OTS Success rate

[ladiesolo]

Any CPC's have any input on the success of OTS applicants at facilities Level 10 or higher? How about a level 9? Any recommendations on what level facility level may be best for an OTS?

[greg1016]

Originally Posted by ladiesolo

Any CPC's have any input on the success of OTS applicants at facilities Level 10 or higher? How about a level 9? Any recommendations on what level facility level may be best for an OTS?

I don't think statistics are published, but I suspect that if OTS had a high failure rate at a specific facility or a specific level facility, that they would not be picked up by those facilities.

I also believe I read somewhere around here that OTS doesn't even have a higher wash out rate than CTI, but don't quote me on that one.

[tinkluver]

I hope not high! I'm OTS and ZLA is level 12...
but when I was at the PEPC, I asked my interviewer about a wash-out rate and he said since I scored well on the AT-SAT I shouldn't worry about it and that they wouldn't have chosen me without my score.
So let's hope it wasn't a fluke! I did make a lot of planes go boom though....

[greg1016]

Originally Posted by tinkluver

I hope not high! I'm OTS and ZLA is level 12...
but when I was at the PEPC, I asked my interviewer about a wash-out rate and he said since I scored well on the AT-SAT I shouldn't worry about it and that they wouldn't have chosen me without my score.
So let's hope it wasn't a fluke! I did make a lot of planes go boom though....

lol me too, but i was told that section was not weighted very heavily, they are going to train you to do that

[Polarbear]

I'm an OTS, and haven't been fired yet after a year and a half. There are several OTS's in my area about to check out too.

Honestly when you get inside the building at my facility; Military, CTI, and OTS doesn't mean squat to anyone(except prior military CPC's, who like to swap stories with the military new hires).

[genot]

Centers are traditionally geared more toward people with no experience. The reason being you typically start and end a career at the same center because the airspace is so unbelievably complex. Terminal is different. You can realistically learn the ropes at a VFR tower in a year, move on to learn radar at a slow facility in a few more years and have all the tools needed to work a fairly busy terminal area in the same time frame.

Sure the argument boils down to ZLA Dev struggling to pay the bills after a year vs a level 6 vfr tower newly minted CPC in the middle of nowwhere where the cost of living is low. We all have our own financial worries to deal with, but strictly speaking at a center it isn't as much of a issue, VRA vs CTI vs OTS. The military doesn't work THAT much in the flight levels that there are tons of overly qualified ex controllers out there. Now if we are talking an OTS vs VRA vs CTI at a level 7 up down get real. The person who has spent the last 4 years doing that exact same job is > the person who has spent the last 4 years in class learning to do that job who is > the person who spent the last 4 years flying a cubicle.

Does that in any way change who will ultimately be the better controller in 15 years? No. I liken it to this. If I drop from a heart attack tomorrow I'd rather have an ER physician with 4 years of experience treat me vs a med student and a med student vs someone who thinks it'd be pretty sweet to be a doctor and read a first aid book once. In 15 years maybe the guy who thought it would be cool to be a doctor would be my best bet.

Bottom line is if you're on this site you're willing to go the extra mile to know what you'll need to know. I respect that to no end. Don't go bashing your future brothers and sisters though who may have had a different path to the same career.

[ladiesolo]

Originally Posted by genot

Centers are traditionally geared more toward people with no experience. The reason being you typically start and end a career at the same center because the airspace is so unbelievably complex. Terminal is different. You can realistically learn the ropes at a VFR tower in a year, move on to learn radar at a slow facility in a few more years and have all the tools needed to work a fairly busy terminal area in the same time frame.

Sure the argument boils down to ZLA Dev struggling to pay the bills after a year vs a level 6 vfr tower newly minted CPC in the middle of nowwhere where the cost of living is low. We all have our own financial worries to deal with, but strictly speaking at a center it isn't as much of a issue, VRA vs CTI vs OTS. The military doesn't work THAT much in the flight levels that there are tons of overly qualified ex controllers out there. Now if we are talking an OTS vs VRA vs CTI at a level 7 up down get real. The person who has spent the last 4 years doing that exact same job is > the person who has spent the last 4 years in class learning to do that job who is > the person who spent the last 4 years flying a cubicle.

Does that in any way change who will ultimately be the better controller in 15 years? No. I liken it to this. If I drop from a heart attack tomorrow I'd rather have an ER physician with 4 years of experience treat me vs a med student and a med student vs someone who thinks it'd be pretty sweet to be a doctor and read a first aid book once. In 15 years maybe the guy who thought it would be cool to be a doctor would be my best bet.

Bottom line is if you're on this site you're willing to go the extra mile to know what you'll need to know. I respect that to no end. Don't go bashing your future brothers and sisters though who may have had a different path to the same career.

genot, thanks, that was kind of inspiring (NO sarcasm).

Polarbear, where are you located and what level facility is it?

I am anticipating geo-pref letters coming out & want to start thinking ahead by chosing my 2nd state choice. I'd rather not wash out at a higher facility & be fired because my ambitions got in the way.

Anyone else have input?

[greg1016]

Originally Posted by ladiesolo

genot, thanks, that was kind of inspiring (NO sarcasm).

Polarbear, where are you located and what level facility is it?

I am anticipating geo-pref letters coming out & want to start thinking ahead by chosing my 2nd state choice. I'd rather not wash out at a higher facility & be fired because my ambitions got in the way.

Anyone else have input?

Just so you know, it took pubnat 5/6 3 months or more from ATSAT to Geopref, so you have plenty of time to research

[HTownATC]

Originally Posted by ladiesolo

Polarbear, where are you located and what level facility is it?

By looking at the picture, my guess would be ZID/Level 12.

[Polarbear]

Affirmative, I am at ZID.

My basics class had a mix of En Route, Tower, and TRACON. I've lost touch with most of my terminal buddies, but the ones the ones that went to level 5-7 towers with no tracons were checked out in 3 to 9 months(even one that struggled so much, she barely passed basics). The three TRACON people we had all went to SOCAL. I heard every one of them was struggling and last I heard 2 were close to failing, the other had all her terminal equivalents of D-sides.

I would not reccomend a high level tracon to anyone.

Centers are definitely more equiped to handle trainees, because we have such a large workforce that we can staff fulltime training departments. ZID has a better washout rate than most and more make it than do not make it.

Management is also a little more amiable because our fac rep does not flood them when grievances on every tiny thing. He try's to work with them, not against them. This intern makes it so discplinary actions occur here mostly on major things.

When we do have a training failure, most of them get a transfer to a low level tower.

[Diamnd15]

i was planning of giving up my seniority number after i arrived at okc to prevent myself from going back to the airlines...guess not

headed to NCT tracon, any feedback on how their newbies are doing?