Dispatcher training

[DX Jake]

You guys keep talking about inexperience. If this guy has 6000 hours of flight time he can easily breeze thru an accelerated course, and have more weight on his application due to not being green like most DX school graduates. It's a tough market out there right now, but I say if you need a job and don't mind earning another ticket, go for it and give it your best shot. A lot of DXers out of work sometimes just don't fit the cultural part of an airline, it doesn't have as much to do with how well they can do the job.

Totally agree. As a matter of fact, "clr4theapproach"..... considering the context of your post, it looks like someone else posted your signature.

 

[Justlurking]

Sigh....not what happened. I inadvertently posted clr's name in my post. Being a monitor, he reposted mine with the edit so I wouldn't get dinged for my mistake. Nothing to see here.

We just happen to agree, I THINK, that neither experience nor inexperience is a guarantor of whether or not one will get the open positions out there.

 

[clr4theapch]

Sorry, I should have made that clear on his repost.. I could have had him just repost it himself.. but I thought I would just save him the aggravation.. I was there and it was easy for me to do as a Mod.. I only changed the name to the user name.. the rest is Justlurking's original words..

 

[clr4theapch]

As to the chemistry issue.. I guess there is something to be said there.. however, I can not think of a worse chemistry than for a pilot, (like the originator of this post) to been noted for just dropping in to get a quickie-drive-thru dispatch license for a few months till a flying job comes back open...

It just seems to cheapen the position we all hold with respect... If someone needs a part time job to fill some time and make a few buck.. go drive a cab or something...

The time frame outlined in this threads premise, shows how little a 6000 hour pilot knows about what we do and how things really work in an SOC.. If you want to get a dispatch ticket to fall back on because you might not be able to fly for some reason.. then great, your intention is to be a dispatcher.. and nothing else..

By the way, I lost my flight medical and this is how I came to learn about dispatching.. and became one.. I am NOT attacking anyone here, just saying how this looks to me.. Good luck if you decide to get the ticket..

 

[bgaviator]

Well, I went to school to fly, but was unfortunate to graduate the following year post 9/11. It was almost 3 years before I was even able to get a flight instructing job. But then I discovered that instructing wasn't my thing.....I'll admit, I think I'm a good pilot, but not everyone is cut out to be a good teacher. I had a pilot come in to the FBO I was working at and was telling me about dispatching....he said it was "the best kept secret" in the aviation business. Get your license pretty quickly, make damn good money, and be home every night. So I checked it out, and went to AGS's 1 week accelerated program. It just so happens that Flight Options was interviewing new graduates for their newly created dispatch (flight planning) department. So for me, it turned out great. I went from making $9/hr doing line service, to making $30K/year for the second largest fractional company overnight. Now I'm working 121, and after seeing what pilots go through at the regional level, I am pretty convinced that is not the lifestyle I want to live anyways.
I am one however who does hope to still make it to the majors. I like my current job, and I think the company I work for is pretty good.....but I'll never be making the kind of money I want, or for that matter feel I deserve, to make if I stay here. It just won't happen. I'm a little dissapointed that there hasn't been more movement at the national/major airline level.....but with the economy I can understand. I do hope that there are a lot more openings in the near future though. It would be nice to be on with a major by the time I hit my mid 30s.

 

[alpine1989]

Some are leery of hiring super experienced pilots and investing in their training only to have them bolt if hiring picks up in that area.

Bingo

 

[Tatoosh65]

Thanks to all that have added their insights here. Its been very helpful.
Sounds like a little bit of mixed bag. Long road, not enough cash, sounds familiar to me. The being home every night part sounds good to me. I appreciate hearing what the true expectations should be.
"Clr4approach" Thanks for your thoughts, but you assume, taker easy now..no need to get all wound up over nothing...

 

[Tatoosh65]

Thanks 4Aprch.

 

[N271FE]

I went to AGS in CVG and took the Accelerated course (Distance Learning Course). If you've been flying in the 121 world, you're light years ahead of tons of other folks for experience. That's a no brainer.
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http://www.agschools.com/distance_learning_course.htm
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Ps- Tatoosh; great name for your geographic area!

 

[OneBadLT123]

From my short experience, I have learned things do not come easy. But one thing I did learn is if you are willing to make the sacrifices, and keep it positive, good things will happen to you. I myself got my ticket just over a year ago, worked at a regional for just under a year and got picked up by a "major" so to say. I went from starting out at 12.xx bucks and hour, to my 12 month raise of just over 13.xx and hour to now making a substantial amount more Dx’ing mainline aircraft.

Was it luck? My interview? did they see something in me? Were they desperate? I don’t know. All I know is I tried my hardest to make the best out of my career, and take great pride in what I do. So far it’s paying off. What the future brings I don’t know. But that’s in industry we work in.

I say if you feel you can get your ticket in an accelerated program, I say go for it. But I wouldn’t expect to get picked up by a major after getting your ticket even with your experience. But hey, weirder things have happened, so I wouldn’t say it is impossible. Just realistically expect about a $12-$16/hr starting wage. Which I guess isn’t bad, but it really depends on other factors as well. (shift differential, raise frequency/percentage, union/nonunion…etc)

I know the original topic was asking about training, so I know I am a litte off topic. But I figured I would add my .02 as well. Whatever thats worth really. I think you would breeze through DX training. There are some differences, but for the most part everything can be picked up fairly well. But hey, now pilots can learn how to derive alternate minimums though (Kidding)