Air Traffic Control hiring bid (160k+ a year career)(Serious thread)

42 Monks

Veteran
Supporter
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
57,646
Reputation
9,910
Daps
214,070
Reppin
Carolina
ATC probationary employees are not subject to any of the stuff Trump has put out. ZERO trainees have been fired due to Trumps stuff

We weren’t subject to the buyouts or early retirement stuff.
yep.

and lost in our news cycle is how european air traffic controllers are constantly going on strike :dead: the sector is 10+ years past due for a massive overhaul across the board. there's gonna be systemic changes to how airports do business with that workforce and any modern training/staffing initiative is gonna help folks stay locked in early.
 

xXMASHERXx

Superstar
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
9,361
Reputation
1,613
Daps
34,944
I’ve went back and forth long and hard about whether to create this thread, and I think this still is advantageous for people looking for a career change. With everything happening in the news, this career has been highlighted even more. And that can either be really good, or maybe we this career might suffer temporarily. Either way you’re making really good $$, and not working that particularly hard about 80% of the time.


Must be younger than 31 before you apply



Bid is open until March 17th



I’ve made this thread a couple of different times since I've been on this site, and have had about 4-5 Coli brehs reach out to me that they got hired and went on to the FAA Academy for 3 months (shout-out to them, hopefully y'all passed and are on to your facilities)

Really this is the reason I joined this site. I'm basically one of like 4 black men/women in my building. This career needs more young black men.... Plus y'all can help me with my breaks and seniority.

What is Air Traffic control?

Basically these are the people who are either in a tower, or a government building that talk to planes/pilots and give them clearances for takeoff.. clear them to land.. move them around weather.. basically make sure that everyone in the sky doesn't hit one another.

How much can I make with ATC?

Generally even a low level tower (think of a tiny airport near you) will make 100k+ with overtime and different differentials. But the real $$ is going to be made at either a bigger tower aka bigger airport... or with a Tracon or Center. These are the locations that cover all the other airspace in the US around the bigger airports. Think of when you're flying above the clouds 30,000 ft above the air, these are the people who are talking to the commercial airlines or even the GA pilots that take off from middle of now where airports. Once you are done with training, you will make 160k+ with increases in pay yearly. However even "halfway" done with training you are still making 100k+ a year because you have ratings and big raises as you progress through training.

What do I gotta do in order to get hired?

You have to input your resume on USAJobs.. and find the announcement when the days happen. To find an announcement, search for job series "2152", and make sure U.S. Citizens is marked in the "who may apply box". The job title is Air Traffic Control Specialist - Trainee, and the announcement number will be something like "FAA-ATO-16-ALLSRCE-49075". Note the "ALLSRCE", this indicates the "no experience" bid. The FAA also announces its internal bids on usajobs; if you SEE these, they are not hiring announcements for NEW hires.

What qualifications do I need?

  • Be a U.S. citizen
  • Be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (Required for males born after 12/31/1959)
  • Be younger than 31 years old before the closing date of the application period (with limited exceptions)
  • Have either one year of general work experience or four years of education leading to a bachelor’s degree, or a combination of both
  • Speak English clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment
  • Be willing to relocate to an FAA facility based on agency staffing needs

What happens after I apply?

You will wait for an email and set up a time for a test that you need to pass in order to get to the next step.. in this test there is basically a bunch of "games" and math problems that you need to do well on. Things like "separating multiple dots on a screen while also doing math problems".. and "memorizing 10 sets of numbers in order", etc. etc.

If you score high enough.. you then get an offer letter to go to Oklahoma City for 3-4 months (paid) for the FAA Academy where they teach you how to do the job in a smaller way. This part is actually pretty difficult. Won't sugar coat this part, but generally around 50% of the people who come here don't pass..... HOWEVER from what I've read they've done a much better job of being able to pass people on a more consistent basis, while also being able to pocket 3-4k while you're down there.



Why am I posting this on here?

I work in a Center.. and I'm at the bottom in terms of seniority, and I want other people in the community to get an opportunity to see this and apply. There need to be more of us in the aviation community, it's a great living in terms of $$ and retirement. So anyone who generally wants to know more. Let me know.. there’s a lot of misinformation about this topic and career.

It’s still one you can set yourself and your family up for life, retire early, and still live a very comfortable life
If Cybersecurity wasn't my dream career I would jump on this in a heartbeat. Salute to you for trying to put others on.
 

jaydawg08

Superstar
Joined
May 24, 2022
Messages
9,706
Reputation
1,381
Daps
24,202
Be younger than 31 years old before the closing date of the application period (with limited exceptions)

Most people on here are mid 30"s early 40's
I always tell people when they post this….. give this information out to your niece/nephew/young coworkers, etc

Give the young people the opportunity and information to see this
 

jaydawg08

Superstar
Joined
May 24, 2022
Messages
9,706
Reputation
1,381
Daps
24,202
...yet. You doing all a good solid here, but the DoD was exempt a month ago too and now...
I do get it.. however they’ve already talked about wage increases to new hires and opening up a bid ASAP when they just had an open bid some months ago

All the other agencies are looking for cuts, they are directly doing the opposite with ATC. A lot of it might be political, but it is needed

I don’t trust this admin. But you can trust this industry is 10000% needed and can tank someone’s political career so the incentive is there to keep this sector going
 

jay83

Superstar
Joined
Sep 15, 2019
Messages
6,528
Reputation
1,670
Daps
45,117
ATC is a lot of responsibility. A experienced ATC has prevented mid airs quite a bit. With that said if you are up to it the salary is great. You have to be locked in. This isn’t job you can half ass.

But I think a breh looking for a come up will do well if he’s willing to put in the work. A good ATC professional is always in demand.
 

Ezekiel 25:17

Veteran
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
Messages
34,362
Reputation
2,289
Daps
123,784
You are crazy to volunteer to be a new federal employee in any capacity in 2025. :picard:



This man blanket fired the people in charge of nukes two weeks ago at the Department of Energy. Fired CDC people last week. I hope you dont think ATC is safe.


I wouldnt be surprised if Musk purposely squeezes the working conditions for existing ATC employees and just brings in military e4(s) at 40k a year to do the same work afterwards. He did the same sht at twitter, then complained about a shortage of workers , and finally brought in h1bs at a fraction of the pay to do the work



@jaydawg08 , we legitimately have a moron in the white house. And his "advisor" is equally clueless. Your advice was nice two years ago. But You are sending brehs into a burning building here

Considering most folks don't sniff $100k, its well worth the chances. Big salary with no need for a college degree. If I was a breh working at a warehouse or fastfood I'd be applying so damn fast.

And good luck keeping any individual, military or not, doing this job for $40k
 

maxamusa

Veteran
Joined
Mar 11, 2022
Messages
27,005
Reputation
7,030
Daps
67,707
Reppin
Old York
You couldn't pay me enough to work for the Federal Government again.
:mjlol:
Fukk them.

you ratted and got fukked on your witsec location didn't you


32_6c2a3b8a-d12e-4595-9401-b666e82c3a58.jpg
 

jaydawg08

Superstar
Joined
May 24, 2022
Messages
9,706
Reputation
1,381
Daps
24,202
Bump

if anyone has any questions about the job or just comments about it I’ll answer as well

Work has been “easier” in a way due to recent events.
 
Top