Career as ATCO

[Coke611]

Hi all. I'm Louis Coke, I'm from essex and i'm 15 years old.
I've always wanted to be an air traffic controller.
Is there anything I can do now to better my chances of getting past the entry tests?
I hear the pass rate is only about 40%!
What is the job itself like? Is the pay good?

Cheers,
Coke611

[bagpuss lives]

Hi there,

I think the best thing for you to do would be to trawl through this forum and go back as far as you can. You'll find literally hundreds of posts that answer your questions very well indeed!

Basically, do well in your GCSE's, go onto college and pass your A levels and most of all, be interested! You'll find the correct and upto date recruitment info on the NATS site http://www.nats.co.uk

You could also practise your spacial awareness and reasoning techniques. You can buy books at most large bookshops - certainly online - that are filled with tests involving 3D cubes, numbering, shapes etc etc. They are most useful!

The job itself is very rewarding, definitely a challenge and ever-changing.

The pay is good compared to say an office job, we get paid well in general. It certainly isn't the type of job you can do just for the money (ROFL at that bit!!!!) though and we get paid much less than some flight crews and other connected airspace jobs.

All in all - study hard, keep in touch with what's going on in the world of aviation and air traffic and read back on these forums.

Good luck :D

[Wigglet]

<< The pay is good compared to say an office job, we get paid well in general. >>

HA !!!

Tell a Commodities or Futures dealer what you earn and watch him fall off his chair...either that or he'll take sympathy and give you a quid for a coffee.

[bagpuss lives]

Yeah very true and I sit corrected.

I still think that generally we get paid reasonably well - although when you put it like that it does take the shine off that statement somewhat.

Mind you - who'd want to deal "commodities"? :D

I'm alright with my 10p coffees thank you very much;)

[Wigglet]

Aaaaaaaah, Niteflite...........10p coffees.

Does that mean you're not of the great Tea swindle ??

Ergo, are the rumours true that you hark from the dark side, that being the other end of the 4th floor ???!!! :D

Wigglet

We try to aim; it keeps Sue happy :)

[Dan Dare]

Pay is actually pretty poor!

When you consider the responsibility of the job and the consequences of getting it wrong, then we are not well compensated. I am very much the poor relative amoungst my alma mater and have friends earning many times my salary in relatively mundane office jobs. Its time we all woke up and looked arround!

Yes we are better paid than cleaners, administrators and most manual labourers, but how many other professionals take the crap we take for so little? This is perpetuated by advertising such as "come and earn a packet with 5 GCSES". In that context it does look good, but I firmly believe that we're being taken for a ride.

So why do I do it? Because I don't want to work in an office counting beans, and (shhh! quietly!) it is actually a really rather enjoyable way to spend your day's work.

So back to the original question: The job can be good. The pay is OK if you don't have great expectations. You improve your chances by reading PPRuNe.

Good Luck!

[bagpuss lives]

I'm strictly 8th floor mate :D :D :D

How about you?

Still keeping the cleaner(s) happy? :D

How are the nipple rings?

[stringfellow hawke]

Hi Louis,

Contributors here seem to have forgotten what your original post was all about and have gone off on another "the pay's great / the pay's crap" argument.

I guess I'm not really in a position to comment on that, as I'm not yet an ATCO. I'm just going through the application procedure and have my second stage tests / interview soon.

I'm just writing to say that I'm pushing 30 now and have spent the last 10 years in a career I hate. You are very lucky if you have always known what you want to do. It's a cliche, but follow your dream mate. Work hard and there's no reason why in just a few short years, you won't be doing exactly what you've always wanted. I guess I'm lucky enough to still be in with a chance of changing my job. ATC is where I want to be. To me it looks like a fantastic, rewarding career and compared to an awful lot of people, the pay is pretty good. I suppose it depends what circles you mix in, but I'd be earning more than most of my friends if I become an ATCO and would also have a far more interesting job. Most people I know hate their jobs and readily admit that basically what they do for a living is talk bullsh*t. From my experience many commercial jobs in management and sales are like this. Don't forget that many of ATCOs on PPRuNe have probably been in ATC since leaving school. They haven't lived in the real world!

From what I've read on PPRuNe, it seems that ATCOs may well complain about their pay, but ask most of them what they'd rather be doing and they can't think of anything and the answer certainly isn't "selling commodities". Money is important of course, but I'm well paid for what I do now and it doesn't make me happy because I hate the job. Do what you want to do and worry about the pay when you get there.

There's lots of info about ATC. Get books from your library or do a search on Amazon and keep surfing the web. I've found plenty of useful stuff. Also, if you have the money and the inclination, learn to fly. Doesn't have to be fixed wing or helicopters (ridiculously expensive), try gliding, microlighting or ballooning, all a lot cheaper. A lot of the subjects you study for flying will be relevant to ATC. I think at your age, there's an RAF sponsored scheme called something like the Air Training Corps. This doesn't mean you're going to end up in the RAF, but I believe they will teach you to fly gliders and get you involved in all things aero related. A bit like airborne Scouts I guess.

Anything else you want help or advice with, let me know. I guess I feel like I would like to help as much as possible as if I'd had better help and advice when I was your age, I might not have spent the last 10 years doing something I hate! Good luck Louis.

[Wigglet]

LOL @ nipplerings

I can categorically reassure you that I am not he :)

Zerouali, all things in this world are relative and everything is judged against a benchmark.

The simple fact is that UK ATCOs, both NATS and non-NATS are the Cinderellas of ATC in Europe.

Stringfellow, you are 100% right; most ATCOs wouldn't dream of changing jobs. We're a dedicated, professional bunch, proud of what we do. That doesn't mean we should sit back and be grateful for the wage we get when we can see our colleagues within Europe working less hours for substantially more reward.

Whilst, IMHO, it's the best job in the world, the priviledge of doing the job shouldn't be taken as part of our remuneration.

The people fighting for better conditions and pension preservation today are also fighting for improved conditions for you and the future.

Enjoy your career !!

[GroundBound]

Hi Louis,

you can look around the Web for more information. There is an ATC Web Ring (http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=atcring;action=home) where you will be able to get a variety of ATC information world-wide. You will also find a number of ATC simulators, such as ATC simulator (users.skynet.be/atcsim/).

There is a shortage of controllers in Europe, estimated at around 10-15%, and unlikley to be resolved in the next 5 years - so there's goning to be vacancies for some time to come. The job can be very demanding, but also very satisfying :)

Good luck

[fourthreethree]

Louis
An admirable career if ever there was one, a fine choice. But don't limit yourself to looking for work only in the UK, the wonderful thing about the job is wherever you go in the world the operating language is English, and the job requirements don't change too much. I took the step to move abroad at a young age, and now work, as Wigglet describes it, "less hours for considerably more pay."

Try looking under the jobs section at www.eurocontrol.be (http://) and see for yourself.

Of course money isn't everything, and ATC is a truly rewarding career, I know very few people outside my job who can honestly say they enjoy what they do and get a kick out of being busy.

As far as preparation goes, I agree with all the advice from the previous posts, basically familiarise yourself with ATC worldwide, visit centres, at Manchester, Swanwick, your local airport tower, whatever, and get talking to people. Otherwise the practical side of being a controller is something people either have or dont have, that "x factor". All you, or anyone else can do is your best.

I wish you all the best in your applications, and who knows I may be working with you before too long! Let me know how you go.

Good luck,
fourthreethree