Hello from Austin, Texas

Heyitsryan · Posted: 01-21-2010, 01:12 AM

Hello, my name is Ryan and I'm a 21 year old junior here at the University of Texas in Austin. I'm originally from Houston, but I moved to Austin for school and work, where I am a Real Estate agent on the side.Recently, I've had a drastic change of mind regarding my career and have been contemplating looking into being an air traffic controller for the FAA or DOD. I've decided to go ahead and make the transition, but I'm a little confused on what exactly I need to do in order to achieve my goals. I have ready the stickies, yet they seemed to confuse me even further and now I'm entirely lost.

So far, I'm under the impression that I would be required to have a minimum of three years full-time work experience (with my school counting for about a year and half) and attend a AT-CTI school in order to become an air traffic controller.Upon completion of the coursework ( some of which I've seen is online) I'm required to pass an examination in order to even apply to work for the FAA or DOD, correct?

I've also looked into the military route, which seems to be ideal since I'm still pretty young but I'm curious about my other options. That seems to be a somewhat time consuming option ( signing away four years of my life) but I would seriously consider it due to the loan forgiveness programs and the accompanied benefits. There doesn't seem to be a school nearby ( in Texas), but I am more than willing to move in order to achieve my goals.

I'm merely seeking further clarification in the process, I apologize if these answers could be found in stickies( such as this one: Air Traffic Control - ATC Information) but I want to be able to fully understand the process before I make a mistake that I might end up regretting later ( ie., joining the military, attending the wrong school, etc). I appreciate the advice and guidance in advance, I hope to post here for quite awhile! Thanks!

Also, what should my GPA be like? I've got about a 3.68 right now, hope that's good enough!

RFDATM · Posted: 01-21-2010, 12:21 PM

Sounds like you should start here with your research:
AT-CTI Schools - Air Traffic Control - ATC - Aviation

I believe the military is a 5 year USN or 6 year AF enlistment for ATC.

Rosstafari · Posted: 01-21-2010, 08:04 PM

Hey Ryan. StuckMic just published a big guide on how to join the profession. Here's a page on the different ways in, if you haven't seen it yet.

For someone in your situation, there're generally three paths:

Military controller (VRA)- Long time commitment, has its ups and downs. I looked into this one myself, but once you hit your mid 20's, it's not as great of an option. You'll be taking orders from 18-19 year olds, and you may be locked in till your 30's. Not bad if you want to stay in the military, but if you're mostly doing it as a means to become a controller, it's a pretty heavy price to pay.

Off the street (OTS) - Due to the high attrition of controllers, the FAA has opened a few applications for the general public (called PUBNATs). However, they're few and far between and the competition is stiff. It's hard to predict how many get in, since the FAA hasn't released formal numbers on the number hired vs. the number applied. It also varies each time they release one. However, due to a number of reasons, there hasn't been a PUBNAT opening for months and it's unlikely there'll be another until October at the earliest. Even then, most people aren't expecting more than 20% of the total group to be selected for employment. It may be more, but I doubt they've ever gone above half. In any case, it's a poor choice if you're serious about the career. Too big of a gamble.

Collegiate training initiative (CTI) - You mentioned this, and in my own opinion, it's your best option at the moment. If you already hold a degree you can complete some CTI programs in as little as one calendar year, and at least one school offers an online option (Vaughn College). It also gives you preference in selection over the huge group of OTS applicants, which is an important edge to have -- the odds of getting selected as a CTI applicant are much, much better than OTS, although there aren't any guarantees.

The tradeoff is the time and cost, of course, with schools running anywhere from a few thousand to some very expensive programs like Embry-Riddle, North Dakota and LeTourneau. Where you go is irrelevant, however, as the only advantage it confers upon you other than hiring preference is skipping a three week Basics course that the OTS crowd has to attend. That's it. You're not actually trained to be a controller. Essentially, you're paying for an advantage in selection and a shorter training time. Also, CTI applications are generally accepted year round (although they're typically reviewed and moved along the process on a quarterly basis).

There you have it. I live up in Round Rock -- or will for another week and a half, at least -- so if you have any other application questions, give me a holler and we'll go get coffee or something. Or post here, of course. I've been stuck in application limbo for over a year and a half now, so I've seen all there is to see before you actually get into the doors of the Academy in Oklahoma City. I hear it's nice on that side...

Heyitsryan · Posted: 01-22-2010, 10:36 AM

So for the Vaughn college option, since it's all online, and I'm assuming at my own pace, would I be able to take these course my still enrolled in another university? I have about a year or so to finish my degree, but would it make the selection process go by faster for me if I completed the additional CTI training before I graduated?

I'm definitely down to meet up for coffee or something to further discuss my options. I'll be sending you a private message shortly with my number, just give me a call or shoot me a text whenever you have time to meet up, thanks! You've got to love that southern hospitality,lol.

Rosstafari · Posted: 01-22-2010, 06:17 PM

Online college courses follow a schedule, so you have to keep up with it. I don't know if there'd be something that would prevent you doing it at the same time that you're doing other classes, but you'd want to treat it as a class of however many credit hours it is... you know, study for it the same amount, prepare for tests, etc etc. There're probably a couple of people who've tried Vaughn online somewhere around here to ask the specifics.