Would meteorology be a useful skill?

cjad1987 Newcomer

Hi all, new here, great forum!

Well, I've been into Aviation and ATC for a long time but just now seriously thinking of making an attempt at ATC with PUBNAT-9 (if & when, hearing Feb).

I sort of doubt it but do you think anyone in ATC would think it useful to have a meteorologist as a controller? I have a BS in Meteorology and working on MS. Do the selection panels even go as far a looking at your resume to see what your degree was in? I know a controllers job is affected alot by the WX but they generally just have crappy resolution WX radar overlaid on their displays that does not tell you much except that there is a "blob of wx" out there. Correct me if I'm wrong but thats the way I've always seen it look in person. I know controllers are not the primary people dealing with forecasting wx so my general conclusion is that it would hold about as much water as a marketing degree. I could maybe see somebody thinking it would be good to have a meteorologist if they decide to move all the center meteorologists to one or two central facilities instead of every center.

I really want to do ATC for many reasons and one of them is that I would have a far more decent chance of landing back in the northeast as compared to working in WX though I'd work anywhere to get started in ATC. I really don't want to have to do CTI (I'm 22 so yea I have time) but why spend the money, I have had far more advanced math/physics classes than you would ever get in CTI, way more meteorology knowledge and Id bet I have a pretty good idea on most if not all of the aviation type theory that is taught in CTI. So why spend the money? Give me any test in a CTI class and 1 day to study and id probably ace it easily. No offense to any CTI, its good that it exists now I just think its kind of a money grabbing ploy as its not a widely offered major and many other majors require alot of the same logical thinking as ATC.

My last question, does anyone think certain degrees should be given more weight for OTS applicants? Its obviously easy for me to say Meteorology/other math/physics based majors should be given higher weight but I also understand that all the meteorology/math/physics knowledge in the world will not make a good controller and is not really necessary. But I do think a field like meteorology has its similar aspects; think severe wx forecasting in the short term, looking at radar having to make immediate decisions, multi-tasking, dealing with phone ringing off hook and disseminating info quickly to all necessary parties and the ability to think on the fly, react to unforeseen circumstances and change as necessary.

Just wanted to run it buy some of you guys, especially current ATC'ers

I'm sort of in a dilemma, I graduated with a BS in meteorology back in May and am currently in the process of an MS in Meteorology. I started in Aug and supposed to finish by Aug 2011 provided I stay here (kind of sick of school and all I have to loose by dropping out is $21K/yr pay) Flip side is the wx job market for a possible job while waiting on FAA is quite slim for those with only a BS even at the entry level forecaster stage these days. If I drop out, I want to leave by this coming Aug and if I continue, I'm finishing. So now I'm faced with the impossible task of trying to determine, in the unlikely case I got selected, if the academy date would have any chance of being after Aug 2011. Maybe? Maybe not? Hard to say.

noid Curtis E. Carr Jawja

A degree in meteorology would be more useful and have more weight if you were applying for Flight Service. There's not a lot of benefit in regards to ATC. I have a friend that was ATC with a meteorology degree and he said it didn't help all that much because weather is only a part of the picture and knowing WHY the weather is what it is didn't really do him any good. When he decided to go over to Flight Service, it helped out quite a bit.

DE_UND_CTI Trusted Member CHS- Charleston AFB/International

A lot of us CTI guys at UND are minoring in atmospheric sciences because controllers do work with weather every day. I agree with noid though that a controller doesn't really need to know why weather is happening, just that it is happening.

You keep putting weight on physics/mathematics courses for higher consideration.....you don't need skills in these areas other than vectoring and simple math to be a good controller. You also say you can ace any CTI test with one day to study. This may be true if the test is taken from content in the 7110.65, but try coming to UND and taking a performance evaluation in a senior level tower/approach/center course. I HIGHLY doubt you would ace it, and I would go as far as saying you would probably put a few planes together. Skills needed to be a good controller come with time and practice. You can't just sit down at a scope with 20 aircraft on it and expect to be the greatest controller that ever lived. I agree that the CTI schools that simply do book work and study regs are a joke, but not all the schools are like that. If you don't get selected through the OTS I would highly consider going to a CTI school. I don't think it is going to be long until they stop OTS hiring all together. If you just want to get the ability to apply CTI, just go to a cheap 2 year program school. You wouldn't be getting the benefits and experience from a good CTI school, but at least you will be eligible for hiring.

If you want to continue to use your degree, either go to flight service or try to land a forecasting job in an ATC facility. Some of the large towers have observers in the tower cab. I'm guessing these positions are hard to come by, but the opportunity must be there somewhere.

cjad1987 Newcomer

Thanks for the responses.

When you guys say flight service do you mean dispatchers that work for the airlines or something else? If its different than dispatch, you've got me interested! Id love to be a dispatcher but all the major airlines employ their dispatchers outside New England as far as I know.

I don't want to perpetuate potentially false info but I do agree that is seems that the PUBNATS will likely dry up fairly soon. I'm under no illusions, its certainly not all that easy to get in OTS. If I get as far as acing the ATSAT and receiving a Geo Pref, I will have to be as selective and educated as possible on what states to pick based on where the most facilities and what I can gather about who's hiring the most.

UND has a great reputation in Aviation I have no doubt the CTI is likely top notch. I know there are fast track even on line CTI options but I'm really not interested in dropping $11K for a piece of paper (however valuable in getting hired for ATC) when I already have $40K in loans from undergrad. I don't need the theory, I have a pilots license, I know the simple math/geometry and I would get simulator time at the academy. Yes CTI is a leg up nobody can deny. It may mean that I never get into ATC but Im already lost on how to pay back $40K never mind piling on more debt cause I don't have any money right now beyond paying rent and buying food.

Roddy_Piper Resident Knucklehead Vegas baby

it could be pertinent if u worked a tower that did LAWRS (Limited Aviation Weather Reporting Station?). mostly that's your slower FAA towers or your contract towers. other than that it would mostly just be good to know information with no real benefit to outweigh taking those classes.

P_to_the_R Ruler of the Movement Area funkytown

be a controller because it is awesome...there is room for a weather nerd! LOL seriously, your degree(s) would help you inside the FAA as far as headquarters and management jobs that deal with weather events and equipment, but you'd be much cooler if you were a controller

noid Curtis E. Carr Jawja

We do LAWRS and after going through the LockMart Flight Service school, I don't see much of a benefit. It's just a bunch of gee-wiz info that doesn't do a whole lot on the air traffic side of the house.

Flight Service is basically a pilot weather briefer. Being a Flight Service Specialist, you input flight plans, brief pilots on weather along their route, assist pilots with in-flight information, and submit NOTAMs when a light goes out on a light pole in a parking lot at the base of the tower.

DE_UND_CTI Trusted Member CHS- Charleston AFB/International

We had a woman from Lockheed Martin HR come and try to recruit a bunch of us in the ATC program at UND. I know of two kids who took the bait and went that route, but they weren't exactly comfortable at the scope. Flight Service is a lot slower paced, but it is a great job to have. You get to use your degree, you are still working with aviation everyday, and you get your foot in the door with one of the largest aviation corporations out there. The HR lady told us that some FSS get their foot in the door and then move up to bigger and better things within LM but completely outside of Flight Service. They are paid very well, although not as well as controllers. This is understandable because of the different type of work they do, but regardless, an experienced FSS in the D.C. area makes a little over $90K a year. While the HR rep was there I believe that's the highest paid area we could find (but don't forget that housing is outrageous around D.C.). I would definitely look into it on LM website. There is also a forum on StuckMic dedicated to Flight Service. They may be able to answer any questions you have. I'll have to admit that the HR rep did make becoming a FSS very appealing. I wouldn't mind using that career as a backup if I ever lost my medical.

noid Curtis E. Carr Jawja

The 90k salary is for Level III FSS, which is not a guaranteed promotion. Flight Service is a good job so long as you don't get laid off. I wouldn't expect any openings for a little while since they are closing facilities after the beginning of the year and laying off more people.

cjad1987 Newcomer

LOL, thats my goal though who knows if I will ever get there.

I know ALOT of guys that work in FAA management type positions that have meteorology degrees and do meteorological work, I've met them at conferences and such. They are great jobs but incredibly hard to get and like every other meteorology job out there now, they are being cut back BIG TIME and the market is demanding far lower saleries. By lower saleries I'm talking $30K maximum. You pretty much need a graduate degree now which I'm doing but frankly it is killing me, I don't want to write computer programs for the rest of my life.

Due to the responses in this thread (thank you!), I did check out LH site on Flight Service stations. Ouch! They are all closed/closing except for a relative handful and none in places I'd really want to spend the rest of my life.

So here's to hoping against hope on ever getting in on PUBNAT 9. I guess I could do an online, cheaper, fast track CTI if I really wanted to get into ATC but I refuse to take out any more loans and the chances of me having $11K are slim and none and slim just left town. I'd need to find a meteorology job in the interum that allowed me to save $ which is unlikely because most meteorology jobs barely allow you to live. I love weather but wish I had been thinking ATC before college, I don't know of any degree besides meteorology that is so challenging and competitive as far as jobs go that pays so little. Its frusterating.