 
The OP left out one major sticking point. The government doesn't have the money to keep paying ATC guys the fat deal they've been getting. The country is basically bankrupt and getting into more and more debt. Look for a restructuring that will severly reduce pay and benefits, perhaps including privatizaton.
 
O&M said:
The OP left out one major sticking point. The government doesn't have the money to keep paying ATC guys the fat deal they've been getting. The country is basically bankrupt and getting into more and more debt. Look for a restructuring that will severly reduce pay and benefits, perhaps including privatizaton.
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What makes you think it is a "fat deal"? You're no more qualified to decide if we're overpaid than I am to tell you you're overpaid (whatever your occupation may be).
 
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