What does it take to become an ATC?

[Kaman]

1. A lifetime supply of Maalox Plus.
2. An extra-large tube of Preparation H
3. Coke bottle glasses
4. A Hearing Aid
5. Size 42 waist trousers
6. Unlimited supply of cigarettes and Maxwell House Coffee
7. Superior command of sarcasm, patronization, ad lib, lousy sense of humor. Especially if you work in ROA.

Regards,

ex-Navy rotorhead

P.S. meant as a tongue in cheek. not flamebait. ATC and the FAA are there to help, right??? yeah...Right

 

[RUNNINHORN]

1. A lifetime supply of Maalox Plus.
2. An extra-large tube of Preparation H
3. Coke bottle glasses
4. A Hearing Aid
5. Size 42 waist trousers
6. Unlimited supply of cigarettes and Maxwell House Coffee
7. Superior command of sarcasm, patronization, ad lib, lousy sense of humor. Especially if you work in ROA.

Regards,

ex-Navy rotorhead

P.S. meant as a tongue in cheek. not flamebait. ATC and the FAA are there to help, right??? yeah...Right

huh?

 

[fLYbUDDY]

bump

 

[Catbird]

Controller Stress= Having a couple of Aero Postal, Aeroflot, and assorted South American Cargo carriers arrive in Miami App. at 17:30 with a stuck mike and TRW sliding close to the app and dep corridors. Throw in the American deciding late they have to have 9R. And for a kicker, changing the airport around. Been sitting in the cockpit and decided to do 10 mile legs in peace and let the nut house simmer down. App. controllers EARN the money they make. Clearance delivery would drive a sane person crazy, especially with the A**Holes which are out there these days.

 

[Swass]

If someone joined the MARC program, could they change to a Terminal position once hired? The website says no, but there was talk on this thread that once in the system then all it takes is a transfer. What's the real deal?

 

[ATCER]

Going through MARC there are 2 possible ways to get to the terminal environment.

1 - Go through MARC, get hired into an ARTCC, get fully certified (FPL) and then bid out to a Terminal facility.

2 - Go through MARC, get hired into an ARTCC, and fail out of training. Now, this is not the best route, but one that some take either on purpose or that's the way the cards fall. If you fail out the FAA is not required to place you somewhere else, they legally can terminate you. Most times (and I mean 99.9%) the union gets the person a lower level facility. (tower) where they then have the chance to certify (FPL) and then bid up to a Terminal facility.

Hope that helps.

 

[2LT]

Thanks ATCER...

 

[ratings:all]

center

i used to think i'd rather eat bugs than go to work in a center, now i just wish i had a job!

i cant remember just how much my 2 semesters were at ccbc, but the majority of people go to towers instead of centers, although i had a few classmates who went to a center, specifically n90, although they requested it (they lived in nyc) and they dont turn down anybody that wants n90. a couple also went to cleveland center, and one to san juan. the rest of my class are mostly in the great lakes region. if you have any questions about cost at ccbc, look up their website and call paul arnholt, he's the program head.

 

[BoDEAN]

Has anyone done the Aviation Technology at Purdue university?
I guess this qualifies for ATC training

 

[ATCER]

2LT ... you make some excellent points. Transferring facilites is no small task at times. But... it depends on where you want to go.

N90 (New York Tracon) is an easy one to transfer to... they will take any warm body that wants to transfer there. To get out is another story. There are other facilites around the country that are like that, Atlanta Center, Oakland Center, New York Center, to name a few. There are other ways like hardships, grievances, etc, but that's a whole different story.

As for trying to figure out who from what school goes where... forget it, you work for the Gov't long enough you realize there is no method to the way they do things.

Keep in mind, the training in MARC and OKC is not to train you to work traffic, it's to judge if you can be trained ... once you report to your facility is when the real training begins.

The best advice I can give is to get your foot in the door. Once inside you will see how the system works and learn how you can work the system for yourself.

Good Luck