New York TRACON - N90

Originally Posted by splendor34

I saw a couple of posts about people wanting to go to n90 aka the ny tracon. Just thought I'd throw my experience out there for people who are thinking about going there to try and dissuade them. (say no)
I was hired a over a year ago and finally got out not to long ago.
First off there's a garbage incinerator literally at the fence and the wind blows all the smoke right into the parking lot.
When I got there it was so evident of the absolutely ridiculous war between natca and the faa. Your tossed into a room with every manager thats not on the floor where you meet the head of the tracon this weird little black man who's got a really expensive watch and spends more time in barbados where his family is then actually at the tracon. Most of the management I came to find out were just washed out controllers it's kinda funny theres one GUY named hillary the OM who didnt even make it as a controller so they promoted him over the years until he had an office downstairs and all that just for being a flight data person. Common theme there if you don't make it as a controller the faa seems to promote you.
Then I met the union and they freaked out because a union rep wasn't with you at that meeting. Then of course you meet terry tracey the training manager. Shes universally unliked shes a smug little troll of a woman who obviously is divorced for many reasons. (Literally everyone hates her its kinda funny and she knows it). She really doesn't give a shit about anything. One day we estimated how many people come and go she has about a 3% success rate over the last three years. I don't say that as a ha ha joke its literaly the percentage of controllers who have checked out in the past 3 years just 3 percent and that includes previous fpls. Its a joke she gets paid six figures to do nothing but be a lawn gnome (makes me question the us government these days). After all that fun was over I got to get cuddly with all the controllers. I'm not gonna take anything away from them there good and severly overworked and if your not from new york its kinda hard to take them. me personally it wasn't really a big deal but if your from kansas or oregon as we had 4 guys come from and leave I can understand why most people can't take it. There actually kinda funny I can see how the place use to be awesome to work at back in the pushing tin days. (They will talk about you more or less infront of your face and you can't say a word). Of course you have your dicks and asshole mixed in but it is what it is. As a trainee you immediately get to hear about all the drama whos getting fired whos getting sent somewhere else who's review board it is tomorrow. I watched a class of 4 get fired my first week. Then you start class which is fun the map and such and all 56 frequencies and handoffs undoubtedly people won't make it from there. Some teachers who are controllers are easier then others it just depends. That turns into the sims which are fun I remember counting the airplanes you have to work to get out of the lab its 56 in an hour problem the airplanes stop coming out at about 40 mins. Your working 56 airplanes in 40 mins no easy task even for someone with experience.(just remember theres three airports 8 flying miles across and your sop and rules to follow are a 2 inch binder think) Basically when all is said and done 1 person out of the 4 if your lucky will make the other three just get fired. I saw whole classes not make it and get fired. Terry Tracey being the wonderful person she is.(great lawn decor though)
Then you also have to contend with who you can and cant talk to i.e. the bonus babies when the tracon offered that 100 grand to go there. Yea well you can't talk to those controllers and neither does anyone else they just try there hardest to make their lives living hell. There all thrown into one area because every controller refused to train them. (except this one black guy in lga) I feel bad for him they don't talk to him and they literally try to him when he works i watched a fun fight with him and another controller as i was walking out once.

I'd like to say about 30% of the floor managers are good guys maybe a little more. They deal with the controllers and most eventually stop screwing them over because they deal so much with the controllers. Every area has those couple of guys

Then you have all the natca meetings that are optionally mandatory.
I mean once all thats said and done. I found it kinda entertaining i looked foward to going to work there. There was always some entertaining drama every day there. However, it is a giant snake pit. Its fun to watch everyone else get screwed until it happens to you though. I can tell you plenty of stories of guys who were there for 2 years only to get washed out when they could have gone to any level 8 or 9 tower and been checked out in a year maybe less. When your a trainee too cti ots vra whatever you are the union seems to have whats in your best interest for you but i kinda question it because i know they didnt agree with all the ots and cti people going there.
In the next couple of years newark area is screwed everyones retiring no one wants to go there so they started putting trainees in that area lets just say there going to have to figure something else out. So if you did get checked out you run the risk of getting shipped over there.
I mean if your all about being the alpha male feel free to go to the tracon. All I'm saying is i could be at ft lauderdale airport making 90 grand and happy with all my hair intact and probably some beautiful blonde every night.
Its a love hate relationship there. If your not liked your screwed if your not really good your screwed. It is entertaining there though I'll say that much about it. If you really gotta stay in ny go to the center it takes about 4 years to check out there it takes 2 1/2 at the tracon. Its worth knowing you won't get fired and you get paid the same 200 grand plus they really dont wash out many people or that you won't get shipped to west virginia.

Originally Posted by splendor34

I saw a couple of posts about people wanting to go to n90 aka the ny tracon. Just thought I'd throw my experience out there for people who are thinking about going there to try and dissuade them. (say no)
I was hired a over a year ago and finally got out not to long ago.
First off there's a garbage incinerator literally at the fence and the wind blows all the smoke right into the parking lot.
When I got there it was so evident of the absolutely ridiculous war between natca and the faa. Your tossed into a room with every manager thats not on the floor where you meet the head of the tracon this weird little black man who's got a really expensive watch and spends more time in barbados where his family is then actually at the tracon. Most of the management I came to find out were just washed out controllers it's kinda funny theres one GUY named hillary the OM who didnt even make it as a controller so they promoted him over the years until he had an office downstairs and all that just for being a flight data person. Common theme there if you don't make it as a controller the faa seems to promote you.
Then I met the union and they freaked out because a union rep wasn't with you at that meeting. Then of course you meet terry tracey the training manager. Shes universally unliked shes a smug little troll of a woman who obviously is divorced for many reasons. (Literally everyone hates her its kinda funny and she knows it). She really doesn't give a shit about anything. One day we estimated how many people come and go she has about a 3% success rate over the last three years. I don't say that as a ha ha joke its literaly the percentage of controllers who have checked out in the past 3 years just 3 percent and that includes previous fpls. Its a joke she gets paid six figures to do nothing but be a lawn gnome (makes me question the us government these days). After all that fun was over I got to get cuddly with all the controllers. I'm not gonna take anything away from them there good and severly overworked and if your not from new york its kinda hard to take them. me personally it wasn't really a big deal but if your from kansas or oregon as we had 4 guys come from and leave I can understand why most people can't take it. There actually kinda funny I can see how the place use to be awesome to work at back in the pushing tin days. (They will talk about you more or less infront of your face and you can't say a word). Of course you have your dicks and asshole mixed in but it is what it is. As a trainee you immediately get to hear about all the drama whos getting fired whos getting sent somewhere else who's review board it is tomorrow. I watched a class of 4 get fired my first week. Then you start class which is fun the map and such and all 56 frequencies and handoffs undoubtedly people won't make it from there. Some teachers who are controllers are easier then others it just depends. That turns into the sims which are fun I remember counting the airplanes you have to work to get out of the lab its 56 in an hour problem the airplanes stop coming out at about 40 mins. Your working 56 airplanes in 40 mins no easy task even for someone with experience.(just remember theres three airports 8 flying miles across and your sop and rules to follow are a 2 inch binder think) Basically when all is said and done 1 person out of the 4 if your lucky will make the other three just get fired. I saw whole classes not make it and get fired. Terry Tracey being the wonderful person she is.(great lawn decor though)
Then you also have to contend with who you can and cant talk to i.e. the bonus babies when the tracon offered that 100 grand to go there. Yea well you can't talk to those controllers and neither does anyone else they just try there hardest to make their lives living hell. There all thrown into one area because every controller refused to train them. (except this one black guy in lga) I feel bad for him they don't talk to him and they literally try to him when he works i watched a fun fight with him and another controller as i was walking out once.

I'd like to say about 30% of the floor managers are good guys maybe a little more. They deal with the controllers and most eventually stop screwing them over because they deal so much with the controllers. Every area has those couple of guys

Then you have all the natca meetings that are optionally mandatory.
I mean once all thats said and done. I found it kinda entertaining i looked foward to going to work there. There was always some entertaining drama every day there. However, it is a giant snake pit. Its fun to watch everyone else get screwed until it happens to you though. I can tell you plenty of stories of guys who were there for 2 years only to get washed out when they could have gone to any level 8 or 9 tower and been checked out in a year maybe less. When your a trainee too cti ots vra whatever you are the union seems to have whats in your best interest for you but i kinda question it because i know they didnt agree with all the ots and cti people going there.
In the next couple of years newark area is screwed everyones retiring no one wants to go there so they started putting trainees in that area lets just say there going to have to figure something else out. So if you did get checked out you run the risk of getting shipped over there.
I mean if your all about being the alpha male feel free to go to the tracon. All I'm saying is i could be at ft lauderdale airport making 90 grand and happy with all my hair intact and probably some beautiful blonde every night.
Its a love hate relationship there. If your not liked your screwed if your not really good your screwed. It is entertaining there though I'll say that much about it. If you really gotta stay in ny go to the center it takes about 4 years to check out there it takes 2 1/2 at the tracon. Its worth knowing you won't get fired and you get paid the same 200 grand plus they really dont wash out many people or that you won't get shipped to west virginia.

Originally Posted by splendor34

I watched and heard plenty of stories of people who 'busted' their asses to get shown the door. So needless to say those put their head down and work your ass off stories don't always ring true with me sorry.