ineedatc Trusted Contributor Chi-town

I would go CTI. I think the only thing that would keep you from getting hired as CTI is if you only score qualified on the ATSAT. Remember, ATC, as with any other career, is not stagnant. People get hired, fired, retire, quit like any other career. The only rush now is that 20-25 years ago they hired a lot of people at once. Now -- for the most part -- they need to retire at once. That -- on top of normal attrition -- leads to a hiring blitz. However, that doesn't mean that hiring needs will cease all together.

When going CTI, I would just suggest you not get too wrapped up in your books to where you lose your ability to think out side the box. Though the CTI degree gives you a definite upper hand over off the street folks, the test is full of information that should come innately to you and is not generally learned knowledge. I notice that there was a person who frequented one of these boards. Took the test over a year ago and scored a 86. They retook the test -- studied hard for it -- and scored an 87 or 88. There is no concrete way to study for the test.

Essentially, play along with the classes you take as CTI, but don't lose your ability to reason. I see people on/around here lean on their books/gpa a little too much.