ATCO starting pay question
 

I'm considering going down the self funded ATCO route. My plan is to fund an Aerodrome course and then seek employment without a validation. I've been keeping a careful eye on the ATCO vacancies in Flight over the last few months with very few clues provided with regards starting salaries.

My question is what would a medium sized airport such as Liverpool for instance pay for a 'fresh out of college' mature 37 year old with an aerodrome ticket? What level of pay would one expect before and after validating. Would the pay increase significantly with the App Radar validation as well ?

Regards

BAW1T

Places like Liverpool tend to pay just under £50k for a fully-qualified and experienced radar and aerodrome controller, so I'd suggest you work back from that. The last person I knew who went to a similar airfield with a "student" licence (aerodrome only, straight from the college) was on about £15k training, then about £25k once valid. It didn't really go up much until they had the radar ticket.

Speedbird,

Can you afford to go the whole hog and do the approach procedural ticketl? Even better if you can afford the approach radar ticket as well.

There are a lot of people out there with unvalidated aerodrome ratings, and they all live in the, for the most part, unrealistic dreamworld that they are going to get taken on and that someone else is going to pay for their APC and APR courses.
The fact is, that it very very rarely happens, the majority of airports have their own in house training schemes and promote from within the existing ATCAs.

If you have ADC and APC, you stand a lot better chance of getting a job with a long term view of eventually getting radar course. If you have APR, you'd be in a stronger position still.

Consider approaching a local airport and asking them if they'd let you train for a validation there for a nominal salary of £1 per year or so, (you'd have to be employed for insurance purposes).
Once you are valid you can either look for work elsewhere, or, given the rate of ATCO retirements at the moment and for a few years to come, there may well be an opening for you there.

You've obviously assessed the risk and commitment required, so take it a few steps further, and plead to your parents, turn your Granny upside down or rob a bank and go the whole hog.

Good luck.

1261 and niknak

Thanks very much for your replies. As usual it all boils down to finances and supporting ones family during and after training etc. I will investigate the possibility of further ratings , prices etc. Although it's an easy decision for me this, it's a gamble, financially. But as they say you only live once ! Anyway I've still got 1.5 years to go in Scandinavia before I can even start about training back in the UK.

Regards

BAW1T

NATS trainee ATCO...
 

Does anyone have an idea of the starting pay for a trainee ATCO with NATS at the college in Bournmouth?
:confused:

future atco,

£14,900 + £100 per week living allowance (tax free). You don't get the living allowance while on holiday though.

In that case, the prospects for someone with only a tower rating will be much better than NikNaks rather apocalyptic assessment suggests. In 1.5 years the supply of tower-only Nats rejects will have dried up completely. Even now, it's far from impossible. I know several people who have found employment with only a tower ticket, at both procedural and radar equipped airports.

1T

In all honesty I would be reluctant to pay for my own training, as there is no guarantee of a job at the end of it, and if you manage to snag one then you may have to go through their training as well, because you do not actually hold a valid rating or endorsment