Enroute VS. Terminal

wiz5422 Newcomer Utah

I want to throw this out there!
1. What do you perfer, Enroute or Terminal, and why?

I already know that most will say the money because you can end up making more money faster at an Enroute center then a terminal location. I would like to hear the other reasons. Unless Money is the only reason.

I am leaning more towards choosing Terminal. I am currently a pilot and would love to be in a tower where I could look outside instead of being in a dark room all day!

Thanks for responding in advance!

RdRunnr12 Site Editor

Money would not be a reason. A level 12 CPC makes the same at a Tower or Enroute facility. Training might be a tad bit quicker at an Enroute center (because they are better skilled/equipped to train newbies) but I doubt that it's too big of a difference. Plus, a lot of Centers are converting to ERAM, which is delaying training considerably.

I guess it's a matter of preference. Do you want to see planes? If you do, go to a Tower. If you don't care, do either.

Analogy Newcomer Minneapolis, MN

Personally, it's not about the money, it's about having a job I look forward to going into every day. As long as I have food and a roof I don't really care.

At first I didn't think that I wanted to go the terminal route because I thought I would really prefer to work radar. I actually like working in a darkened room. =D Even though TRACONs are covered under terminal, I didn't want the chance of ending up in a tower (they should really separate those out). I figured I'd pick enroute to be safe even though I'd rather be seeing the traffic volume and fast pace of a TRACON. The more I look at things though the more I think I'd enjoy pretty much whatever I get thrown into, including tower.

tl;dr, If there's a way I can pick "both," that's what I'm doing... Otherwise I'm edging toward enroute, I have a feeling there's more jobs in that realm than in the terminal realm.

baseballguy Junior Member Amherst

i dont a lot of thinking about this...talked with my father since he works at ZOB and he told me to go enroute..

my main reasons are
locations (i like the cities better where centers are at...my choices are Cleveland, Denver, Minneapolis)

i have met both enroute and terminal controllers...and seemed to me the enroute people seemed happier ( might just be ohio!)

not that big of a deal if i see planes or dont..

vocaldawg7 Newcomer Mississippi

actually as far as money goes, you would probably train fast and thus earn more money faster at a terminal. i am asking for ZDC and have spoken with the training managers there. They tell you it is about a 3 year process to fully certify.... possibly longer. I have a friend hat just fully certified at DFW tower in 8 months.... granted he was former military and it was an FAA record, but i was told that under no circumstances could an enroute trainee finish that quickly.

vocaldawg7 Newcomer Mississippi

and i just toured the ZDC facility and thought it was amazing. that's where i chose from the start to go and after my tour i am even more exicted about the possibility of working there.... and the nearly pitch black working environment was oddly comforting and inviting. The moment i walked on to the control floor, i was at ease and comfortable.... i could definitely see myself working enroute. loved it!

Battani22 Trusted Contributor Minnesota

You should go and visit all 3 atc facilities, tower, tracon, center. They all have the same purpose, but are all done in way different ways. I'm a CTI grad from mctc which is center oriented, but did an internship at MSP/M98. Personally I would like to have either center or TRACON. I like working radar, windows or not. Although, you really can't beat the view of watching a 747 taking off into a skyline.

Moonfairy_2002 Junior Member Chicago

After touring MDW and ZAU, I know that I would perfer terminal. MDW is only a level 8 and did not seem as busy as I thought it would be. Also, I got to watch a newbie being trained and it appeared to be a good learning environment. The ATM told me that it takes about 2 years to complete training, which isnt bad. The view of Chicago was awsome! I totally fell in love with MDW!

ZAU was nice and I would not mind if I get it. It's a level 12 so I would make more money there. I would also be closer to my cousin that stays in Dekalb. Plus, it would be better to work at ZAU than where I'm working now!

I would be happy to get picked for anywhere, but I will be praying for Midway! I wondered about picking enroute or terminal before too. My advice to you would be to actually tour some facilities. There's just no other way around it. The choice is completely subjective. The way one person feels you may not.

RdRunnr12 Site Editor

I forgot to mention this earlier. Take what you can get. There's not enough open spaces for anyone to be picky (unless you're CTO,VRA, REINST) regarding which facility you will take. If it's in the state you put on your geo pref, take it. Get certified and hope for a transfer later down the road.

wiz5422 Newcomer Utah

Just note that it is very hard maybe even close to impossible to transfer from Enroute to a terminal facility down the road!