ATC.. What do I do..??
 

Hey..
I am an aspiring pilot. I'll be going off to Australia in a month to train for my CPL.
I already have a Bachelors Degree in Aerospace technology, so that I have all options open just in case flying doesn't work out.
So I've been look at the ATC too..!!
Can someone brief me on what kind of a job it is? I heard it is really stressful, but the pay is good.
What kind of courses should I take up, and how long are these courses?
How do you go about getting a job..

If you are an aspiring pilot, my advice would be to folllow that career path.

Why, is it that bad..????

No, its a great career if that is what you want. Don't look at controlling as second best, or as an escape route if you don't make the grade as a pilot, or if you can't get a flying job after training. The training courses to be an ATCO are long, expensive and complex. Intelligence measured in terms of University qualifications doesn't necessarily mean you will pass the courses. I know quite a few people with more than one degree who still couldn't make it as an ATCO. As an OJTI, I would rather not go through all the grief of training a freshly qualified ATCO if they are going to jump ship as soon as a flying job comes along.
Have a long think about where you see your future. If you can't honestly say that you would be happy as an ATCO, don't pursue it.
Look at it this way. If you had an ATPL and an ATCO licence and was offered a flying job or a controlling job, both with the same terms and conditions, which would you choose?

I would echo that.... ATC is a fantastic career, but I wouldn't use it as a fall back if flying is what you aspire to. . Depending on which way you go it can cost around £50k to take the courses (Aerodrome and Approach Surveillance). If you manage to pass that, and have a job. You have to go through a period of 'On the job training' (OJT). For this you have to complete a Unit training plan which comprises of tests and practical exams for each discipline (Aerodrome and APS).
The time will vary from unit to unit depending on the complexity, staffing, and your ability.
Once, and if you have satisfied the requirements of the Unit training plan. The unit will put you forward for initial validation (If you do not pass the UTP, then you and the company will say goodbye).
The relevant Civil Aviation Authority will arrive to examine you with a representative amount of traffic.
If you are satisfactory and following a verbal exam on procedures, you will be granted an Air traffic controllers licence.
This is just a snap shot and from the UK.
To find out more you need to Google the ATC colleges in the country you are looking at.
You can get employed to train. NATS in uk, Airservices in Aus etc.
I could almost guarantee that if you told a selection board that you aspired to be a pilot but didn't make it and thought ATC would be an alternative (I know not in those words). You would not get too far.

http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/bangbang.gif

Good luck Sarahvd88 on whatever you decide.
http://www.augk18.dsl.pipex.com/Smileys/flasher.gif

Well.. I was just asking out of curiosity... Just wanted know what is it, and how do you go about doing it.. Because someone once suggested ATC as a career option... And I had put up a thread asking about tips on flying stuff, the comments weren't that positive there too.
So I just wanted to know how tough/easy ATC is.. Thats it.. But thaks for all the feedback..!!

Maybe aviation isn't the industry for you? Both pilots and ATCOs are required to make difficult decisions under pressure, where a wrong decision could quite possibly end up in deaths. If you can't make a decision about the career path now, what will you do when you are in the hot seat and you have to decide to divert or press on? Send the aircraft on short final around or hope that an aircraft slow to vacate will clear in time?

By the sounds of it you have decided on a career as a pilot (heading to Aus) but then heard that you had to make some tough judgment calls in the job, and were wondering if its that same in ATC. Well the answer is yes. Both jobs can be very demanding, however both can also be very rewarding (and I am not talking in a monetary sense).

Apologies for sounding negative, however training to be either flight crew or a controller can be very expensive, and it would be a shame to train then throw it all away and do something else, or even worse, ending up at the business end of a big jet or at the top of a tower and hating every second of it. Find a career path you love, and you will never work a day in your life.

There are quite a few full time ATCOs who are part time Pilots (ATPLs/CPLs/PPLs) but I don't know any full time Pilots who are part time ATCOs and I think that just about sums it up.

Most ATCOs who fly commercially on a part time basis, got their ATPLs etc after they'd qualified as ATCOs because they had the time, stability of days off and leave and an income to support the expense of training.
Equally, for the most part, our regulated hours and roster system allow us to be available to fly when we want to make ourselves available.

It's a difficult choice to make, because ultimately the basic requirements to be able to do either job are about the same.
I know that flying can pay a lot more than being an ATCO, but it's my personal opinion that, although we do encounter stress, being an ATCO is a far more stable and less stressfull career path when you take into account the unpredictibility of a pilots working day.

ATC... how/where/what do I do..??

I've had trainees who've said that:ok:

I heard it is really stressful

Only if you don't know what you are doing:D

How do you go about getting a job

If you need to ask, well?:ugh:

Exactly the same as you would to get a job as a pilot.
CV, write, phone, appropriate departments.

Oh well.. I have no regrets in what I am about to do. I want to be a pilot and its what I wanted ever since was a small kid. (I know that sounds cliched)
All I am doing is finding information for myself. Just to update my little information centre. I find no harm in doing that.
You see there are thousand's of pilot's back home in India sitting at home with a CPL up their sleeve and its tragic. I don't want to be ending up there.
So many companies hire cadets and then poof no job. You'll probably fly for a sometime and then its goodbye..
Article read that the pilot shortage is turning to pilot surplus. So I am just trying to be prepared for everything. And if not me I can use the stuff that you'll say to help someone else out..

Check your PMs

RD