Job Opening that pays you $160k+ a year! (Serious thread)

jaydawg08

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Apply to be an Air Traffic Controller. Opening starts on October 11th-November 4th, and you must be 31 or younger to apply.



Apply here:






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.. I'll bump this as it gets closer.



https://www.thecoli.com/threads/looking-for-a-new-career-that-pays-150k-gtfih-hiring.918729/page-1

Tower environment:

aviation_South-Air-Traffic-Control-Tower_featured_01-1.jpg


was_career_atco_07.jpg



Center Environment:

careers_airtrafficcontroller_enroute_controller.jpg


eramdisplay.jpg
 
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jdubnyce

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Is it stressful?


The work can be high-stress and sometimes boring
Being an air traffic controller can be stressful due to the heavy workload and high-consequence environment. However, depending on how busy the skies are, the job can also be dull and boring.

Former air traffic controller Michele Robson wrote in 2020 that the job can be quiet at night, but controllers must always be alert and ready to work at any hour on shift.


While some controllers find the job extremely stressful, Earley said that isn't the case for him because he enjoys the "challenge of coming in every day to a new puzzle." However, he admitted that that work keeps him on his toes.

"Controllers are always learning on the job, like updating and refining the processes, or learning new rules and procedures," he explained. "It is a job where you always have to change and adapt."

 

jaydawg08

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I'll post something different than I normally have on this subject and put you through "A day in the life of ATC" type of thing.. I'm in a Center/Enroute facility, which means that I talk to planes both high in the air (think of when you're taking that trip to Miami and you're flying above the clouds, your pilot is talking to controllers) and also uncontrolled or smaller airports

-In a morning shift I normally get up an hour before I want to show up. We have a 30 min "flex" time on our schedule, so if I am scheduled to work at 7AM I try and get there at 630AM.

-I get to the building, sign in to the front of my area, then go and look at the daily weather report that is made for us to see what our shift will look like. This is something like if there are cloud layers in our specific area that makes weather IFR, or whether there will be storms, or turbulence, etc. Its not 1000% accurate but gives a good indicator

-After that I walk into the area and normally there is only 1 or 2 "scopes" that are open because traffic is very light in the morning (for me at least) and it's almost guaranteed that everyone will pass on the first ask for a break. It's almost an unwritten thing that you will get a 1 hour + break to start your shift. Immediately either go for a walk, watch YouTube, read a book, or go to the gym in the building (It's like an Anytime Fitness level gym at my facility)

-After your break you will come into relatively slower traffic on a hard VFR day if there isn't anything special going on. For my area there is A LOT of training, so normally I can be stuck on a sector that isn't training basically all day but it can vary on what type of traffic you see. I can be on a high sector and "sequence" a bunch of planes to bigger airports. Things like "we need to have all aircraft going to JFK to have 20 miles between each other" so you will have to either turn or put speeds on aircraft to make that possible, all while making sure the dots don't hit each other and you talk to pilots about how the rides are. Bad ride days are the stressful ones because everyone wants to fly at the same altitude and everyone is going very fast with not a lot of room. Or you can be stuck on lower altitude sectors and be talking to approach control facilities or GA (general aviation) pilots and student pilots. The planes move a lot slower but there is a lot more space

-I'll keep it simple and just that normally you will work for an hour, then be asked if you want a break for an hour. So essentially it's "Hour on/hour off". You do this your entire shift until that last one, you unplug and never have to worry about bringing work home or anything besides what just happened on your last stint

All while getting paid $75-80 an hour, and getting differentials or "extra pay" for nights, Sunday, holiday, training, etc
 

jaydawg08

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Is it stressful?
It is only really stressful when you're learning it.

I'll put it to people like this, if your training you feel like your brain is moving 100 MPH and you want to do everything right and correct. Everyone does certain things differently, and being told your way is wrong and to do it a different way is probably the stressful part. Molding to what training is is hard, and is by far the hardest part of this job

As far as when you're done and checked out.... it really can only get stressful and annoying on bad weather/ride days. Otherwise it is relatively easy

For me, because of all the training I've been stuck on the "hard" sector for large parts of my day and I get annoyed being there all day because every pilot complains about the same rides after I just told them. "Continuous Light chop all altitudes, you'd have to go as low as FL260 for a better ride"... "OK center, hows the ride at FL320?".... Did you not just hear what I fukn said?! :what:

On a day to day basis no it isn't as stressful as people say. Most days, the hardest part is showing up to work. I have so much sick leave and annual still saved up, every day I tell myself it'd be so easy to call out. 90% of the time it is easy... which is all relative
 
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