ATCO Decision now Excited/scared bout CATC

[stevethescotspilot]

Hey guys.

First time I've looked at PPRUNE for a long time so I've only just noticed this thread. I'm in for March as well (7th I believe) and I'm also going to be moving down from Glasgow. May as well just add for the stats that I'm a guy. I also know another Glasgow guy who will be starting in March so that should be three Scottish guys on the course at least! Hope the bars down there are hiring extra staff!

Like everyone else here it seems, I can't wait to start either! working for Servisair at Glasgow Airport right now, which may be an advantage for me as I now have no fears about sh*t wages, crazy shifts etc!! looking forward to getting back to a much more steady lifestyle, actually!

Reading about people's accommodation issues got my attention- myself and my friend were thinking of sharing a flat/house in the area, going to start making some phone calls to numbers on the NATS accommodation list soon. If anyone else in the same boat has any advice or possibilities to follow up, hearing from them would be much appreciated!

(Scots live it- gimme a PM if you fancy meeting up for a drink sometime before we start. Would be good to get to know people before the actual time comes to work together!)

Same goes for anyone else starting in March- would be good to know who you all are so get in touch!

Steve

[BigBazza]

Hi Folks,

Another 'oldie' here....passed the 31 mark in September...and have just passed the medical, etc. Have been told verbally that I am pencilled in for the June '05 course, although that may be the March 05 course, just depending on how things go. Has taken about 18 months to get this far (applied only 3 months before age-bar!)

Like so many here, I too am leaving a secure career and taking a healthy drop in salary too, all in the hope of living the life-long dream.

I'm also another one from 'North of the Wall' so at least us Scots are putting in a bit of a showing!

Take care

BigBazza

[a_exley]

I am moving down this saturday to start my course on december 6th. I have spoke to the council at bournemouth and they said I dont have to pay counicl tax. which is good but if you are living with someone they have to pay it "if they are not a student" but they will get 25% discount because u are. PS I picked up a nice 2 bedroom flat in Boscombe for £550 pcm.

[fly bhoy]

I have spoke to the council at bournemouth and they said I dont have to pay counicl tax

A exley

I started the course about a year ago and was initially told by the council that we didn't have to pay council tax, but the person I spoke to didn't seem overly confident of the fact, shall we say!! So I phoned again a couple of days later, and I'm afraid I was told you do have to pay it as you earn a salary.

It may well be that since the salary has gone down from my course that you are tax-exempt, but certainly a year ago we all had to pay!!

I would try phoning again and speaking to someone competent like a manager or something just to be sure.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings mate, but the last thing you want is to be halfway through your course when you get a huge bill for six months worth of tax!!!!

FB

[Scotsliveit]

Living in Bournemouth

It really would be great to get a definate on Council tax while at CATC at the moment as this really will effect our lifetsyles down there.

It's quite interesting that most of us seem to be career changers in our late 20's early 30's and were taking less(salary that is) than the majority of seemingly younger students had in the past.

I've been reading an old thread mainly concerning Kirstey and Mr 777 about the drop in students salaries with interest.

What I'm worried about is do we still get as little during our non set time to get validated at a unit. The thread read 19K which is still poor.

What I'm saying is it may be longer than a couple of years that we're struggling financially on the long trek to validation.

Do you still get a pay rise when you pass certain sections of the course at CATC.

I found out about the pay drop five minutes before my final interview from one of my fellow candidates. I was annoyed after the interview because of it. After some thinking tho i realised I wasn't going to let four grand stop me doing this. Was that you conclusion mr777.

I'm wondering if Kirsty ever did start the course, I'll do a thread search to find out.

[Jerricho]

As poor as the pay may be while training, be thankful you're not an Ab-initio in Canada. They have to pay for their course.

[mr.777]

In all fairness,and Jerricho and others can attest to this ,I was a bit of an idiot on that thread,guilty as charged of shooting my mouth off!! Easy for me to say as I'm on the old salary,but don't let it dissuade you from following your dream....the College is the dogs proverbials as are the instructors...you will have a great time. This is the most challenging thing I have ever done,which is why I wanted the job...

777

[sr562]

Hi everyone,

Been reading with interest, as i start in march too. I am also a guy from scotland, known to bigbazza and stevethescotspilot who even gave me a mention in his post, thanks steve.

i am also going to be taking a big pay cut, and like others will most likely struggle financially.
But this is the career that i want, and nothing is going to stop me from giving it my best shot.

Anyway, i am lookin forward to getting started and meeting all of the other folks on the march course and a few years of hard graft, and good times.

P.S Respect to all you folks giving up young families to pursue this career, takes a lot of guts to make that decision, most people would take the easy option, and wonder 'what if' for the rest of their lives.

[fly bhoy]

P.S Respect to all you folks giving up young families to pursue this career

Giving up your previous career is one thing, but giving up your family...?!? Surely a bit extreme!!!!

[foghorn]

Giving up your previous career is one thing, but giving up your family...?!? Surely a bit extreme!!!!

I hear they fetch a good price these days

[sr562]

Hi,

fly bhoy, well spotted. But as foghorn said, you might get a good price for them.

[Scotsliveit]

Sell me your children

"How much for the little geerl?"

"Sell them to me. Sell me your children!!"

The Blues Brothers circa 1981


I need to clarify whether we will be on just 19K without living expenses after graduating the college (in swanwick). This can't be right, that's less than we get going through CATC.

Sticks in the craw that someone the year before will be on around 27K and will also benefit from the bigger salary after validation.

About to sign on the dotted line and money is the last hurdle to this exciting career for me.

[fly bhoy]

Scotsliveit

Sign the form and quickly. You'll not regret it.

With regards to the money, the people from a year before who will be on more through the college will not have a higher salary after validation, thats one of the features of the new pay scale for trainees. Although you'll start on comparatively lower wages through the college and t+d scale, once you hit the atco scale, the pay jumps for new trainees are much higher than for people who went through on the old scale.

You will be on about 19k total going through the college (you can claim one trip home to the parental home per month at 18p per mile so scottish people who drive end up making a wee bit more...one more perk of being a scot !!!) Then onto about 22k during your unit validation then about 27k after your first validation. Your first payrise after that takes you up to about 39k however!! Not a bad jump you'll agree

PM me for more info on the payscale. There's also a brilliant celtic supporters club which i'll tell you about but won't annoy anyone on here about!!!!

FB

[Scotsliveit]

Cheers Fly Bhoy

Cheers Fly Bhoy

I've got to sign, It's the next chapter of my life.

Thanks for the payscales, basically it seems we're £4K down from the previous lot all the way to validation.

Aye I'll PM you about the old hoops supporters club, sounds good. I'll probably join a football side as well when I'm down. Will miss all the different nationalities arriving in Glasgow every second week for the champions league and UEFA cup runs. What a Buzz.

The timescales involved at each stage after graduating are interesting though. Any idea how long first validation will take (roughly)? Is it 2 years after graduating CATC (all going smoothly) £39K becomes a possibility?

I'll be asking HR this after they've had the Dec 6th lot settle in. This website has been a God sent tho.


S

[Gonzo]

Validation depends on where you go. London City could be a few months after leaving the college, Swanwick could be a few years!

[Scotsliveit]

Validation

Let the dice roll baby.

Thanks Gonzo.

I take it validation time will depend on the amount of operational instructors available to let us use their licence.

At Swanwick there are few due to staff shortages and alot of graduates awaiting validation.

[I'm not joking sir]

I need to clarify whether we will be on just 19K without living expenses after graduating the college (in swanwick). This can't be right, that's less than we get going through CATC.

Without living expenses, basic salary going through the College is approx 14.5/15k. As fly bhoy says, 19k includes accomodation allowance. Your basic will be slightly higher than that total when you get posted to a unit plus there's UHP to come too.

[foghorn]

I'm going to be putting several calls in to HR after they've got course 201 bedded in.

I'm now looking at buying a house in the West Hampshire area (commutable to both Hurn and Swanwick), so I need to know the real deal on the salary and that I am definitely going to be on the March course as they have offered!

[Gonzo]

Validation time is more affected by complexity and traffic levels at the unit, and waiting time (at TC, LACC etc) to start training. If you go area, you spend the first few months out of the college doing ATSA duties, waiting for a sim-based course that's specific to the sector you're being assigned to train on first, then only after passing that do you go on to live training, so when you use the R/T for real you'll already be pretty experienced with the sector procedures and agreements.

At Heathrow Tower you spend up to two weeks or so with our Training Section on an induction course, then about six weeks live training that doesn't count towards your validation (effectively what used to be known as OJT), then three weeks doing ATSA duties, then back to Training for another week of visits, and 'top-up' induction, then back to a watch to begin unit validation training. Seven months to a year after that you'll be valid.

Foghorn,

Be careful, have you thought what you'd do if you got posted to Aberdeen after a year?

Or even Stansted after six months?

[foghorn]

Gonzo - I know. I'm already looking at all options. My family situation and a demanding pregnant missus mean renting is not really an option

I'm playing the Swanwick option as it seems to be where the majority are being sent and will offer the maximum family stability - I know that Sod's law always applies in these situations Having to move again is just an eventuality I'll have to deal with at the time.