What qualifications needed

[rvsm compliant]

I'm an aircraft engineer with 2 kids the eldest is 12 and He's moving up to High school in Sept.
He has an interest in becoming an ATC.What Qualifications will he need to have a chance of being selected?
What is the rate of pay while under training?
What is the rate when Qualified?
I know it's rather premature but if we have the info and it looks promising I'll do all the encouragement I can.:)

[rickypbrown]

RVSM,

The best resource is probably www.nats.co.uk (http://www.nats.co.uk). All the information you've requested is on there.

[Ppdude]

Your going to have to ignore all the negative aspects of training, selection and pay(see all other threads on here)

If you are determinded enough to get through all of that, he will experience one of the most rewarding careers possible.

There is not one person who reads this who would rather be in an office 9-5

But dont even think about doing it straight from school. As said before Uni, travel or work for a couple of years. Doesn't matter which but one of them is a must.

[ShuttleSixYankee]

Surely there are people who have entered NATS at age 18, right?

[MancBoy]

Well I was 19 straight from 6th form.

And now hitting the top of the band 5 scale at 33 so there is some advantages to starting early, more years at the top of the scale, assuming I live for a while that is!

[Gonzo]

I'm the same as MancBoy, but a few years behind him. Straight form sixth form, only job I've ever had (apart from a paper round!):}

[Scarf]

Same here, headed straight into it from 6th form at 18 (only had a Saturday job before that)!

It depends on which path your son wants to go down. If he wants the whole uni experience and huge social aspect, then head to uni then give ATC a go. But it's not essential for joining college, if he wants to head straight in (still with the social aspect, but not to as much an extent as uni is) then go to college first!

[WildWesterner]

Hi, been a reader for a while but finally decided to get involved.

I, like Gonzo and MancBoy, joined at the ripe old age of 19, having only previously done what could be described as slave labour! I did have uni places on offer but ended up in Bournemouth. Life turned out well, in six years I've validated and become an OJT instructor.

I wouldn't rule out uni, but it's more about making the most of what's in front of you! (enthusiasm and commitment!!) I had decent school results, but I think more importantly an active and varied life looks good on an application. (In my case, various sports, Air Cadets, Duke of Edinburgh awards, etc.). Gonzo would know more about this probably!

I think the travelling etc, all contributes to one thing - life experience. You could be a mature 19yo or 30 going on 13. Anyway, a glance round the ops room suggests no one life path is the way thru the door!

Good Luck, :ok:

WW

[Jonny M]

An intersting selection of answers. And a good Q. to start with. I've been a member of the air cadets for a cple of years now, taking on leadership when given to me, so i have had a little bitof experience in that. A possible solution i've been thinking about recently:
I plan to go to uni after school but, is there any harm applying before Uni? pass= training, pos. job. fail/drop out etc. = Uni for a cple of years then try again.
Just an idea from an inexperienced member but a possibility?
Jonny

[Scarf]

Well it worked for me just a year ago Yahoo, and there are a number of 18 year olds on the previous intake also.

It's nothing to do with age, it's to do with maturity and experience. You could be 35 with great maturity, but if you don't have the ability to think on your feet and adapt, then they won't give you the job! If your 18 with little experience but have such abilities, then they will! Granted us "younguns" may be less experienced... but don't rule us out just yet ;) I'm living proof to that one!

Jonny, there's no harm in applying for both. Apply for ATC, but apply for uni at the same time. If you get the job great! If not, you've got something to fall back on! I did a risky strategy of solely applying to ATC and thankfully it worked, but obviously that doesn't work 100% of the time!

[WildWesterner]

Jonny,

as I said I applied to both (and the RAF in fact) and it's all about options - don't give yourself just the one option (perhaps also a useful tip if you do get to live training eventually!! :) ). I don't know if there's a limit on number of applications but twice is definitely possible, so your idea would work fine.

RVSM compliant, I wouldn't be able to say with accuracy but a couple of college threads on here make reference to the trainee salary (approx 10k). It has changed a lot in the last five/six years so it will probably change again by the time it is relevant to you.

I would be interested to know if the "somewhat reduced" trainee salary (and lack of accommodation allowance) affects the average age of a training course in Bournemouth? In the heady days of 2001, we had teens, uni leavers, professionals changing careers, existing atcos changing direction and ex mil. I think it ranged from 18-39yo on our course. Some of each validated, some didn't.

WW

[Gonzo]

Yahoo,

My most impressive interviewee ever was an 18 year old.

I have also seen other 18 and 19 year olds that would have put my interview all those years ago to shame.

[SACrIGGER]

Looking around at my course mates, and one thing I can't do is find a common link between work/education experience. There just seems to be no hard and fast stereotype, I guess those fine interviewers just see a certain something in each individual.

So the best advice to your son, is do as he feels fit, I joined the RAF for 7 years before I felt that I was ready to apply, but as scraf has said, he applied straight from school.

If the motivation is there he can be successful, just give plenty of encouragement.