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Old 28th Sep 2012, 08:05
  #8304 (permalink)  
StartYourEngines
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Safron Walden
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I have just completed whole process and since I have learned from this message board probably only fair I should contribute as well so here are my views

1) Anyone can learn anything - if you are not good at cubes then practice cubes, if you cannot do maths quickly then practice maths etc. etc. It drives me mental when people write on here you can either do it or you can't. Not true - some people may pick it up faster / easier but if you don't think you can learn new things then don't apply to be an ATC. I am not a natural at rotating cubes in my head (for example) in any way but I am much better than I was - just practice not magic.

2) Nobody knows what the pass marks are. Even those who finish all the tests (I didn't) don't know what they got right / wrong - so nobody can tell you definitively how many you need to answer as a minimum.

3) The literature they send you is a test. Learn it all - frankly it would take about 2 minutes for anyone to learn the bits that actually came up on my initial test if you knew precicesly what was going to be asked but that is not the game. The game is learn it all since you don't know what will come up.

4) It is a buyers market. You want a job and there are more candidates than places. If you are having to wait a long time (my application took 19 months start to end) then man-up and stop moaning. It might be slow - get over it. If it is taking a long time then get prepared - see 1).

5) Anyone who fails and tries again has my total respect.

6) There are circa. 1,900 ATCs (not a bit of info that was ever asked of me and in the public domain) and they will be a broad church in terms of views / opinions. Their views on here are sometimes treated as infallible - but you have to be discriminating in terms of what you do / don't take in from this forum. Includes this message.

7) Good luck.
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