cti classes/timelines

marreroj Rookie

when im in the cti program do i have to complete the 4 semesters to apply or can i apply to the cti posting after completing the 3 atc classes?

can anyone tell me about the classes they took was it a bunch of bookwork? hands on radar training? lectures? i cant imagine that the classes im looking at are going to be harder than calculus or phys.

the reason im asking is because im a full time student and full time worker. (no massive loans 4 me). was anyone able to work full time and still pass in the 4 semesters?

secondly what should i (could i) be doing while im in school? can i start getting phys and med clearance? or do i have to wait for a pepc.the school says you can take the at-sat the semester before you graduate.

i understand atc does not have to take basics in okc, so where do we go once we are done with the cti? directly into the tower we get selected to for training? or somewhere else.


thanks in advance.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

I will reply later tonight with my CTI experience. Back up to school now to grade my non-radar class!

Zeppelinpilot Rookie

You will not be able to apply for a CTI announcement until after you graduate.

I took 7 ATC classes in at my school. They started out as book work classes, and then got into simulator work. I have no idea what kind of stuff they will be doing at your school. The classes were never very hard. Just some stuff is hard to conceptualize for some people. Non-Radar was pretty challenging though.

You get to bypass basics at the academy, but you still have to go through the other training at the academy. So no, you will not go straight into the facility you have been assigned.

Hope that helps.

jb113 Newcomer

current rumor going around the academy is that CTIs will be put into basics just like OTS in the very near future.

MTCTIGUY Trusted Member The 'Boro

There are three classes that are required for CTI. They are Aviation Weather, ATC I, and ATC II. Most schools however, also have several other classes in addition to those, such as private pilot and instrument ground school, aviation law & regs, flight dispatch, etc... You will not be able to apply to the CTI announcement until you have 1). Completed the required courses as set by your school, 2). Graduated from your school with a degree, 3). Passed the AT-SAT, 4). Been recommended by your school's CTI coordinator.

marreroj Rookie

thanks for the replies everyone, i want to get my training done a.s.a.p thankfully i was told that my school BCC offers summer classes so hopefully it wont take 2 whole years only 1 and 1/3.

i guess the classes will be easy for people on hear since we are very interested in atc and aviation in general. ( i will finally be the kid that loves going to school, yay!!)

edit: almost forgot can i start doing medical/security clearance and all that stuff? or do i wait until i can go to a PEPC?

MTCTIGUY Trusted Member The 'Boro

You will have to wait until you graduate until you do medicals, clearances, etc. You will usually be able to apply about a month after graduation and I've seen the process for CTI people take anywhere from 3 months to over a year until they get a class date. I also don't know if you will be able to get done in a year and the summer or not, as most associates degrees require a minimum of 60 semester hours, and not all classes that are offered in the fall and spring are offered in the summer. Good luck!

Davo Trusted Contributor VT

The workload is do-able, or it was/is for me going to GRCC. I am active duty and took 4 of the hardest classes in the program at the same time. It was not easy and you will not have much free time but I wanted to finish the degree before I get out of the Air Force and now I will be able to. All of our CTI classes are book work, scenarios, and lots of memorization. The scenarios are not graded but they are there to get you familiar using the equipment and learning how to speak and understand what you are learning. Oh, forgot strip marking, we do manual strip marking as well. Our school teaches mostly directly out of the 7110.65 and the FAR/AIM. If you want to get started on the bookwork I would read through it and try to understand all you can out of it. The reason people are saying you can not apply until a month after you graduate is because you have to get your CTI instructor's recommendation first. He/she will notify the FAA and then you will get a key that will let you apply. In some schools it is possible to complete all of the CTI requirements and get the recommendation before completing the degree. It will depend on what your school requires. In addition to the basic classes GRCC requires all CTI grads have a certain GPA in all classes over all, even higher in aviation classes, higher in ATC courses, and finally even higher in ATC 3 with no grades below 80 in that class.

JosueZQ8 Trusted Member Akron, OH

As it's been said, you can't apply untill after you graduate.

The ATCIII class we take was pretty easy. It's just listening to the teacher read out of the 7110.65, studying it at home, and passing the tests.

Aviation Weather was the same thing, along with the Theory of Instrument Flight class we have to take here at CCBC.

Even the 2 FAA tests we have to take and pass, the CTO and AT Basics exams, were easy as shit. You buy a study guide that has every question from their test bank, and just study that. I'm really good at tests like that. I may not know the answer off hand, but I can identify it every time if I visually recognize it.

The Non-Radar and Radar classes we take out here were the toughest. The 1st 4 weeks of each semester are spent in lecture, just listening to the teacher, taking notes, watching CBI lessons, etc. Then the rest of the time is spent running problems on the simulators. Difficulty of these classes is all on an individual basis. Some people take to it, others should start looking for a new career.

I actually found non-radar easy. For some reason, it just clicked with me early in the semester. I'm in radar now and I'm a non-radar teacher assistant for the college, so it's nice getting paid to keep the info fresh! But, I'm finding radar, specifically the radar position, alot more difficult than non-radar. We get taught on both the radar and radar associate positions here at CCBC. I'm pretty good on RA, but I still get behind sometimes on the R side. Our PV's are in 2 weeks, and I'm pretty confident I'll pass.

People do it out here, but I know they're doing nothing but work and school! haha

marreroj Rookie

and how long has it been taking from finishing CTI to Getting into the academy and a letter from facilities that want you.