Contract employment, haven't controlled in a while

[atcadvocate]

Quick question, I'm a prior enlisted military controller with a CTO. I haven't controlled since 2002. I am currently a firefighter, and have been since 2003. I retire from the fire dept. In 2024. I will be 45 hrs old then.

Contract ATC requires a CTO. I got that. Will they still hire me after being out of atc for that long? Or should I look at being a wal-mart greeter?

Any answers, especially from any currently working contract atc are greatly appreciated.

 

[whegner]

I was out for 16 years so the answer today is yes. In 13 years a lot will depend on the hiring environment, what the NAS looks like (i.e. how much has it changed) and what ratings you had previously.

I consider myself lucky for two reasons. When I was hired the contractors were having trouble keeping controllers (5 of the 6 guys before me got hired into the FAA within weeks of getting rated here) and I had 5 previous CTO's at relatively busy airports to fall back on

 

[meadelz]

Get your name in the hat. CTO and 2nd class, you'll be good to go

 

[Genot]

If you're only going to be 45 hours old I think you may be to young. Dang you age slow! Lol

 

[atcadvocate]

If you're only going to be 45 hours old I think you may be to young. Dang you age slow! Lol

Damn auto spell! Meant yrs, not hrs. Lol

 

[dfiantii]

Get your name in the hat. CTO and 2nd class, you'll be good to go

Just having these two things is not a sure thing to getting hired. I have been trying to get with Serco for a while in my state with no luck. Probably location but I had two CTO's when I was trying to get with them now I have 3. We will see what happens.

 

[maddog68]

if you want to get into Serco, the best bet is not to be to picky about where you go. You get your foot in the door, by going to a possibly remote, or expensive place where the turn over is high. But once in the door, a transfer is only 18 months away. So keep your options open, because if you are locked in to a prime location, you are probably going to be well behind a current employee waiting for a transfer.