Washington Center - ZDC

bwingfield01 Rookie JAX

I use to live up in Fairfax and was interested in this center. Is this center still hiring? I heard they have a wave of new hires that had started not too long ago. I know of a couple people that work there. Is there any chance of using these referrals to better my chances of getting picked up here? If so how do I go about this?

NovaZDC Newcomer

I'm a cpc here at zdc. I honestly wouldn't recommend this facility to anybody. It's seriously one of the most dysfunctional places I've ever worked at. The management here is HORRENDOUS. Training shouldn't be a problem for anybody though....our traffic levels have been way down the last year and a half. Get good at issuing holding instructions though.

bwingfield01 Rookie JAX

Didn't you just get a new center manager at ZDC? I know some of the people working at ZDC and I have family in VA,NC,and PA so ZDC would seem an ideal fit for me. I don't miss the living costs or traffic up in NOVA but all in all theres plenty to do up there.

captaingary Rookie

Do you "veterans" have a feeling where most controllers live? Any nearby neighborhoods/apartment complexes that are popular? Otter mentioned Frederick as one of the less expensive areas, though I'm pretty sure I want to be close-by until I'm "in the saddle".

ZDCATC Newcomer ZDC

An update from ZDC...

Yes we have a new facility manager here at ZDC. So far all indications are that he is looking forward to making this a great place to work and open to input from all of the controllers here. In just a few weeks, he has addressed a lot of the issues that NATCA as been pushing for and mostly in our favor.

Yes ZDC does get OTS hires. In fact, the majority of our new hires over the last few months have been OTS. But what killerqueen said is true - training is no joke here and it doesn't seem to matter if you are CTI or OTS. And while traffic counts are down, that seems to be true everywhere, we are still a level 12 and it shows.

The controllers at ZDC are pretty much evenly split between the immediate Leesburg, VA area, Frederick, MD and Charles Town, WV (and all the areas in between). If you don't want to live too far out initially, then I recommend trying to find a roommate in the Leesburg area.

There is talk of starting a mentor program at ZDC that would link a new developmental with a 'veteran' controller, who would help the developmental with all of that new to the area stuff when they first arrive and be there to answer questions as they progress through training - but this is just a proposal (put forth by the new ATM) and is still in the initial research stage here.

Overall, it seems changes are coming to ZDC... and hey I'm a strong believer that a lot of it is what you chose to make of it!

captaingary Rookie

Thanks for the info!

Now for another one: About how long does it take the average new arrival to see his D1 raise?

bwingfield01 Rookie JAX

Hoping I get selected ZDC!!! Sounds like some good stuff is in the works. I too am also a firm believer of "you are of what you make of it." I'm hearing that more people can "check-out" quicker at a center then an up-down... any thoughts? My question is whats the average "check-out" these days for some of those OTS applicants from previous pubs looking like... Lastly is there any chance of pull at getting hired being that I know a couple Senior controllers?

coryvstheworld Newcomer

It is good to hear that a lot of things being said about ZDC are not true. I already own a house in the area so I am hoping I get selected ZDC.

ZDCATC Newcomer ZDC

Ok, to answer both of these at once. I'm going to break down the stages (just for anyone that may not know what the different developmental stages are...).

For a level 12 facility:

AG - New Arrival at the facility
D1 - 25% of positions
D2 - 50% of positions (completed all associate radar positions)
D3 - 75% of positions
CPC - 100% of positions

At ZDC the number of positions for you to certify on is determined by the area you are assigned to work in (we currently have 7 different areas). Some areas have five sectors; others have seven, etc... Therefore, the actual number of positions required to reach the % changes. Using myself as an example - to reach the D1 level I needed to checkout on 4 associate radar positions, since my area has a total of seven sectors (14 positions).

To get to that first raise the time frame runs:
Feb 2007 - Reported to ZDC
Feb/March/April/May 2007 - Stage II training
(learning ZDC high and low maps, Area maps, LOAs, SOPs, etc)
May/June 2007 - Reported to Area and worked on the floor
July/August/Sept 2007 - Stage III Radar Associate training
Oct/Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb/Mar 2008 - Reported to Area and trained on Radar Associate positions
Certified on the fourth and received the D1 raise in early March
Mar/Apr/Jun 2008 - Finished training on Radar Associate positions and received the D2 raise in early Jun
Jun/July/August 2008- Stage IV Radar Training

So as you can see it takes a bit of time to reach that first D1 raise, though currently we have developmentals that complete Stage II, report to the floor for approx two weeks and immediately return to training for Stage III. Thus the time is a bit shorter for them. I also completed my D-sides (radar associate positions) fairly quickly, and that time frame is going to be different for every developmental.

I will say that on average, at ZDC, it is taking approx 3 years to CPC from beginning to end. And to be honest, I don't know how that compares to other types of facilities.

Hope that answers both of those questions

captaingary Rookie

Thanks ZDCATC. I guess I'll be eating Top Ramen for a while!