"You should try working for a government agency (one department particularly), where you can't resign if a big bad manager or trainer makes you feel bad, but have to suck it up and go home with your tail between your legs"
:yeahthat: 12 hour ATC days in Iraq, mortars constantly (the tower is used as a reference point, lucky us), no replacement in sight and it's Christmas! FAA wins.
:yeahthat:I get pretty irratated with all the negativity on here...... Granted, ATL, I do appreciate that you are trying to make sure we know what we are getting into here, and you have. But there is a fine line between warning us and then just being pessimistic.
if you want to see a Disgruntled person here you go:
After the better part of a decade in one of the most screwed over jobs in the AF (Flying Crewchief on Heavies) 12-18 hour days,, 96 hour work weeks for months on end (and only getting payed for 40 hours/week no matter what i worked.), getting excited about only having to work 12 hour days. Working outside in anything from 130 degree deserts where if you touched anything on the airplane with an unprotected hand your skin was fused to the metal, and then being told, that we can't give you any gloves becuase we are out of money for them, all the time being fully clothed in Starched up heavy Uniforms, that if they werent in immaculate condition we where getting written up, which could do anything from affect our next promotion to cut our pay check, lead to extra duties, or even (in a worst case scenario) lead to being discharged for "Failure to comply with military Standards" which meant a less than honorable discharge which means, no federal benifits ever, and McDonalds wont even hire me. Then going to Alaska or Iceland in January and being told that you are not authorized to get the Extreme cold weather parka, but see finance and personnel pukes walking form their cars to their nicely heated offices in one. (I know someone is thinking it so I will head it off right now: We are NOT Allowed to wear ANYTHING that was not issued to us, so no, I couldn't just go buy my own) Working outside in the Rain, the snow, blizzards, hell flying towards a hurrican while everyone else is getting out of dodge. 6-12 month deployements. And when you get to a location, there is no beds or anywhere to sleep, so you sleep in whatever plane is not flying at the time only to be woken up 6 times a night to move airplanes as one gets ready to fly and others land. If you do have tents or places to sleep, they always manage to plae them at the approace, departure end of the runway, so every few minutes you have a B1, or a F-15, or a german F-4 taking off right over your head..... Get the picture? Averaging 200-250 days out of the year deployed for all of my career. Haven't even been in the same country as my family for christmas of Thanksgiving, or even the fourth of july for the past 8 years, all while getting payed half as much as ATC. Getting home on a friday at 5 pm from a 3 month trip and being told to "go home un-pack, see your family, do your laundry and re-pack; you have another trip leaving on monday at 0400." Finally going home at 0800 after working mids, getting called back in at 0930 becuase they need me to go to such and such place. Getting called in from working on one of the planes and told to go home and pack, be back in an hour, you have a mission that you need to be on. Living for 2 week stints in an underground bunker, only a few minutes from home, but not being able to leave or have visitors the entire time, just waiting for an alarm to go off. Missing Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries...... everything. Not because I had to work and would be getting off late, but becuase I was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kyrgastan, turkey, Oman, Diego Garcia, Qutar, UAE, etc.....the list goes on and on....
Being told that anyone that has over 100 days a year deployed will be getting extra pay..... ohh wait, we got you a waiver so we can keep sending your ass all over gods green earth with out having to pay you.
Being told to change how you are doing things on a weekly, or monthly basis, anytime anyone that had a higher rank than me came along, they had a "better" way to do it.... Being held accountable for a mistake you did months ago, or a mistake you trainee did months ago, even though you were in Turkey when he made the mistake and he was at home station. There was a ZERO tolerance for mistakes in my job too, we had people checking peoples work who were checking other peoples work. The worst part about it, is that our mistakes were not immediately noticable, we had to got home and stew, sometimes only until you could check it the next day, the entire night just hoping nothing went wrong, but if the plane left on a mission, then you had to deal with the question/doubt for days, weeks, or months even.....
Being told that you get 30 days paid vacation a year, and every year you have to get a wavier to sell 30 days back to the government because you were not able to use it and you aren't allowed to keep more that 60 days.
you get the point?.... I can easily keep going, but I think I made my point, the FAA is not the worst thing to happen to a person. In fact, compared to what I came from, it is sounding pretty good. At least I get to go home to my own bed everyday, get payed extra for working overtime and payed extra for working holidays. Sure, I may have to deal with a little political BS, but I guarantee it isn't anything compared to what I have been dealing with for the last 9 years....
The FAA is looking like an improvement to what I am used to....
The kicker to it all, no matter how bad it got, no matter how pissed off I got, I couldn't just say "I have had enough, Peace, I am out". Never had a union to run to, the closest thing to it was a Military Defense lawyer to review your "Options". The only consolation that I ever got was, "suck it up, it was your choice to join the military, now do your job."
The Funny thing is, I Loved my job, it was probably one of the best things I ever did in my life. But it just wasn't something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
eek:SHOCKER!!) Is he the only one? To say there are no "positives" about the job, well you're either retarded or just a spoiled brat.
