Originally Posted by
ATC beginner
If starting at Whitley how long are the courses before you get moved from basic salary to higher… from research 2.5 to 3 years are long time on basic salary
If all you're fussed about is money you're going to go nowhere fast. Asking how long it takes to validate it like asking how long is a piece of string, it takes as long as it takes assuming you're good enough. You could easily be in the system for 4 years before validating if you fail various courses along the way and have to wait for recourses. And you could be training for 4 years and then be deemed not good enough and shown the door. Remember, you're being trained to take responsibility for thousands of peoples lives. It requires a certain mindset and ability and years of training to demonstrate you're capable enough.
Also remember, while training you're not generating the company any income. There are plenty of other areas within aviation (think flying school) where you're paid nothing at all and have to pay tens of thousands of pounds for your training. So to be paid mid to high £20k while training isn't so bad.