SWA

[AlphaLimaCharlie]

I understand that SWA is well known for hiring from within. I also realize there is enormous competition for a dispatch position at SWA. I admit that it's a lofty goal, and I don't want to come across as being naive to that. With that being said, I'd appreciate your advice for a newly certified dispatcher:

I fully intend to keep my options open, and I've gathered that the dispatch career can be a great one- especially if you're willing to go wherever the opportunities pop up. I don't intend to limit myself to just one opportunity, but I also want to have an "ultimate goal" to use as motivation. Plus, Dallas is home.

For a newly certified dispatcher with little to no experience, does it make sense to pursue a customer service/ramp/operations position/etc with SWA (forego valuable dispatch experience elsewhere) and hope to move internally to the dispatch side later? Is this the route internal applicants take?

Knowing how valuable dispatch experience at a regional can be long term, is it smarter to gain the experience at a regional, start building a career, and hope the stars line up later in life to pursue the ultimate goal?

As always, thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[belgiumania]

People get hired both ways but there is really no sure way to tell what is the better option so the question really becomes whether or not you ONLY want to dispatch for WN in the future and no other carriers.

Personally, I would take my dispatch license and get some use out of it and leave my options for the future open by getting experience elsewhere. Afterall, you paid for the license already and AA is also going to be in the Dallas area for a long time, if you go the CSA route at SWA you'll make less than a dispatcher at a regional and will only be giving yourself a chance to dispatch at WN.

For reference I was in the same boat as you were - from Seattle and really wanted to end up dispatching for AS. Knowing AS really pushes internal hiring I still decided to get dispatch experience at regionals and managed to get hired on at AS in near record time. But at the same time as my plan worked for me I was gaining the necessary experience to be able to move onto another major as a dispatcher, and not relying on the internal hiring tendencies at AS to get me a job. And just so you know I'm sure WN is similar to AS in that there are MANY people in the company with a dispatch license trying to get hired on internally with every round. The competition is almost more difficult for them than external candidates because they are all competing with no relevant experience to set them apart from each other.

 

[FXMXC]

Ditto to what belgiumania just said I work at FX as an MX controller and like AS and WN we also hire from within for both DX and MX However, everyone and their brother has a dispatch ticket here and when an internal posting comes up there is a conga line of people who are interviewing and most all have no dispatch experience (including me). We had a guy here in maintenance control as a planner who has interviewed for a dispatch spot 11 times in the last 4 years and still has not got in and he was just 4 credits short of his masters degree as well. So at the very least go get a few years dispatch experience then if you want to go to SWA and try to get in from an agent or whatever at least it will seperate you from the masses. Good Luck.

 

[mexipilot]

Gretings AlphaLimaCharlie, here is a thought;

Within the Dallas Metroplex area I understand that there are other non Part 121 Aircraft Dispatching opportunities, I would suggest doing a thorough search as I know I have seen one, two and perhaps even three Private/corporate Aviation companies looking to hire Dispatchers/Fligh planners/following, etc. Aerotech and Bombardier come to mind, but it has been a while since I myself looked at these companies there in Dallas and realized that these non airline opportunities existed. That said, it would be a scheduling challenge, but perhaps not impossible that you could take on a part time position at Southwest Airlines and a part or full time job with one of these companies where you can exercise your dispatch certificate and obtain some experience. A year or two later you put in for the Aircraft Dispatcher Job at Southwest and you bring to the table experience in the craft, as well as being an Internal Candidate! While the 1-2 year period goes by and since you will already be an employee of WN, you start making trips to the OCC there in Dallas and start networking so that managers at Dispatch get to know who you are and that you have a sincere and commited desire to join the ranks of WN Dispatch. I know for a fact that Manager's at Southwest indeed like to hire internally, and even more so at folks that took time to go and do 'day in the fields' on their own time to learn about the Job. You may have to wait a while for your shot at an Interview for Dispatch at WN, but when that day comes and it should, you will have your original Company hire date for travel, vacation, and other benefits. I can not emphasize enough that you do some research within the Dallas area, because these companies could have gome out of business, and that could be the case of course, but I am almost positive that there are other flight planning Jobs and opportunities outside of Southest and AMR Corp there in Dallas. Also, remember this always; So many times it is not what you know, but who you know, as an Internal employee you will have a 'key' to the entrance of the OCC (Operations Control Center) sort of speak and it will be up to you to start visiting and 'shadowing' with other dispatcher's there so you can start working on landing that interview and job. An opportunity that unless you are an Internal employee, it will simply not happen. Last, within the OCC at Southwest there are other jobs such as FLIFO desk, Customer Support and Crew Scheduling that perhaps may be an option for you along your road to WN Dispatch. Best of Luck to you and consider this as a way to possibly stay in the Dallas area and start working at WN , even if it's not as a Dispatcher right away, I can attest to many persons that are Dispatchers at Major Airlines that never went to the Regionals and worked at different departments within the Major Airline where they dispatch today, and when they did get to Dispatch they were #1 in seniority within their class as they brought over their original Company seniority hire date! P.S. One last thought, to make the two job scenario work, look for an entry level position at WN that is either of a part time nature or one that will allow you to trade away the bulk of your shifts and leave you plenty of time and flexibility to work the other job exercising your dispatch certificate. Good Luck!

 

[Flagship_dxer]

Being internal only matters if you have connections in the SOC. There are many employees at WN/FX that have dispatch licenses and want to work in dispatch. Most either dont have the knowledge to pass the interview or they dont have the right friends in high places. You have a better chance of getting hired at Southwest by having dispatch experience outside the company than you do being in the company but without having the proper connections in the SOC.

DFW has a lot of Part 91 and 135 operators particularly at ADS. The one disclaimer is that many of the 91/135 jobs arent "dispatch" jobs. They are more like crew schedulers, equipment coordinators and charter sales/quotes.

If you live in DFW, AA is an option and FlexJet pays pretty well too.

Southwest can be notoriously hard to get inside in any position. They have a lot of competition for all of their jobs. I would keep your lofty goals but at the same time be realistic. Many dispatchers have gone to the regionals and worked their way up into Southwest dispatch.

In dispatch, if you dont keep all your options open you run the risk of being a 20-30 year regional dispatcher or career ramper/gate agent, etc....Many apply but few are interviewed and even fewer are hired at Southwest and even all the other majors.

 

[AlphaLimaCharlie]

Thanks for taking the time to pass along your thoughts and advice. I really do value all of your input as individuals who have been in similar shoes before and have much more first-hand knowledge than I do. I think you've confirmed what I already felt in the back of my head. In the end, I want to have a career as a dispatcher. Of course there will be "dream jobs" to pursue, but I think it's dangerous to limit opportunities to just one place. I think I'll keep an eye out for any and all opportunities that arise. Perhaps the stars will align to work for WN at some point, but there may be other equally exciting opportunities along the way.

Thanks again.