I hear that applicants from the February 2014 announcement who receive a TOL will also get instructions on how to opt out of taking Air Traffic Basics. For instance, if you've got a CTI degree or you've got a CTO, you may be able to opt out of Air Traffic Basics if you wish. Air Traffic Basics is a 5-week course that precedes the initial qualification courses (Tower or Enroute or ITR). I've tried to figure out why the FAA would allow this, and the only reason I can think of is purely cost-driven.
When those TOLs go out, I've heard that the opt-out paperwork will be included. The important thing to know about these forms is this: Once you opt out of Air Traffic Basics, you cannot change your mind later and decide you want to take it. Your written decision is irrevocable. Secondly, you will be responsible for the material taught in the Air Traffic Basics course, whether you opt out or not, when you get to the initial qualification courses (Tower or Enroute or ITR).
In looking at this process, I cannot imagine any scenario by which a student would gain anything by opting out of Air Traffic Basics. Here's why...
1. The Air Traffic Basics course has about a 99.9% pass rate, the last time I checked. No one has failed in years.
2. For CTI graduates who have been out of college for over a year (which is mostly everybody), Air Traffic Basics serves as a great review and gets you accustomed to taking FAA-style tests.
3. For former military and CTO holders, Air Traffic Basics will teach you the "FAA way." This is very important when you move into the next courses, and on to your facility. The "military" way is not the "FAA" way, and Air Traffic Basics will do a lot to help you "unlearn" the old way of doing things.
4. You will be responsible for the material anyway, so why not have it fresh in your mind.
5. You'll get an additional 5 weeks of salary, federal employee benefits, and per diem, so taking Air Traffic Basics will cost you nothing out of pocket.
6. If you skip Air Traffic Basics, you'll be put directly into the initial qualification course with people who chose to take Air Traffic Basics. Not only will they likely have an advantage over you in facility placement at the end of the course (the highest scoring student gets first choice, etc.), they will have an earlier EOD date, which could affect your seniority down the road, particularly if several of you in a class go to the same facility (which happens quite a bit). This one fact alone would decide it for me.
7. Opting out is irrevocable. If after a few months word gets out that students who skipped Air Traffic Basics are scoring lower than those who didn't skip, it is too late for you if you opt out now.
I would be very hesitant to opt out, but I'm sure that some will feel like "I got this" and want to cut 5 weeks off of their training down there in Oklahoma City. Considering the 7 reasons above, I'm not sure that's wise.
When those TOLs go out, I've heard that the opt-out paperwork will be included. The important thing to know about these forms is this: Once you opt out of Air Traffic Basics, you cannot change your mind later and decide you want to take it. Your written decision is irrevocable. Secondly, you will be responsible for the material taught in the Air Traffic Basics course, whether you opt out or not, when you get to the initial qualification courses (Tower or Enroute or ITR).
In looking at this process, I cannot imagine any scenario by which a student would gain anything by opting out of Air Traffic Basics. Here's why...
1. The Air Traffic Basics course has about a 99.9% pass rate, the last time I checked. No one has failed in years.
2. For CTI graduates who have been out of college for over a year (which is mostly everybody), Air Traffic Basics serves as a great review and gets you accustomed to taking FAA-style tests.
3. For former military and CTO holders, Air Traffic Basics will teach you the "FAA way." This is very important when you move into the next courses, and on to your facility. The "military" way is not the "FAA" way, and Air Traffic Basics will do a lot to help you "unlearn" the old way of doing things.
4. You will be responsible for the material anyway, so why not have it fresh in your mind.
5. You'll get an additional 5 weeks of salary, federal employee benefits, and per diem, so taking Air Traffic Basics will cost you nothing out of pocket.
6. If you skip Air Traffic Basics, you'll be put directly into the initial qualification course with people who chose to take Air Traffic Basics. Not only will they likely have an advantage over you in facility placement at the end of the course (the highest scoring student gets first choice, etc.), they will have an earlier EOD date, which could affect your seniority down the road, particularly if several of you in a class go to the same facility (which happens quite a bit). This one fact alone would decide it for me.
7. Opting out is irrevocable. If after a few months word gets out that students who skipped Air Traffic Basics are scoring lower than those who didn't skip, it is too late for you if you opt out now.
I would be very hesitant to opt out, but I'm sure that some will feel like "I got this" and want to cut 5 weeks off of their training down there in Oklahoma City. Considering the 7 reasons above, I'm not sure that's wise.
