Foot in the door theory?

[Cdndx]

I've always heard ppl talk about going into customer service/ ramp / crew sched to get your foot in the door but I'm wondering how many of your company's have actually hired a csa or ramp agent and taken them to a dispatch or assistant gig? I went to school with someone who was a CSA for a major and is now a dispatch assistant with them but that's the only person experience I know of.

Anyone else? Does your company do this?

 

[SKC]

Of the 180 dispatchers here at SWA, probably 95% transferred in from elsewhere within the company.

 

[Cdndx]

Of the 180 dispatchers here at SWA, probably 95% transferred in from elsewhere within the company.

Wow, I had no idea

 

[SKC]

Since 2008, probably 65-75% of the new hires into dispatch are external. Prior to that it was internal applicants only.

 

[brokedash]

We had some folks at my company that started in crew tracking or other SOC positions and the company paid for them to go to dx school in return for them working as dispatchers for X amount of time.

Of course if you have your license pretty much any regional will hire you.

 

[SKC]

And for clarification, SWA requires a license prior to hiring you as an asst dispatcher, even if you are an internal applicant.

 

[OneBadLT123]

A few of the guys in Dispatch at my company came from various internal departments over the years. Ramp, Weight and Balance, Crew Scheduling...etc. Right now I would say its about a 50-50 internal/external office.

 

[dispatchguy]

Same thing at FedEx. I would say prob 80-90% of the folks in GOC, whether domestic or international, threw boxes on the ramp somewhere whether at the MEM hub, or elsewhere. There are at LOT (well a few) people at FDX who threw boxes at night, and dispatched at Pinnacle on the side.