Iowa Atc Positions

[ajcowing]

I'm waiting on the decision, as to rather or not I have been selected to interview, for Iowa. Is anyone else in the same boat, right now? I spoke with the FAA, this morning, any they stated that the selection commitee won't be meeting until next week, and I read that they have up to 60 days to notify you, on rather or not you have been selected to interview. Does it normally take 60 days? If fortunate enough to receive an interview, does anyone know how long it takes to receive a tentative offer? Does anyone know what level of airport Cedar Rapids, Sioux Falls, and Des Moines are?

[Beehive]

Great questions. There are a few of us at jetcareers in the same boat as you. So, welcome aboard! Wipe your feet, take off your coat and stay a while. I'm sure you already received that welcome message.

Iowa facility ratings:
Waterloo 5
Sioux City 5
Cedar Rapids 6
Des Moines 7

[ajcowing]

Why thank you. Des Moines seems like a pretty nice city. I haven't been to Cedar Rapids or Sioux Falls, however they appear to be nice places to live, as well. I am an OTS applicant. Is anyone else?

[whysoserial]

I was referred. After that it took me a month to be notified I was selected for an interview. Then 2 weeks to get a call to schedule interview. Then a month to get my tentative offer. Good luck.

[rom9701]

I am also among the people waiting to hear from Iowa...as well as Michigan and Hawaii. The referal for Hawaii came in September and I just interviewed last week. It's a looooooong process that requires a lot of patience. You get used to getting really excited...then waiting for a month or two...then something happens that gets you really exicted again...then wait a month or two....and it keeps going like that I think until you finally get that call for OKC.

[ATC wannabe]

Yeah I am also waiting on MI and IA. I am an OTS applicant as well. I hear though that they are starting to speed up the process because the FAA just brought a few more trainers on in November/December that is why they are increasing classes in OKC from 2 to 4. Jan-2, Feb-2, Mar-4. It is just the waiting game and it is KILLER.

[PGT]

I'd go for Des Moines or Cedar Rapids...

I would not wanna live in Waterloo or Sioux City, just too small.

Des Moines is a decent place to live but it's no Cali.

[ajcowing]

Yah, it's no California, but the cost of living is a heck of a lot cheaper. I grew up in Nebraska, where real estate was super cheep, and moved down to southwest Florida, a few years ago, where housing is "through the roof". I'm looking into going back up North, particularly the MidWest, in large part, due to this. Plus, the school system is better and the crime rate is a lot lower.

[R10]

I am waiting on Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Des Moines. I would ideally end up in Michigan though since I own a house here. Unfortunately, I must have missed the listing by a freakin' week. Oh well, maybe my buddy at the tower in Detroit can pull some strings with the review committee in MI. They are supposed to meet next week.

Cedar City would be okay; I am just nervous about trying to quickly sell a house in the MI market. Anyone going to east MI, do I have a deal for you!!

[ajcowing]

I know what you mean. I live in SW Florida, and we just bought our house 2 years ago. We bought when the market was just starting to fall, however now our house is appraised at $40,000 less that what we owe on it. So, if I am selected for Iowa we are going to have to try to rent it out, until we can get our mortgage paid down enough, to sell at it's current appraised value. Their are thousands of houses on the market, down here right now, so I don't see housing prices going up, any time soon. The thought of having to rent our home out, while we're well over a thousand miles away isn't very appealing, however I REALLY want to be a controller. We'll definately be making some notable sacrifices, however. I'm only 45 minutes away from Tampa, where I would've ideally liked to work, but my family all lives up in the Mid West, so it's not so bad. We'll just have to really crunch our budget and pay double shelter, until the market picks back up. Thank goodness my husband works for UPS and can pretty much go anywhere!

[Van_Hoolio]

What's your husband do for UPS? There's a small sort facility at KDSM, with a few flights in and out most days to a few destinations. If you get Des Moines, I'll take you and your husband out and buy the first round of beers.

If you get Cedar Rapids (Sewer Rat Piss ), I would highly suggest looking at the Coralville/North Liberty/Iowa City area as opposed to living in or around Cedar Rapids itself.

Mike

[ajcowing]

He just got promoted to a cover driver, after 2 years of package handling. Unfortunately, with the way that UPS works, he won't be able to transfer as a driver, however he will get to keep his seniority and pay, which is better than nothing. So, if I am fortunate enough to get Des Moines, then he will most likely have to do package handling again, for at least a short period of time. Package handling doesn't pay the best, however, so he will, most likely, have to look for another full-time job, as well, which is what he was doing prior to driving. I like the West Des Moines area, a lot, and it only approximately 5 hours away from my family, in Nebraska, as opposed to being 24 hours away from them, right now. I put down Des Moines as my first choice, so I'm hoping and praying that I get it. Cedar Rapids looks pretty descent, also, so that wouldn't be all bad, either. Are you an ATC, in Des Moines? If so, how do you like it? Is the airspace pretty difficult to learn?

[PGT]

The airspace around Des Moines is quite simple...

A few years ago when I applied for a baggage handler they told us that the wait to become full time was 5-8years

[ajcowing]

Wow, I can't believe the wait time is that long. I'm hoping that due to him driving now, they'll put him on the list, according to his seniority, so that he doesn't have to start all of the way at the bottom. We haven't looked into it too much, at this point, however I'm hoping that they'll grant him a hardship transfer, or something of that nature, so that it won't take nearly that long. Relocation is not something that UPS promotes, at all, so I'm not too optimistic about it. Are there any other jobs, around the Des Moines area, that pay comparably to UPS? My dad works for the UPRR, and he said that the RR goes through a nearby town, so that may be something that my husband entertains, also, at least until he get get FT again with UPS. What's the unemployment rate like up there, right now? Here in Florida, it's through the roof. The area that I live in, used to be highly dependent on the construction field, and when that went sour, a whole lot of people lost jobs, not to mention those that were employed in the financing and realty end of things.

[Van_Hoolio]

Well, about 60,000 people work downtown, mostly in banking, insurance and financial services. I honestly don't know what the job market is like, or if your husband wants to work in a cubicle. Entry level almost certainly doesn't pay as well as a UPS driver with some seniority. I'm not ATC, but I do work in aviation.

Heard anything yet?

[ajcowing]

No, I still haven't heard anything. I called the FAA, yesterday, and they said that it will be 30-60 days, before they post anything regarding interviews.

I know that the review committee is moving onto the Western region at the end of this month, thus I would think that they would want to wrap up the central region before doing so. So, I'm hoping that it won't be quite the 30-60 days that they're announcing.

Waiting......

[hewette]

I just heard back that I would be interviewed for Iowa. I faxed another set of paperwork in, but now I am getting refered to other states as well. Will this interview just cover Iowa or will it also include the other states I am refered to?

[ATC wannabe]

Originally Posted by hewette

I just heard back that I would be interviewed for Iowa. I faxed another set of paperwork in, but now I am getting refered to other states as well. Will this interview just cover Iowa or will it also include the other states I am refered to?

I was wondering the same thing. I got an email that says someone from the ATO will be calling to schedule and interview but in the mean time fill out the attached paperwork and send it back. I have now been added to Atlanta along with MI and IA. The only thing that I have gotten out of someone in OKC is that they are starting look at where people live and determine te need in that area. I was told they are also consdiering the number of trainess quitting and think there might be some significance in leaving them close to home and being more successful in continuing to train. I guess we will just wait and see what happens.

[hewette]

Originally Posted by ATC wannabe

I was wondering the same thing. I got an email that says someone from the ATO will be calling to schedule and interview but in the mean time fill out the attached paperwork and send it back. I have now been added to Atlanta along with MI and IA. The only thing that I have gotten out of someone in OKC is that they are starting look at where people live and determine te need in that area. I was told they are also consdiering the number of trainess quitting and think there might be some significance in leaving them close to home and being more successful in continuing to train. I guess we will just wait and see what happens.

[hewette]

That is good to hear. I would really like my nevada application to come through. When you got your second and third referals did they have you fill any paperwork out? Because they only had me fill out paperwork for my first referal.

[tilli5285]

hey guys, if you were selected to interview for a position in Iowa, then that is where you will be heading as long as you pass the interview. The referral lists are computer generated (by test scores, education, work history and other qualifications) and from that list, a selection panel meets to decide who are the best candidates. Lets say you are on the referral list for Atlanta or Nevada. While going through the applications, the selection commitee will see that you were already selected for a position in Iowa and will not consider you for atl or Nevada. I do know of one person who went through the whole process and was slated for ZNY. At the last minute he asked for a switch to a terminal position in Arkansas. They actually agreed to let him do it. I guess its a matter of how bad the need is for a particular location. I went through the process in 07 and was selected for ZID. I decided to decline the position in hopes for a better location. I was on referral lists for about 10 other states but was not selected. I am optomistic about the 2008 openings and am hoping and praying that I am selected. Just be careful about the decisions you make. If you can tolerate an area for 2-5 yrs then take it. I am kicking myself in the arse right now for not taking ZID. Just figured I would chime in. Good luck guys.

[GBurgNupe]

I recently got an email saying that I was selected to be interviewed, but my destination would be figured out later. Since I took my test on 1/5/08, more and more referrals are popping up in different states. So at this moment, I still have no clue where I could be going, and I really hope if I do finally interview, its for someplace I can a) live in and b) check out quickly.

I just got on the referral list for Miami, and quite frankly I'm scared to go there. Anyone know if things have gotten better there yet?

[obguwan]

Originally Posted by GBurgNupe

I recently got an email saying that I was selected to be interviewed, but my destination would be figured out later. Since I took my test on 1/5/08, more and more referrals are popping up in different states. So at this moment, I still have no clue where I could be going, and I really hope if I do finally interview, its for someplace I can a) live in and b) check out quickly.

I just got on the referral list for Miami, and quite frankly I'm scared to go there. Anyone know if things have gotten better there yet?

Hey, I think we took the ATSAT in Atlanta together. Where did you get selected to interview?

[GBurgNupe]

I didn't really get selected to interview anywhere in particular. They pretty much just told me that I'd be contacted sometime in the near future, and that I'd be assigned somewhere at a later date.

[obguwan]

Originally Posted by GBurgNupe

I didn't really get selected to interview anywhere in particular. They pretty much just told me that I'd be contacted sometime in the near future, and that I'd be assigned somewhere at a later date.

You applied to Atlanta as well correct? Have you heard anything back from that one?