Looking into ATC Field

[ATCfan333]

Hello all - I'm new to this forum so please forgive me if I'm posting out of line.

I have a few questions for people who are familiar with the ATC profession. I'm currently finishing up my BS in Mathematics (have one year left) and am looking into becoming an air traffic controller (I have done my research on salary, stress etc., so I think I'm familiar with the basics.) Here are my questions:

1. Will the FAA continue hiring OTS applicants for a while? I remember reading that the FAA will step up hiring until 2013. I may not want to apply immediately of college but I don't want to miss this opportunity.

2. How hard is it to get into a certain facility? I would prefer to stay in the midwest, preferably in my hometown (Chicago). How hard would it be to get a tower spot at MDW, ORD, MKE, MSP or at a midwest enroute center?

Thank you all in advance.

Mark

[neverett]

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm actually getting a BS in mathematics, but have one more year left. The only difference is that I'm willing to leave school for this opportunity and finish school at a later date (ha... yeah right... probably not if I get hired). I'll be following your post. Don't know how much help it would be, but feel free to PM me if you have any questions for me. Good luck!

[nathanw]

There was another post on here saying the FAA will be opening an OTS announcement every month this year.

You get to pick 1 or 2 states to get referred to. After that, it's whatever they offer you. There's a comment block where you can probably make suggestions but who knows if they actually read it.

[ATCfan333]

Glad to hear someone is in the same situation. I would love to apply now, but I've only finished three years of college and don't really have much work experience except for some fast food jobs during the summers. Thus, I need that fourth year to qualify and hope that hiring will be strong for OTS applicants when I'm ready to apply. I decided I'm going to apply straight out of college just in case I need to reapply or retake the ATSAT.

Also, I've already spent around ~50K on my BS, so I may as well finish it up.

Good luck and keep in touch.

Mark

[ATCfan333]

Originally Posted by nathanw

There was another post on here saying the FAA will be opening an OTS announcement every month this year.

You get to pick 1 or 2 states to get referred to. After that, it's whatever they offer you. There's a comment block where you can probably make suggestions but who knows if they actually read it.

Do you know if this will continue for another few years by any chance? I can't seem to find this information anywhere.

[chichi]

Originally Posted by ATCfan333

Do you know if this will continue for another few years by any chance? I can't seem to find this information anywhere.

Based on what I'm seeing, I don't think the FAA even knows how this process will be going any time soon...