NATS interview process
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Nothern Ireland
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Oh yea
PS i have tried to go to my local library and asked if they could get books on ATC but she said that she checked every library in NI and said there are no books on ATC. I know i can get books from Amazon but are there any shops that sell them????????????????
PS i have tried to go to my local library and asked if they could get books on ATC but she said that she checked every library in NI and said there are no books on ATC. I know i can get books from Amazon but are there any shops that sell them????????????????
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Don, the letter did say about where the majority of work was, but essentially was for you to confirm that you could be relocated anywhere in the country.
Abz, To apply it's only the very basic "are you eligible?" questions that are asked, then you automatically get offered a place on a stage 1 course within a few days. I think you might need CV/formal application type stuff prior to stage 2 if you get through stage 1. Book wise the one that has been mentioned throughout this thread is quite out of date, but I guess a reasonable start if you can get hold of it.
Abz, To apply it's only the very basic "are you eligible?" questions that are asked, then you automatically get offered a place on a stage 1 course within a few days. I think you might need CV/formal application type stuff prior to stage 2 if you get through stage 1. Book wise the one that has been mentioned throughout this thread is quite out of date, but I guess a reasonable start if you can get hold of it.
Last edited by JonathanB; 19th Mar 2009 at 14:54. Reason: Corrected profile name
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Thanks JonathanB
Its just that i am still doin A-levels and my mum wants me to go to uni but i am more interested in ATC. i dont feel like i belong here in school thats why i want to go and become an TATC so any advice?????????? Should i go for A-levels or ATC??????????
And is the actual course hard asuming after you pass all the stages lol... is the college work hard?
Its just that i am still doin A-levels and my mum wants me to go to uni but i am more interested in ATC. i dont feel like i belong here in school thats why i want to go and become an TATC so any advice?????????? Should i go for A-levels or ATC??????????
And is the actual course hard asuming after you pass all the stages lol... is the college work hard?
Join Date: May 2008
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Dappa Don,
I found the same about people being scared to talk to each other. Half the peole in my session didn't say a word and just looked straight ahead for 3 hours. Who knows why. Did you make an effort to talk to anyone? If not then it's your own fault you were bored. Everyone I spoke to looked so relieved that someone had talked to them and were quite happy to chat. We kept getting interrupted by the invigilator trying to start tests.
Abz217,
1) when you apply online for the course, what type of questions are asked on the application letter online?
Just general suitability for the career. It's very short and nothing to worry about.
2) Do you need a CV before you apply (i have made one but i need to add a few things to it.
No.
3) After you apply how long do you have to wait before they invite you to stage 1
It's very fast. If you have answered the correct answers then I think it's an automated process to invite you to Stage 1.
4) Does everyone that applies get to stage 1 or can you fail for applying (which i will probably end up doing lol)
You can only fail if you don't meet the requirements set out, one of them being 18 or older for example. If you're not deaf, blind, a midgit or a giant and have 3 GCSEs I think you would be likely to get to Stage 1 (I've paraphrased a bit there
).
I found the same about people being scared to talk to each other. Half the peole in my session didn't say a word and just looked straight ahead for 3 hours. Who knows why. Did you make an effort to talk to anyone? If not then it's your own fault you were bored. Everyone I spoke to looked so relieved that someone had talked to them and were quite happy to chat. We kept getting interrupted by the invigilator trying to start tests.
Abz217,
1) when you apply online for the course, what type of questions are asked on the application letter online?
Just general suitability for the career. It's very short and nothing to worry about.
2) Do you need a CV before you apply (i have made one but i need to add a few things to it.
No.
3) After you apply how long do you have to wait before they invite you to stage 1
It's very fast. If you have answered the correct answers then I think it's an automated process to invite you to Stage 1.
4) Does everyone that applies get to stage 1 or can you fail for applying (which i will probably end up doing lol)
You can only fail if you don't meet the requirements set out, one of them being 18 or older for example. If you're not deaf, blind, a midgit or a giant and have 3 GCSEs I think you would be likely to get to Stage 1 (I've paraphrased a bit there
).
Join Date: May 2008
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Abz217,
I've only just done Stage 1 so I don't know facts about the college. However, I would hazard a guess that something like half the people don't make it through that it's likely to be slightly taxing.
I would definitely say finish your A-Levels. At worst it will be good exam practice, but assuming you don't make it as a controller you'll probably have to go back and do them again ifyou then decide that you are going to university. I studied engineering at uni and had to do a foundation year thanks to not doing very well in my A-Levels, so I've been there. I spent all of my time working during A-Levels. I was earning more back then than some of my friends from uni were after graduating so you don't necessarily need a degree to get reasonably well paid, but for the life experiences I would recommend it. Just remember it will cost you years of your life to get back to where you are now if you decide to drop out.
I've only just done Stage 1 so I don't know facts about the college. However, I would hazard a guess that something like half the people don't make it through that it's likely to be slightly taxing.
I would definitely say finish your A-Levels. At worst it will be good exam practice, but assuming you don't make it as a controller you'll probably have to go back and do them again ifyou then decide that you are going to university. I studied engineering at uni and had to do a foundation year thanks to not doing very well in my A-Levels, so I've been there. I spent all of my time working during A-Levels. I was earning more back then than some of my friends from uni were after graduating so you don't necessarily need a degree to get reasonably well paid, but for the life experiences I would recommend it. Just remember it will cost you years of your life to get back to where you are now if you decide to drop out.
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Thanks gingerpaul
Ive already got the pdf file for stage 1 and have been trying to look at s/d/t questions in this forum
An a/c is flying at 540mph at FL320, and starts descending at 800feet per minute. How many miles will it travel before it reaches FL250?
I dont understand how to calculate this question
..... can anyone explain it to me in simple terms lol???????????????????????
Ive already got the pdf file for stage 1 and have been trying to look at s/d/t questions in this forum
An a/c is flying at 540mph at FL320, and starts descending at 800feet per minute. How many miles will it travel before it reaches FL250?
I dont understand how to calculate this question
..... can anyone explain it to me in simple terms lol???????????????????????
Join Date: Feb 2007
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Uni vs. ATC is a tough on and already discussed on these forums. I was going to go for ATC, but ended up going to Uni. I applied for NATS at the end of Uni but instead have had a career from my degree for the past nearly 8 years. I still had the niggling about ATC in my mind though and so am now going for it again. I feel that I'm older and wiser, more responsible and more ready for it in my own mind, but people vary!
My advice would be to visit some Unis and see how you feel really. Perhaps try and visit the college with your parents too. In a way taking the decision to go for NATS straight away is probably more grown up than going off and having 3 years at Uni first!
My advice would be to visit some Unis and see how you feel really. Perhaps try and visit the college with your parents too. In a way taking the decision to go for NATS straight away is probably more grown up than going off and having 3 years at Uni first!
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Thats the problem i aint smart enough to go through with my a-levels and i am seriously really interested in ATC and know most of the in's and outs of it. i just cant get enough lol
I jus done my AS modules and well lets put it this way ... i didnt do too well lol
I jus done my AS modules and well lets put it this way ... i didnt do too well lol
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Ok, work out the time first, FL320 (32,000 ft) to FL250 (25,000 ft) is 7000 ft. Divided by 800 ft per minute descent is 8.75 minutes. 540 mph is 9 miles a minute (540/60), so distance would be 9*8.75 = 78.75 miles.
Probably a little more complicated than you'd get in the motivation, although there was one a little similar. I don't think it needed you to know the conversion of FL to real altitude, but I may be wrong as it's just a natural thing for me now.
Probably a little more complicated than you'd get in the motivation, although there was one a little similar. I don't think it needed you to know the conversion of FL to real altitude, but I may be wrong as it's just a natural thing for me now.
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Abz, I really would suggest you should concentrate on your A-levels. If the TATC studying is in any way comparable to the ATPL studying, then it will be very useful to you to be able to have done them. It can also show that you are keen to study to the recruitment people which can't be a bad thing.
Then again, I didn't get as good grades in A-levels as I'd hoped, so made myself even more determined to get a good degree.
Then again, I didn't get as good grades in A-levels as I'd hoped, so made myself even more determined to get a good degree.
First work out how long it will take to descend to the flight level shown:
The aircraft will descent 7,000ft at 800fpm so it will take 8 min 45 sec.
Now you have to work out how fat it'll travel in 8min45sec (or 8.75)
So 540 (speed) / 60(minutes) = 9miles per minute
The aircraft will travel 9 miles across the ground every minute.
so 9 x 8.75= 78.75 nautical miles (nm)
remember "distance over speed times time"
d
s x t
The aircraft will descent 7,000ft at 800fpm so it will take 8 min 45 sec.
Now you have to work out how fat it'll travel in 8min45sec (or 8.75)
So 540 (speed) / 60(minutes) = 9miles per minute
The aircraft will travel 9 miles across the ground every minute.
so 9 x 8.75= 78.75 nautical miles (nm)
remember "distance over speed times time"
d
s x t
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Yea erm i got a D and an E in my 2 modules that i did... and my school is one of the best in NI.... they will only let you back in to the school to finish A2 if you get 3 C's or above in your final AS year. I am repeating these exams in the summer so i will wait and see what happens
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If you're determined enough, you will succeed I'm sure! I remember years ago the Letts study guides were very good - work through over Easter like crazy and do all the tests with no cheating and it should help enormously, but you have to be strict with yourself.
Anyway, this is getting rather off-topic!
Anyway, this is getting rather off-topic!
Join Date: Mar 2009
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yea erm sorry about that lol
i will try my best but back to the ATC
any other things you think i shouldknow before applying? except for tell the truth on the personality test lol
i will try my best but back to the ATC
any other things you think i shouldknow before applying? except for tell the truth on the personality test lol
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From what I understand the exam process is strict at the college, as you would hope considering the number of lives you would be in charge of at the end. If you fail one exam you might get to resit it. Fail it again and you're out. You owe it to youself to knuckle down and work hard over easter and nail the A-Levels to prove to youself that you have what it takes to work hard to achieve a goal, even if you don't enjoy it. It took me getting to university to understand that, and I fear that it might take you not getting accepted through the recruitment process of NATS for you to get it. I had whole modules at uni that I didn't like, but if I had failed them I would have been chucked out.
Imagine the scenario. You leave with a D and an E at AS-Level. You go through the stages and you are fortunate enough to pass and get accepted to college. You then fail an exam twice and are chucked out. What is your back up plan? No university worth going to will accept you, so you're back where you are now, only a year or two older.
I know it's easy for me to say, and I'm not trying to be hard on you. I just take a realistic view on life rather than the dream world that a lot of people live in (not you necessarily by the way). For example I know very few people make it through the selection process for NATS. I would love to get through, but realistically my chances are slim. However, I do have an engineering degree from one of the best universities in the country so I'm not going to struggle to find other work.
I wish you the best of luck but I would suggest finishing your A-Levels, as boring as it sounds. What are you studying anyway?
Imagine the scenario. You leave with a D and an E at AS-Level. You go through the stages and you are fortunate enough to pass and get accepted to college. You then fail an exam twice and are chucked out. What is your back up plan? No university worth going to will accept you, so you're back where you are now, only a year or two older.
I know it's easy for me to say, and I'm not trying to be hard on you. I just take a realistic view on life rather than the dream world that a lot of people live in (not you necessarily by the way). For example I know very few people make it through the selection process for NATS. I would love to get through, but realistically my chances are slim. However, I do have an engineering degree from one of the best universities in the country so I'm not going to struggle to find other work.
I wish you the best of luck but I would suggest finishing your A-Levels, as boring as it sounds. What are you studying anyway?
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Why it seems to be a common idea that ATCOs do not need to be that smart? (Or that's what I understand from #2657.) Certainly they should be smart enough to be able to answer a simple DST question without "an explanation in simple terms". Kids aged 12 do such calculations at school so how about starting using your brain?
Also, avoiding typing multiple question mark/exclamation marks/smilies in a row may help the impression.
Also, avoiding typing multiple question mark/exclamation marks/smilies in a row may help the impression.
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Just found out i passed stage 1 and the personality questionnaire, now im waiting for stage 2! yey! I was wondering if anyone else who went to manchester on 27th Feb AM got through and is on the forum??
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I am currently waiting to the result but let me ask you something.
Assumed that I will pass all the stages, how many will attend the course? Is there a pre-fixed number?
I can image that all who are "valid" will be invited to fill in the online questionaire.. am I wrong?
Assumed that I will pass all the stages, how many will attend the course? Is there a pre-fixed number?
I can image that all who are "valid" will be invited to fill in the online questionaire.. am I wrong?