anyone start out as a pilot and then work ATC???

flygirl556 Newcomer

Hi everyone. I'm new to this website and I was just wondering if there were any former pilots who are now working ATC and how they like it. What are the pros and cons and what helped make your decision? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

polo708 Epic Member tower

Im not one personally, but a lot of controllers I work with are pilots also. They seem to be the ones who talk alot and have excessive phraseology haha.

In my opinion... Pilots make good controllers, Controllers make bad pilots.

irishcarbomb Moderator Houston, TX

Welcome to stuckmic...head over to the pilots section and let us know what your background is

Matty13 Senior Member

I know a few who are bad at both.

Maloo Newcomer Providence, RI

I'm currently trying to make the big decision to jump ship from my struggling airline and jump into ATC. I've gone through a big chunk of the process and have an interview for Boston Center. There's a lot of pros and cons for doing either thing but heres the stack of em that I'm mainly concerned with

Pilot Cons
-Job stability
-Pay changes when moving to a different company/getting furloughed and being forced to accept lower pay at a new job most of the time.
-Constantly on the road
Pilot Pros
-Working with different people (not stuck with the same boss)
-Occasionally some overnights have fun stuff to do there
-Travel benefits at most airlines (These are gonna be hard to give up)
-Rewarding if/when you get towards the top and into the left seat.
-Flexible schedule once you move up in seniority

ATC Cons
-Less days off
-Same place/different day
ATC Pros
-Home every night!
-NICE benefits
-Livable wages that transfer to different facilities with you.
-Job Stability
-Exciting job

Those are the few that im looking at...I'm on the fence right now and waiting to see what happens with the new FAA contract before I make a move.

flygirl556 Newcomer

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone know how often they have openings for people like me who are off the street? How long does the whole process take?

polo708 Epic Member tower

I believe the OTS openings are posted quarterly and they are usually only up for a week or so, so you have to apply during that small window. USAJOBS - The Federal Government's Official Jobs Site

Hiring from start to finish can take over a year easily for OTS... some are close to a year and a half.

flygirl556 Newcomer

Wow. It sounds like quite a lengthy process. As far as the age limit goes, do you need to be 31 or younger when you first start the process or do you need to be 31 or younger by the time it's all said and done?

DogmaEnigma Senior Member Virginia

You must be 31 or younger by the time you receive a tentative offer letter (TOL) and once you receive a TOL your hiring age will be frozen. You get a TOL towards the end of the hiring process during a PEPC (Pre-employment Processing Center) interview or after your traditional route interview. It is about a 8 to 10 month minimum wait from initial application to TOL if everything goes according to plan. To get an idea of past PUBNAT's timeframes of hiring events click here: http://www.stuckmic.com/atc-employme...imetables.html

irishcarbomb Moderator Houston, TX

if you didnt already apply to it, you just missed out on one. literally, it closed yesterday. probably going to be a loooong while before they have another opening