Money at NATS college, Bournemouth

[watch_the_birdie]

Ok, boring and petty I know, but at the end of the day, life revolves around money, whether you like it or not!

This is not a whinge at "we should get more money!" as basically we will be trainees, and we all know trainees in life get paid like poo. All I am doing is trying to do some money calculations here before I start in July, and any current reasonably up to date advice would be appreciated.

So far I've heard that you get £10100 "salary" and £60 per week accommodation allowance (yes I know that doesn't fully cover the price of usual accommodation) The questions I have are:

1) Is the £60 a week taxed also, or is it actually a physical £60-in-your-pocket type of jobby?

2) What is the current "amount in your bank" (simple terms here please, I stretch as far as knowing about gross and net pay and some tax deductions) you get paid every month at college (I assume you can say this as it's quite well publicised...although I've lost the link on the NATS site to a pdf file showing the breakdown of pay?)

3) Does anyone find they are particularly stretched for cash if they don't have MASSIVE savings or anyone else giving them a wee cash top up? When I mean particularly stretched, I mean are you looking at selling your organs, or something equally as dire, or you are living on tesco value bread and water.

I'm not expecting to live a life of luxury here. As long as I get basic food to feed my hard working brain, water, a roof over my head and a wee bit of internet, I'm cool.

Laters.

[rickypbrown]

Hi watch_the_birdie, at the college I received around £940 a month net. I was living with 5 other TATCs in a shared house costing £250 per month rent and food/bills. Overall I found the money completely bearable, but on the other hand I have relatively little outgoings and coming from a student background was delighted to even have a little amount of money! Hope this helps.

Ricky.

[AJ7]

what ricky has declined to mention were his other ''incomes'' :E

only joking gwd ;)

thats pretty much the story everyone has down there, somewhere around the £940 mark. to be fair as well if you happen to be living in and around boscombe, theres nothing you would want to spend any extra money on...

oh and the £60 a week is not taxed, just make sure you fill in the timesheets.

[jopeec]

I'm starting in July too.

Did you find that shared house by yourself or NATS gave you any clue?

Best regards.

[SACrIGGER]

Although the money isn't the best, you can still afford to rent somewhere, pay the bills, and get destroyed on Friday night at Disco Fever!

Between 3 of us we had a 3 bed flat for £900 a month, and 99% of the time Bournemouth council will waive the council tax as you are technically a student.

Live is harder at a unit, as you are usually on your own (i.e. not in a group of students), so you have to rent on your own, so I can only really afford to lodge in someone's spare room.

Unless you go to Swanick or a London airport (correct me if i'm wrong about the London thing) your monthly income will not increase until you are valid, although my salary have gone upto £15,000 I no longer get the tax free £60 a week, so it all works out roughly the same.

NATS do not offer any help in finding a place to rent, but Bournemouth being Bournemouth there are no shortage of rental properties, I would suggest a B&B in Westby Rd, Boscombe for at least the first couple of weeks until you get to know people etc.

£940 a month is a good figure to budget with, some months are better than others, depending if 4 or 5 weeks of the £60 accommodation pay is included in the pay.

Hope this is of some help.

[niknak]

SAC

By the time you're training to validate you're supposed to be a big boy and find your own way in life, NATS are your employer, not your keeper.:rolleyes:
Any major airport is littered with offers for renting/shariing etc, besides which, within months you'll be earning a decent salary and I really don't see what you are grumbling about, in theory, if you can get through a cadetship you should be able to find somewhere to live.

Back to the original quaestion, if you are careful you should be able to make it through the cadetship at Bournmouth on the salary offered, but I do know of several cadets who have taken part time jobs, either in bars or similar and, by careful balancing of personal and study time, have supplemented their income.

[SACrIGGER]

niknak,

Where is my grumble? I am merely stating fact for the prospective trainees, and I am sure they are grateful of an honest appraisal.

I am in no way bitter about my financial situation, or the accommodation issue (I have at no time commented that NATS should help with finding accommodation, Yes we are all adults and yes we are all capable of finding our own accommodation).

I am however extremely grateful about having the chance to validate my licenses and then I hope to go on and have a long and fulfilling career.

It seems that you are looking to twist my words and make me sound bitter, which unfortunately for you I am not.

Just to summarise for any prospective trainees, The salary at Bournemouth is low, but more that sufficient to live on with the occasional social event at the weekend.

[speedbird462]

I think the basic wage should be enough if you are a bit careful with your money.
anyone starting in July?? I have only been told beggining of July but still waiting to hear about my references...anyone heard about dates??

[walker4]

Just off the phone to Jo from nats. I have been placed on the aerodome course starting july 7th.

[speedbird462]

I spoke to Jo today as well. She said there had been some reduction in the number of courses that had been originally planned for July :confused: . She said I could take an area course in July or wait till Oct for an aerodrome... so I said I would wait till Oct...I guess it gives me a bit of time to get mentally prepared.
has anyone been told this as well?

[INCA9]

Can I just add in my tuppence worth to this little conversation:

I'm sick to death of what must be valid controllers chirping up on these threads and basically telling trainees that they should stop complaining or even enquiring about the wage they get and just be grateful that they get a wage at all.

Usually this nonsense comes from valid controllers who, judging by their number of posts, have been valid for some time and so a) Are now making a pretty penny and b) Went thru the training at a time when salaries were far in excess of what they are now.

Don't mistake me, I'm not bitter, I too went thru the college when salaries were distinctly healthier than they are now and am now reaping the benefits of valid life. But I am tired of reading the comments of people on very respectable wages lecturing those perhaps less fortunate than us about how they should be 'grateful they even have the job'. Sorry, but when was the last time you tried to get by in today's world on 10 grand a year?

As much as some people try to portray ATCO's as the chosen few, the fact is it is still a job/career and as such, those people selected to train as such deserve to be paid a wage. If, as seems to be the case at the moment, that wage isn't up to much, then spare them your patronising comments on how 'people did it for nothing in my day', because the fact is that life is financially harder for trainees now than it has ever been, so allow them the space to work out how they are gonna make it work.

After all, these are the people that are gonna make all your future OJTI payments/leave/pensions possible.

Rant over.

I'll get back in my box! :ok:

I9

[Loxley]

By the time you're training to validate you're supposed to be a big boy and find your own way in life, NATS are your employer, not your keeper.:rolleyes:


Bit harsh niknak. Either you're misreading what SAC has written or you're just an over-sensitive little bunny. I don't think there was any call whatsoever to be quite so patronising and condescending.

[watch_the_birdie]

Never wished to cause a mini argument over money matters, simply want to do some budgeting ideas!

Anyway......I haven't heard anything from NATS about July since an email about 3 weeks ago asking me to send in some sort of security form and whether I want to do area or aerodrome. Should I be worried? Had no phone call from Jo, but bearing in mind I have been moved back from the April course due to large numbers, hence I should be on July?

[smellysnelly2004]

Seems to me that only a very quick skim read, or a deeply embittered spirit would interpret SAC's comments as grumbling.

[ADIS5000]

WTB,

I'd recommend getting back in touch with HR. Three weeks without hearing anything is too long! Whilst I was waiting I rang them every 10 days or so for updates. Bear in mind that if a space comes up on your desired course then the name that you want to pop into their mind straight away is yours!! Also bear in mind that HR is only a small section with a lot of work, they do a good job but the odd prospective trainee can slip through their radar unless you keep your name fresh in their minds. Just be polite, non-pushy and appreciate that they are busy and you'll be amazed at the results (hopefully!!).

Regards,

ADIS:)

PS Niknak, did you get out of bed on the wrong side or something?! SAC certainly wasn't whinging.

[1985]

She said I could take an area course in July or wait till Oct for an aerodrome... so I said I would wait till Oct...

Can you choose to take an area or aerodrome course before you start at the college?

Seems an odd way of doing it. Like letting the lunatics run the asylum. :}

[atcowannabe]

You are asked for your preference between area and aerodrome but there are no guarantees you will be put on the stream that you want.

[speedbird462]

they initially send u an email asking if you have any preference. When I spoke to Jo, she gave me the option, that's all. It is still not guaranteed but for me it personally it is a matter of getting a posting in London eventually.

[Standard Noise]

INCA9 - now my tuppence worth. Some of us who've been around for a while went through Hurn in the days before the wages were higher than they are now. In my day it was a smidge over £11K with no accomodation allowance, some of us did 5 rating courses which kept us (with famil, OJT and other bits) down in sunny Bournemouth for two years. 18 months of that was on a student wage and rent was still £300 per month.
While I may be on a decent old kick after 16 years in the game, I and some of my colleagues were just as strapped as you lot have been/are, even more so when you consider that income tax was much higher back then and we walked out with about £720 a month.

We've all been there, done it and worn the t-shirt til it was threadbare. So don't be so judgemental on the likes of niknak and the rest of us cos we could end up being your OJTI or LCE!:E

[prowle4763]

Hi all,

Before this thread goes any further towards being an arguement I think its worth noting that when watch_the_birdie started it he specifically stated that it wasn't a whinge and that he was just after information as to what you get "in your pocket" while at the college, and the costs of living down there.

Useful information i'm sure for those of us who hope to attend in the near future and want to start saving, etc for when (or if :ok:) we do!

[1967kev]

Hi everyone,

Looks like I'll be on the July course as well. I spoke to Jo at NATS HR today and she said that I could go on the July course and do area or wait til October and do aerodrome. I chose July because I really just want to get started now. She also said that she expects the July course to begin on the 7th.

With regards to salary: Yes, the salary is poor for a while but we all knew that before applying. It looks like we're just going to have to grin and bear it, and anyway, the rewards at the end will be worth it. Being from Glasgow, I'm used to ASDA price goods!!!!

Look forward to meeting you all in July.

Kev:ok:

[Standard Noise]

Useful information indeed, which could prolly be obtained from HR in a phone call rather than opening yet another thread on the topic on a public website where older, wiser and more cynical ATCOs lurk!:hmm:

[Ratatat]

I and some of my colleagues were just as strapped as you lot have been/are, even more so when you consider that income tax was much higher back then and we walked out with about £720 a month.


Whilst I appreciate Standard Noise and others at the college were there a lot longer than students are now, I think I would take £720 a month in 1992/3 over £940 now every time.

Cost of petrol, beer, cigarettes doubled or more than doubled. (I know, we don't have to drink and smoke!)
Car tax + insurance skyrocketed.
Food - can't remember how much my weekly shop was when I was a student in the mid 90s but it was a LOT less than now. Of course I now only shop at Waitrose (organic, naturally) and have progressed from cod roe to caviar!

Then again, I'm from the days of £1500 take home a month and living like a king so can't fully appreciate how tight things are/were for today's students and Standard Noise's generation.
I think I was the only one on my course not to buy that BMW/Merc/convertable after passing Aerodrome 2! Rich :mad:

[Me Me Me Me]

To the OP: Good luck and you'll manage on the money as long as you're sensible. You'll come out with around £680-690 plus the accommodation payments (which you don't pay tax on)

To the rest quibbling over who got what... Like most, I paid for the priviledge of being a student. I'd have jumped at £10k a year extra to do so. Try living in the real world :)

[watch_the_birdie]

I think it looks like we should all be fine and not living on the streets....

Confirmed with Jo today I am starting on the area course for July, and should expect some sort of contact via email or whatever soon. :)

[Standard Noise]

Car tax + insurance skyrocketed

It's well seeing for you that you could afford a car as a student. I had to cadge lifts cos I couldn't afford to drive one til I'd been in for 18 months.
Oh, and coming from NI, I know very well about high car insurance. Try insuring any car over there. Make your eyes water.

[Dances with Boffins]

1. if you don't have a car, don't buy one whilst at the college. There will be a whole bunch of folks on your course all going the same way as you and who will be grateful to split the fuel costs. Only get a car if you need one for uses other than the daily commute.
2. Rigger, look on the bright side. This time next year you'll be able to afford a couple of houses if property prices continue to drop.:ok: How's life in "Torchwood" territory?
WTB - They pay enough. Not lots, but enough. Better than the 'bru.

[SACrIGGER]

DWB,

Going fine thanks, hows life with you at the college of knowledge?

[Dances with Boffins]

Well, the weather is nice... Everything else is in a state of flux. :rolleyes: