Cheers Nokio, now I read over it seems obvious that's what you meant.
I'm blonde.
:8
And proud

What can anyone tell me about becoming an ATCO thorugh the RAF?
Just had a look at the website today, and found some new things.
Apparently you can start off as an ATCA (Air Traffic Control Assistant). Also, it seems that RAF want TATC's to have degrees!?
They offer what seems to be sponsership programmes whilst you study for your degree in whatever you study.
Can't help but consider RAF as a possibly better alternative to starting a career in ATC than NATS... But then, it sounds like you have to pay to be trained as opposed to NATS paying you 10K at the college.
I just don't know!

Quick question about the NATS application form -

Do they ask you specificly about areas of your application form such as for example, if you say you do a certain sport, they might pick that out and ask you about it in stage 2/3?

Just wondering how much they read if any of your initial application form?

Any ideas....

Cheers

I would suggest that you be prepared to answer a question relating to anything you have written about yourself on the application form. :ok:

It depends on what you want!!

Sure you can join as at Assisstant, but it will take a number of years before you are considered for an ATCO position.

When you finally achieve the dizzy heights, expect a job in the desert somewhere or the South Stlantic at some stage - if that's what floats your boat then go for it, there are good times to be had in the RAF (and a lot of bad :} and you'll learn a lot about yourself)

If you wish to become a civil ATCO then NATS is your best bet if you don't want to spend thousands doing it. It is alos no secret that you will be better off financially within NATS than you ever would in the RAF - but hey, money isn't everything. It depends on what you want at this stage in your life :ok:

TCR

Pm'd you!

Extra tests
 

Hi Nokio!

Thank you for all the info you've provided on here, very helpful! I was wondering if you could send some of those extra tests to me, please!? my e-mail is [email protected]. Thank you so much in advance!

just a quick info: anyone is thinkin about eurocontrol, the age limit is 25

I think that that age limit has either been abolished or is in the process of being removed due to EU employment laws. NATS used to have an age limit as well but have had to do the same thing. I have spoken to someone from NATS about this and their position has become to essentially remove the advertised and blatant restriction but in reality anyone over 30 needs to be a ridiculously strong candidate to even be considered.

Whilst they can't actually discriminate against someone for their age studies have shown that a person's capacity for learning heads south after 30 and due to the steep learning curve a TATC experiences anyone older than that tends to struggle. Since it costs so much to train someone they are very reluctant to take this risk on someone less likely to succeed.

not to mention if you start at 30, then you are available to them for a 10 years shorter period of time as a prospering investment than a 20 year old, who will still have 10 years till retirement when you go, even if you 2 started at the same time. this also means longer spans between courses for the majority of atco generations => less people to be trained => more £££ saved

At any stage of the process are the questions such as aircraft is (x) miles from airport, descending at (x) mph, will it make it to the airport?

I assume you use the standard S/D/T from school for these questions, can anyone give me a worked example if so.

Thank you

An aircraft is travelling at a speed of 480Mph and at FL280 when it runs out of fuel. It starts to descend at 3500 Ft/Min. Assuming a steady speed and rate of descent as stated will it make it to an airport 80 miles away?

Initial ATCO Test
 

Anyone going to Hilton Tower Bridge, London for the test tomorrow morning???

Ive got my initial ATCO test tomorrow, and im starting to get a little nervous :bored: Only applied on monday lol, ive revised most things but is there anything i really need to get my head down on?

By the way does aircraft knowledge (cruise speed and flight levels) come up at all on the first stage?

"Good Luck" anyone else doing it! :ok: xxx

I've going for the tests at London Bridge tomorrow as well and I've found this site very useful. I'll have to see what comes of it but all the info supplied by everybody has been very helpful so thanks.:)

Didn't get through the first stage. Disappointed but I suppose that's way these things go. Would be nice to have feedback though - it would be nice to at least know what my score was on the tests.

Best of wishes to those that got through.

Send them a mail asking for feedback. Although they state that none will be provided I sent them a mail when I failed stage 1 a couple of years ago and they replied detailing the test that I had failed.

Hey, I had my 1st stage on the 13th at the Hilton in London as well. Has anybody else heard anything back? Not sure if no news is good news!

Age question on application form
 

On the NATS website, on the application form for trainee ATCOs, in the first section, titled 'Personal Details' one of the questions asks:

Are you over 18 years old?

And this is one of the questions in light blue font, obviously meaning an answer is reuqired.

However, I will apply when I'm 18 (in just over a month) still completing my application and am unsure at what this question means as the minimum age says 18 on the requirements PDF.

I understand that a trainee has to be 20 to hold a radar license/rating but can someone shed light as to why this question is asked - is it because any 18 year olds applying are put into a slower process because of what I just mentioned about the radar age?

Thanks :ok:

The question is asked because according to the current legistlation the CAA cannot grant:

• (i) a student air traffic controller's licence to any person under the age of 18 years; or

• (ii) an air traffic controller's licence to any person under the age of 20 years.

Good luck with the application!

Someone mentioned a while ago that the training costs were in the region of £600k. With this in mind, is there a minimum term of service that I have missed? Not that i'd want to run away once qualified or anything, just that it might be something they'd ask about were I to get to an interview.

Cheers

Ginger ;)

No minimum term at the moment. Probably best to not talk about leaving at your interview though:}

I didn't mean that, I meant questions along the line of "Are you happy to commit X number of years to a job etc". It's not like I see ATC as a stepping stone between jobs.

Ginger,

When I was interviewed (earlier this year) I wasn't specifically asked whether I saw NATS and ATC as a long term commitment.. but many of the questions indirectly give you the opportunity to show that NATS and ATC is your long term career plan.

As you've pointed out, the fact that it costs NATS a huge amount in time and money to train an ATCO means it must surely be a fair line of questioning for them to go down. You may not be asked outright, but it's a good idea to have answers ready which show that you are committed to this career path and have examples drawn from your past that show you are able to stick to decisions/plans and follow them through. I.e. if you've changed jobs / university courses / etc a few times be prepared to explain exactly why!

Good Luck!

anyone going to marblr arch on the 4th of october

NATS selection 1st stage tests.
 

Hi all,

I have got my 1st stage interview and test tomorrow afternoon (Oct 4th) at a The Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch.

Does anyone know have much time you are given in the aptitude/written tests?

My preparation has consisted of brushing up on the info and tests examples given on the NATSCareers website, and I've got 9 years experience as Cabin Crew for the Wold's most delayed airline :ugh:...

Any suggestions to what else I can do to set myself up for the day would be much appreciated.

Cheers :ok:

The Nielster

Loads of info if you follow this link! ;)

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=265195

Ok I had my first stage interview on 13th Sept and I haven't heard a peep from anyone about the outcome, am I on my own in this situation cos i'm a little tired of waiting for a response as they said there would be a reply in 15 days (+/-)?

Phone up and chase, don't be scared. Chances are your result just hasn't been sent out.. this happened to me!

check you pms

Hi everyone,

I have my second 1st-stage in a couple of weeks time!
Does anyone know if second/third timers are marked more harshly in any way? obviously we know what to expect and can prepare for it.

If it's possible i think i'm even more nervous than the first time - hate those cubes and the personality questionnaire is just annoying. although from what i've read here things are different this year.

I was so upset when i didnt get through last time and this year i want it even more!
Have read through this thread and got lots of useful advice from you all! Thanks!!

just did the personality questionnaire for stage 1.

that thing is horrible,

it would probably look like I'm a complete psycho from the answers that I was forced to put in due to not having any better choices

I doubt they'd mark it different for a 2nd timer, well I hope they don't as I'll be sitting stage one for the 2nd time next year. Maybe an ATC official can clarify this.
Best of luck Kuolema and bencoder, hope you make it.

I'm starting at the college in March (or possibly the beginning of April I was told today) and am wondering if anyone reading this is at the college and can offer any advice on how to survive and still cover rent at home on £10k? Is there anywhere to get a career advancing loan? I am 27 and I was told there's some sort of government grant for some careers if you're under 25 (though I don't know if they cover ATC anyway) but I will be in debt very soon with the initial salaries and would appreciate any help people can send my way!

Also, in terms of prep before beginning the course, any advice?

I was going to wait until starting before sorting out accommodation as I have somewhere I can camp out for a week or two in Winchester until I find somewhere. Do people normally get together and house share or is it a case or B & B ing it?

Keep at it those of you who haven't got in first time - I didn't manage it but got called back to repeat stage 2 (the interview) so I guess that means
I got in second time!

Well done Billy Girl!

Not sure whether you can get career advancing loans or not... but do you know that as of September we now receive a monthly accomodation allowance on top of the 10K? It's not a huge amount but have found it enough to cover the rent down here, so that helps a bit.

The majority of trainees b&b it for a few weeks, and then many get together and house share. You will need to think carefully about renting though, as the minimum contracts tend to be for 6 months, and you could find yourself stuck if the course doesn't run to plan or if you end up holding somewhere else between courses/recourses.

As for course prep... you will probably receive a distance learning package from NATS in the near future (we were sent a navigation package) and you will need to know that inside out for the start of the course. In addition you could get a head start by looking at spotters guides as you will need to be able to recognise a variety of a/c and helicopters from photos (for the aircraft characteristics and performance exam). It's also a good idea to retain the information you were given to learn for the interview process as it will feature in your theory lessons - eg. radio nav aids (VOR, DME, ILS etc).

Hope that helps!

Thanks very much for all that, and to the private messages I've received. I'm very relieved to hear about the allowance!

Whew,

Just got an email, got through stage 1 & the personality questionnaire. No slots available yet for stage 2 however.

Anyone know how often they get updated?

Time to start arranging some visits I would say.

Ben

Stage 2 slots
 

Ben,

I spoke to HR a couple of days ago as I couldn't get time off to go to any of the stage2 slots in October.

They just said to check back next week for November dates.

Good luck :)

Stu

Just back from the 1st stage selection in Glasgow. Much how I remember it from last year but a lot slicker..

Eyes have still not recovered from the damn cubes!!

Now to wait....

I had my aptitude test on the 4th of this month, have done a second personality test which was emailed to me, and now have a more thorough application form to complete. Does this mean I passed the tests or is it all part of the same excrutiating stage?

Thanks

Ginger ;)

Hmmm? When I went through the process in June, it was Stage 1 Aptitude tests, then the personality questionnaire online, then I got invited to Stage 2 Computer tests at Fareham.

This must be something else that has been added in to the process?