For those who are yet to come to ASA academy thought I would try and give my opinion (not necessarily the right one mind you).
The learning academy is good, it may have !!!!ty air conditioning and full of constant changes and confusing miss information, but it’s not a bad place to spend a year of your life. Sure we are getting disheartened a bit every time we hear of a fail or supplementary exam. Especially cause we see, as a group, no one is different from anyone else and that it’s so easy to miss one little thing (and that’s all it takes). Thankfully i've found good group support at the academy.
I don’t particularly like some of the comments about the academy that seem to be posted by people who aren’t directly connected in any way to it. My perspective....
The recruitment process is long and with very little encouragement to continue. I can imagine many people with more than one job offer going for the other due to the lack of communication in the months waiting to hear about the next phase or what course you’re on if successfully on the merit list. Good luck.
With the original material sent out, it’s not obvious how much they want you to do. Basically as much as you can with the time you have. I only got the material when I got down to the Melb temporary accommodation 1 week before the course started. There is a test the first week but it’s not a huge thing just to set you on the right track (note: there are lots and lots of test). If you have nothing to do in the weeks prior to the course it will help you a lot to read as much of the ARM as possible, otherwise look at the sections referenced in the selected questions.
The first theory block is basiacally sitting in the same chair everyday listening, so be ready for it. Teaching styles of the instructors vary immensely . In the end you get all the material necessary though (not necessarily in the best method) but easy enough for most. You end up going through subjects so quickly you pretty much have finished it before it’s even started, not much time for cementing ideas. I’m still unsure about lines like “we want everyone to pass” as it seems to be handed out like candy. All I know is everyone in the academy works damn hard and there are a lot of 100% in exams flying around (not me... I’m not that smart).
Unfortunately the way the college works you don’t even get to ‘pretend’ to be an air traffic controller until months into the course. Doesn’t really help connect the theory with anything (in my perspective) and also made it hard for us to know if we even suited the job until we finally got to put a headset on.
Thankfully I really do feel at this stage, if you really want to be an air traffic controller and you work hard, getting through the academy it’s achievable. Although there are many hurdles to jump over, it takes a lot of self confidence and the ability to just keep going. If you’re indecisive... think hard because the learning curve continues to rise.