A not insignificant number of trainees coming through recently have saiid they applied after searching for “best paying jobs without a degree” and ATC coming up. If we relied on attracting people with a prior interest in aviation I’m not sure there’d be many people reaching the college.
If you’re aiming for a higher chance of more guaranteed money in the long run, Whiteley is probably a better bet as an area rating puts you higher up the bandings. Gloucester
might get you to a higher banded unit but with a lower chance. You’re
probably going to validate quicker from Gloucester and get onto the ATCO payscales. Gloucester will also give you ADI and APS which gives you slightly more freedom if you want to look for external jobs in the future. You’ll also see actual aircraft rather than just green blips on a radar. Others may have a different outlook on this, and I’d stress none of it is a guarantee. Personally at this point if you don’t already have a preference for one of the other and the physical location in the country doesn’t make any difference, take what you get.
Originally Posted by
ATC beginner
Asking based on progression not just money … do we get opportunities to apply for different roles within and how interesting both roles will be working in Area or Traffic at Gloucester
How interesting you find it is entirely down to you, but wherever you end up you’ll probably find no day is ever the same - but often for very different reasons. It has its dull moments but it’s still far more interesting than most jobs. There is project work and developmental roles if you’re interested in that - but usually not on any sort of regular basis, they come up as and when, and some opportunities for supervisory promotions if that’s your thing.