a few ATC noobie questions
Hi all,
I'm interested in a career in ATC, I've been reading posts on this site for a couple of weeks now, fantastic, volumes of information regarding the complex world of ATC.
I'm based in Liverpool and currently work in the video games industry, which unfortunately is very unstable here in the UK. So it's time a for a career change before I end up in a bad situation, and I feel ATC is the way to go..
What I'd like to know is, would it be best trying to get into a non-NATS airport and start as an assistant with a view to being trained as a ATCO. Or, enrolling with NATS and training as a ATCO from the offset?
I have a few logistical issues on making the NATS option work as I'm 28 yeas old, I think I may be considered too old to enrol..? I also have a 3 year old son who I don't really want to uproot to the south of England for almost 2 years and also my wife works here in Liverpool too.
So I guess I'm looking for a way to get in to the industry whilst maintaining my family here in Liverpool. My first port of call is to personally ring the ATC departments in local airports and speak to people, possibly arrange a visit and get my face known. I have sourced all the ATC department numbers for various airports here in the Northwest, so that's what I'll do first.
Any thoughts, ideas, opinions are welcome please guys.
-ATC-wannabie