to CTI or to not CTI...

sneakyt Newcomer

Sooo... As all good stories start out, I was dating this girl. She's an air traffic controller who got hired OTS about 2 years ago. After I learned about some of the specifics of her job, an interest was sparked in me. As well, when she told me how much money she makes being 2 1/2-ish years out of college with nothing but a business degree, I feel like I would be an idiot to not at least inquire about getting into this field.

In doing some research and reading this forum and such, it appears that with the economy and slowed retirement and all that mess, my chances of getting hired off the street are pretty much nil. However, she swears up and down that she has a friend from college who got hired off the street 6 months ago.

So I'm in a pickle. I've got my bachelors so I could do a fast track program through Vaughn or something and be able to at least apply in 18 months-ish. But if she's right, I'd just be wasting money... assuming that a new PUBNAT ever comes out.

I feel like I'm going to be raked over the goals for posting this, but be harsh if you must. Who's really right? Does anybody really know? Thanks in advance for humoring my ignorance.

DanielEtvs Trusted Member hank krakowskis

that is the question...
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, ....



meh, how apt. i like your post but have no advice, but im sure lots will. if anyone rakes you over the coals for posting that, theyre fools. all you can do is apply for both and if you happened to get picked up via OTS then drop out midway through. either way is not guarunteed any ol way. let them eat cake

spinspilot Rookie Ft.Lauderdale, FL

I'm currently a CTI student and an OTS applicant, OTS doesn't look so good right now however. Your girlfriend's friend who got picked up 6 months ago was in a total different boat. If you wait for an OTS announcement you'll probably be waiting for at least a year. I would do the CTI school. It's great if you have no aviation background and will break you into the field.
Waste of money? No way. Think of it as a prep, and think about this.. If it takes you 18 months to graduate, then tack on the time to get picked up, compare that to the rumored timeframe of the next public announcement, 12 months, then the selection process.. Almost around the same time frame.. CTI will be a quasi guarantee however.
Look, nothing is definite, rumored public bid times, the hiring numbers.. but CTI pretty much is.
I'm sure someone will have better info for you.
-Goodluck

jarhead0863 Trusted Member Grand Forks, ND

Welcome to stuck mic!

How old are you first off? A lot of people have different opinions about whether or not CTI is a good idea or not. Some OTS get hired fairly soon just like CTI's. On the other hand, some OTS wait a long, long time, but so can some CTI's too. I think a big reason that some people do not get picked right away is because they select a popular state or region. One that may be close to well staffed.

At the end of the day it is your decision. I am a CTI student now and am proud of it. I will never look back and regret going to college for it. At my school we still have to take general ed. courses and not just classes that revolve around ATC. Since you already have a degree, it might be harder for you to go back to college. I say go CTI, but I am sure others will say go OTS. It's your choice.

otterstrom Trusted Member of NATCA

if you want this job you wont solely depend on getting picked up OTS.

polo708 Epic Member tower

OTS at this point will be a waste of time for you. There are sooooo many ahead of you in the process and soooo many CTI graduates lately. The FAA will start to pick up the mass number of CTI graduates over the tens of thousands of OTS applicants. The only OTS applicants that will make it to a career in ATC IN MY OPINION are ones already in the hiring process who have applied like a year ago. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than you do of getting hired OTS starting right now... IN MY OPINION.

If you are serious about this then I suggest that you join the military under an ATC enlistment or you attend and graduate from a CTI school.

GolfJuliet F*** Terrorism

I agree with you opinion.

DeGro1317 Rookie Edgewater, FL

Do CTI if you have time. Only took me three months after I applied to get picked up. I was able to take my ATSAT about a month before I graduated. So when I was done and recommended too the FAA by my school I just had to put in my application. Plus if you go CTI, when you are done hopefully things have sped back up after the 12-18 months you might be there.

Moonfairy_2002 Junior Member Chicago

well, here is my story and opinion, if you will, I looked into this career after a friend brought it up to me. I already have a B.A. and I live in Chicago. I'm 25.

CTI route
Lewis University cost 10K per semester, that 40K for 2 year program. My award letter said I couldnt get enough money to go. No financial aid because its a second degree and not enough loans to cover it either.
UPSIDE
Your almost guranteed a job.
DOWNSIDE
You get the job and washout, but Uncle Sam still got his hand out for you to pay those loans back!

Military
Army recruiter could "try" to guarantee ATC, but wanted me to enlist for 4 years.
Air Force said they couldnt guarantee ATC. That you get to pick 3 options and they try to give you your first choice. Of course if you go this route you would need to start when your young enough to still apply at the FAA.

UPSIDE
You get the experience.
DOWNSIDE
You sign that dotted line and dont even get ATC! Then you spend your enlistment scrubbing the deck! Or you washout of ATC and they put you in a different job.

OTS
The safest and most unsecured route!
I recommend going OTS if you already have a degree. At the least you get the take the AT-SAT and it will give you an idea if your cut out for this before you decide to go to a CTI school. If you totally bomb it the test, no loss right? Plus the score is good for 3 years, so if you ace it then complete CTI more than likely your score is still good for another year or more.

UPSIDE
If you get the job, you didnt spend 4 years in the military nor did you spend 6-10K a semester at CTI. Also, if you washout, you didnt waste your time and money on CTI. Furthermore, you get to take the AT-SAT without waiting 1 1/2 or 2 years to take it through CTI. (oh and before anyone jumps down my throat, I applied to go CTI and OTS in 2009. I applied for FAFSA in feb, CTI in march, pubnat 8 in july, was suppose to start CTI school in Sept, took AT-SAT in nov. And that was my 2009)
DOWNSIDE
Its a crap shoot. Getting the job OTS seems like it is nothing more than pure luck.

CONCLUSION
Everyone has to choose their own path. I tried to illustrate the different routes as non biasely (is that a word? lol) as possible. But whatever one chooses is going to be determined alot by how old you are, if a Cti school is affordable for you or close to you, if you want to commit to military, among other factor going on in one's personal life.

MY OPINION
To you personally I think you should apply OTS, take the test and see how you score, take a facility tour, read up on this career as much as possible before you go rushing into any other route of getting into ATC. You are either going to commit your time (military) or money (cti) going any other route, so just try to make the most informed decision you can make. So why not have an OTS app in the process while your deciding?

Rosstafari Daaaang. /X

To add a note to ^^^^^^,

Keep in mind that if you decided, today, that OTS was the way you wanted to go, you probably be waiting at least a year just to take that AT-SAT... which, by the way, has little bearing on whether you'll be able to cut it as a controller (although if you fail it, you won't). The next PUBNAT won't begin until the next fiscal year at the earliest.

You won't get that year of your life back.

Something to consider. Life is all about risks. If you're considering many paths at the same time, that may very well be a good choice for you -- wait to apply OTS, take the test, and at the same time you can be trying out something else. But you're definitely putting yourself on hold in terms of advancing towards ATC, and that clock to the cutoff age of 31 is always ticking.