FAA flight dispatcher license

[Smohamed]

Hello everyone,

can any one who underwent thru the process of obtaining FAA disptacher license recently, provide me details as i am planning to join a dispatch school in US. I plan to join either Flight Safety Intl in Flushing or World Airline Dispatch School - TX. If any one attended these schools could they put some light. Basically i dont have any dispatcher experience and workd for crewing section in a major airline. The course duration mentioned in web sites of schools differs, some say 5 weeks and others 6 weeks. What is the exact duration for the course and to get the license? appreciate your time and response...//cheers

[Lauderdale]

I think the relevant FAR states a minimum of 200+ class room hours (6 weeks).

At least do youself a favor and have a look at Sheffield. (www.sheffield.com (http://www.sheffield.com))

Only my personal opinion; but they will provide you with the best ticket in town (it sure isnt a licence mill - you will have to work hard for it).

It will open some doors for you that others possible might not.

Before everyone jumps down my neck - this is just my personal opinion which I gladly will elaborate on. However it is just that, personal.

Good luck in getting your ticket - it has done wonders for my career!

[Nadeem I Siddiqui]

Dera SMohamed

I am Nadeem having both ICAO and FAA FLT DISP LICS

right now jobless can you help me.

Regards

Nadeem

[PNY]

You can do the full FAA Dispatcher course by Jeppesen in Singapore at Mil-Com for US$5,000 or in Dubai at Emirates for US$6,500. Now you would have to latter travel to the U.S. to take the FAA ceritifcation exams which consist of the comuterized wirtten, oral and practical exams. While the Jeppesen certificate is good for 90 days to do all this, if you work as a dispatcher anywhere, Jeppesen reissues the graduation certificate even years latter free of charge to allow you to go the states and tkae the FAA exams.

Advantages:

In Singapore your FAA course is also appoved by the CAAS and everybody has gotten jobs, even foreigners who come and take the course to get a job in Singapore before they complete the full 6 weeks course. Jennifer at Mil-Com goes out of her way to assist foreign students.

In UAE your FAA course allows you to take an oral and practical exam and be issued a UAE license which expires every 2 years but can be renewed with a 3 day refresher course. It takes a bit longer in UAE, perahps 2-3 months, but their graduates get jobs too.

The idea is to have a job at the end... an FAA certificate without a job is so useless!

Good luck....

[cessna172r MSN]

Nadeem

What's the ICAO Disp licence? Do you mean the Flight Operations Officer Licence issued by other ICAO states except United States FAA?

Smohamed:

Sheffield is a very good school in USA for FAA DISP Licence and I believe it's worth to take the course in Sheffield, especially if you are looking for DISP job in USA. Of course it's seldom for any the DISP Licence holder to take the same course in different schools and actually it's hard to compare all DISP schools in USA without taking the same course among those schools. But according to comments from many people in this forum, and also guys from airlines, Sheffield is the best.

If you took the Sheffield 6 weeks course, it's better to get a latest FAA Test Prep (from Gleim or ASA) and study it well before the beginning of the course. Good school just let you to study that by yourself. Worst schools use the TEST Prep as theory teaching base and which is not a good practice.

I believe if you are loking for DISP job in USA, of course you have to take the course in USA. But if you are looking for jobs in Singapore or UAE, may be it's a good choice to take the Jeppesen courses in these 2 countries.

[PNY]

Several people have emailed me out of ignorance in not knowing that Jeppesen revalidates course graduation certificates routinely out of U.A.E., Singapore, India and elsewhere so here it is:

Send an email to [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected] to request a revalidation of your Jeppesen course certificate just prior to leaving for the U.S. to take your written, oral and practical. Advise them of your original date of graduation and that you have remained active in your knowledge, skills and abilities as a dispatcher, pursuant to Title 14 CFR 65.70 (1) (b).

Please, vist www.faa.gov to find the computer testing centers, and a Air Carrier or Flight Standards District Office for your oral and practical for the city you will be visiting. Study a current Gliem ADX written exam book before you go, perhaps Somia or an Jeppesen instructor at EK can get you a current one, and also download FAA Form 8400-3 as well as the FAA Aircraft Dispatcher Practical Test Standards. Also dowload the full Title 14 Transportation and Space or applicable versions such as Part 1, 65, 91 and 121.

It is recommended that you obtain some personal tutorial locally before taking the oral and practical exam. The FAA Inspectors do not charge for and "o & p" if you can get one, the FAA Desiganted Examiners charge US$150-400 as they are not FAA employees. The written exam is only US$90.

I am sure the dispatcher schools mentioned above a good. However, many foreigners wish to also upgrade their educational credentials, so for them Jepepsen has articulation agreements for Dispatcher course graduates to be granted up to 12 credit hours towards a Bacholor of Science degree from Metropolitan State College of Colorado, the University of Hawaii / Honolulu Community College, and the University of Phoenix online among others.

By the way, unlike the U.S.A., most foreign graduates (who wish to continue living abroad) with an FAA Dispatchers license in hand in places like Singapore find jobs much more quickly. Jobs in the U.S.A. are great right now but do find yourself to be the first to go when the economy sours. However, on the up side the FAA Certificate is valid for life unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked. The pay is much higher abroad with the FAA certificate in hand with the local license.

I am a previous Jeppesen graduate with an FAA and lcoal license. This is not to sell you on taking a Jeppesen course, I really could care less, the idea is to think good income after graduation. Good luck to you my friends...

[PNY]

Now there are grave deficiencies or incoherance in that statement above, the moral, pseudoscientific and political prejudicie of your posting is easy to read.

However, I landed a job with Singapore Airlines after taking the Jeppesen course and I do not work for Jeppesen. Others got on with Singapore Air Terminal Services... Some of my friends got on with Royal Jet in Abu Dabhi at a salary four times what you make right now... so please please please do not go to Jeppesen, go to the schools in the U.S. and be preaered to be laid off soon, please save the quality jobs for those that do go to training without a mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

Thank you for reading this posting... good luck in whatever you decide.

[Lauderdale]

I think the last two posts in this thread are both below par. :*

Mr Mach, Jeppesen is a fine institution providing quality products.

PNY - I have an FAA Disp. ticket (obtained in the US) and partly thanks to that ticket I am having a very succesful career thank you very much "....be prepaired to be laid of soon...", what a non sense!

At the end of the day chaps its all about personal determination, passion and drive to succeed that makes all the difference!

With posts as this level I would recruit neither of you! Now off to your rooms you go and write me a 1500 word essay on RNP-10! :E

[Dam]

Hello,
I take advantage of this thread to ask a few questions. Is there anybody who can answer that:

I am French . I am currently working in the aviation area . I am interested in getting the FAA Flight Dispatcher Certificate.
Attending a 6 week program in the USA would be quite expensive.

1) Can you take the written and the practical test without attending such a program ; I mean for those with experience .
2) I am the holder of a French Load controller/Flight Dispatcher Certificate. My work experience is:
7 months as a load controller for Paris Airports Group.
7 months as a load controller on an another Airport ( the job also include a bit of operations )
Can a load controller experience be taken into account.

3) Is it possible to take both exams in France ; I mean on a practical and legal standpoint. Could the practical Test take place in a French dispatch center.
Any idea of what it would cost

Thanks a lot for your help

I did send several e-mails to the FAA but na anwer.
I didn't try to camm them but I figure to wouldn't do any good; I will probably spent all day long trying to talk to the right person in the right office...

[Lefthandseat]

Isn't it RNP4 now?

[PNY]

Dam,

I am not qualified to tell you if you do or do not qualify for the certificate but my Jeppesen instructor at Mil-Com in Singapore gave us all a copy of Title 14 CFR Part 65 (Federal Aviation Regulations Part 65) which indicates the experience requirement that the FAA will accept to grant permission to take the oral and practical exam without first competing a course, in the U.S. only.

I took my FAA approved Jeppesen course in Singapore for US$5,000 (versus US$6,500 in Dubai) because over here its also CAAS approved. If I had taken the course anywhere else the CAAS would have had me repeat the 6 weeks in full. The Mil-Com certficiate is endorsed by the CAAS and is a psudo license with your company dispatcher check out, etc.

Some of the students went to Dubai latter after taking the course in Singapore and took the UAE oral and practical (easy compared to the FAA) and saved a little on the course price. They had no choice but to get the U.A.E. license due to the job offer in that country.

Our Jeppesen instructor here in Singapore told us to get some tuition before taking the exam in the U.S. for the FAA (its no longer given outside the U.S.) and be prepared to pay between US$100-400 to a designated examiner.

I hope that helps you out, I am sure the school's in the U.S. are also great too. Its just a friend of mine that did it in the U.S. many years ago had been laid off by at least 3 different airlines which is why I made such a comment above.

I am sure all the school's are great, the Jeppesen course I took at Mil-Com in Singapore had the CAAS audit them all the time, so perhaps that is why it was so good. I can not speak for the Jeppesen courses in Dubai though. Thanks!

[Dam]

thanks a lot . I did found informations about the minimum requirements but I can't find out if it is possible to do all the exams in France.

[desertking]

Hi Dam:


I am qualified to tell you that you would not qualify for a reduction in hours for the dispatcher course. You may at some of the schools in the U.S. but at the one's that stay with the requirements of FAR Par 65 you would not qualify.
Load Planning is not in the equation.

You cannot take any FAA test outside of the U.S. as the FAA must have the ability to review the testing process.

You can attend a full 200 hours course in the U.S. and receive your certificate as long as you complete the course in the U.S. and take all of your test here.

Good Luck

[PNY]

If you wish to go to the U.S. to do the full 200-hour course and FAA exams please feel free to do so, but also realize that the 200-hour course option is a legitimate option, with licensing from the host country as an added advantage.

I am orignially from New York but have been here in Singapore due to marriage and better income for 3 years. The FAA International Field Office is here in Terminal 2. When I took the Jeppesen course here we have a 18-year veteran Pilot as our instructor at Mil-Com and both the CAAS and the FAA routinely droped in to audit the course.

The FAA office here had an inspector by the name of Mary Jane T. that stoped by when I took the course and the joint Mil-Com / Jeppesen 200-hour FAA approved course certificate I received was accepted without question when I took my O & P in New York with Ed D.

Like I said before, I am sure the schools in the U.S. are great. However, as a foreigner feel free to also excersise the overseas option as a way to get dual lcinesing and a great job too. Good luck.

[PNY]

Every single SIA dispatcher is put through the full 6 week Jeppesen course as its a CAAS prerequisite. The guy your friends report to is Adrian Khee by the way... but before you rush to send resumes, you must be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Residence (Marriage or an upgrade from S-pass work permit will eventually lead to a PR).

Also SATS, a SIA subsidiary, is hiring dispatchers like crazy... and they sponsor foreigners too.

The Chief Dispatcher at Royal Jet is Sridhar V. by the way...

[code one]

Hmm....I fully agree with you mate...

Getting yourself qualified from Jeppesen does not guarantee you a JOB.......be it a low paid or (even if you are lucky) a high paid ....

Thts a serious dilemma / misconception prevailing and there is nobody to stop it.....

Cheers :ok:

[PNY]

Yes there is no guarantee of a job anywhere with credentials from any school whatsoever... I never said Jeppesen was the greatest but if you are a foreigner, or an American living overseas, is it not nice to have dual licensing that makes the difference between getting a job or not.

Things are great in the U.S. right now, and I pray they will always be, but sometimes thinking about an overseas assignment can save you from unemployment too...

Go to the school you like, keep your options open, and remember family comes first. I am tierd of fighting those that have an agenda that may keep others from making an informed decission. Good luck all!

[jackdaniels]

Hey smohamed...
I went to IFOD TX last september to get my FAA license, and I was with a guy from srilanka that was booked with world airline dispatch school, and he told me that the school canceled the course just a couple of weeks bfore the start of the lessons... then he got lucky cuz IFOD was starting the dispatch course just a week later... but u can well imagine what this fella went thru... airline reservations, hotel, lodging whatsoever...

[Lauderdale]

I totally agree with PNY

Its all about making sure you have done your homework before you make your choice as to which school/license you will attend/obtain.

Check out references, call schools, ask yourself what you want out of it depending on your personal circumstances (area of the world you want to work etc) and yes even post on PPRUNE.

However it is your own responsability to make sure you make the right choice - but also it is the responsability of those of us within the industry who are licensed to give responsable advise! Like PNY who has taken the time to go into detail in every post but always made it clear that it is just his personal opinion.

There is a lot of money involved once you make your choice, and often careers are made or set back at this early point. I have always said that it is all about self motivation, determintion and hard work if you succeed or not within this industry - having said that anyone who requires advice is more than welcome to PM me (I have done the FAA license in the US, Jeppesen in Europe and UKOMA in the UK amongst others) so I do like to think I might be able to point you in the right direction.

Amen. :zzz:

[gateradial]

There are options to 6 weeks stay in US to gain FAA dispatcher licence - 6 days!

I looked at the showhorses and decided on a workhorse - AGS (google agschools).
They have trained many foreign students and have an understanding of the dispatching profession outside the US. Their distance learning option (DLC) meant dedicated work to prepare for the FAA written tests at home and then 6 very full but ultimately worthwhile days in the US to cover the practical material and take the oral.
I do suggest to go a few days in advance to take the FAA written test and recover from jetlag as the 6 days does need all your attention. ~10 days including days of arrival & departure should do it depending on your travel schedule and the FAA test centre hours.

No links with AGS other than as a very satisfied & paying customer.

[Hold West]

I went to IFOD in Dallas as well, finished up about three weeks ago. I was in a two week class as I arrived with my written test completed and I have been an air traffic controller for 23 years.

I joined the final two weeks of the full 5 week class. There were several international students - two Saudis, two Indians, a Pakistani and a Mexican, and the staff there bent over backwards to insure their success.

One of the Saudis was a refugee from Sheffield, he'd been told, according to him, that he was "too stupid and he'd never pass the course" so he left after two weeks and was able to join up with the IFOD class. His English was a little rough, but he did just fine.

The IFOD website is http://www.airlinedispatcher.com/

After calling around, I chose IFOD primarily because they told me they'd never canceled a class. That was a prime consideration for me, since I had to schedule things very tightly.

[ShinjukuHustler]

Re the guy who was 'too stupid' to pass the sheffield course.

I've been to that school and I have to say I'd be surprised if it was true that they said that to 1) a paying customer 2) another person with feelings.
They're a professional outfit there, great course, great staff, Ya it's tough, ya you'll work your tail off but the rewards are there for the taking for those who pass. If it's a case of you don't 'habla' or whatever then perhaps some technical english lessons may be what's needed before you sign up.
I still don't think they'd say something like that.

Hustle on :ok:

[Brutes]

Jeppesen kick ass and if some one feels intimidated by them maybe ou should put your money where your moth is, I agree you should start to worry as you may be replaced soon, by some one with real experiance, Good luck:D

[inmate]

Gents,
This maybe a premiture post but I am on a little fact finding into the Dispatch positions within the industry.
I am presently flying (helicopter) and have been doing so for 35+ years. I hold both Fix and Rotary Certs (ATP) but like some pilots reaching the end of their flying career I just do not feel ready to hang up my hat.

I read with interest your posts on the different schools available, and the benifits of attending schools in or outside the US. Can anybody direct me to a good publication or web site that might shed some light on Salaries, Schedules, and the best areas of opportunity.

I appreciate any information that might help my research.

[Lefthandseat]

Mach5.5,

Please get your facts straight before posting.
THis is not about big J or how much someone is making Euro/USD ..with big J or Big F or Big C!
IF you have a problem wz big J, then u sort it out with Big-J.
I don;t know any of you here but I know SIA, & I once flew wz the person who signed the " Big-J" dispatcher training contract and yes,SIA dispatchers are Big J trained. Not all..but some.Otherwise, why would the CAAS give their approval?

Sorry to disappoint you or break ur ego but I am writing this because I had been following this threads after my " SIA Dispatchers & colleagues" highlight this to me during their flight deck checkflights n frankly, I think you are getting personal with the rest of the forumers here who are either trying to help share facts or express their own opinions.

[the_man27]

Well, i work in canada..just started in september as a dispatcher and i'm making about 40k CAN which is about 20k pounds.

By the way, I only have about 6 months experince, i'm wondering if i can get a job the UAE with my canadian liscence. Or do i first have to do the jeppesen course?

oh yeah, i'm new to the forum...WHHAASSSUUPPPP:}

[PNY]

Thank you LeftHandSeat sir...

[avan]

hi all can any one helpi am an Aeronautical Engineer with no airline experience or even had any training...i am planning to do this dispatcher course in Emirates Aviation Collage and plz tell how wud i approach to get jobs as a dispatcher with out experience.. and can i do this course on a visit visa???plz hep me out

[pratham]

EAC course can be done on visit visa of ur own or through college i would recommend tu be on yur own so that u can stay back n apply for a job out here in middle east...
if u go back tu india i guesss u will look like this --- :ugh:
Best of luck;)