The FAA Wants You (article in FAA Aviation News)

[Houston]

Copied from the current FAA Aviation News magazine: (page 32)

The FAA Wants You
Attention pilot, mechanics, and avionics technicians:

Here is your opportunity to start a career in the exciting field of aviation safety. The FAA’s Flight Standards Service is currently hiring aviation safety inspectors and is seeking individuals with strong aviation backgrounds in maintenance, operations, and avionics. Starting salaries range from $44,949 to $77,194, plus locality pay. Benefits include federal retirement and tax-deferred retirement accounts and health insurance.

Qualification vary depending on discipline. For details, please visit http://jobs.faa.gov/. Under “All Opportunities” you can search by job series 1825 or job title containing “inspector”.


http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news/

http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_new...SepOct2009.pdf

[AirVenture]

I went through the long application process on one of these positions and heard nothing back.

[Jbroz04]

I would love one those jobs but dont have the required 1500TT or all the instructor ratings yet. But I heard they will be hiring for a few years so maybe I'll sneak in at the end of the hiring. One can only hope.

[CRJDriver]

I know a few people that applied for Aviation Inspector Jobs and all
got denied. Not sure what they are looking for. Long application process. Pay and benefits are good, but if you love flying, this ain't a job for you. You'll be flying a desk and that's about it. I was told training is about 3 months in OKC and all you do is study regs.

[benea]

I just got selected for an ASI GA ops inspector job! Have to pass my pre-employment flight check next week then on to work on the 26th. Yes there will be paper to push and programs to manage but there will also be flying involved. In fact they send you to multiple flight training courses, including King Air school, and keep you current on all the aircraft you are certificated to fly. Depending on the needs of the FSDO you are assigned you may be sent to get typed in other aircraft. Training in OKC covers much more than just regulations. Certification of pilot schools and charter operators, en-route inspections and accident investigation to name a few other things. So while I could be hanging out getting paid 20K or so a year driving an RJ I think I'll go ahead and take that job with the FAA. GS12 with locality pay is pretty close to 70K a year to start out! It only gets better from there. If I can help anyone through the interview/hiring process shoot me a private message.

[deadringer86]

Originally Posted by benea

I just got selected for an ASI GA ops inspector job! Have to pass my pre-employment flight check next week then on to work on the 26th. Yes there will be paper to push and programs to manage but there will also be flying involved. In fact they send you to multiple flight training courses, including King Air school, and keep you current on all the aircraft you are certificated to fly. Depending on the needs of the FSDO you are assigned you may be sent to get typed in other aircraft. Training in OKC covers much more than just regulations. Certification of pilot schools and charter operators, en-route inspections and accident investigation to name a few other things. So while I could be hanging out getting paid 20K or so a year driving an RJ I think I'll go ahead and take that job with the FAA. GS12 with locality pay is pretty close to 70K a year to start out! It only gets better from there. If I can help anyone through the interview/hiring process shoot me a private message.

Congrats! What are your times and experience?

[benea]

Thanks! Total time is 2100+, ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI. Assistant Chief Flight instructor at P141 flight school. Also do a little side work as a corporate pilot. Additionally I just retired after 20 years of enlisted service with the USAF. So vet preference played a role in selection...

[Patrick]

It's been suggested to me to apply by some of the FSDO guys I know, but I, too, am a barely short of the 1500TT requirement (sitting at exactly 1400) and I "only" have my CFII and MEI, but I'm certainly interested, especially in this economy.

[LoadMasterC141]

What? What FSDO guy? I want to know so I can go smack him in the face.

Seriously, any inspector applicant has to go through a flight. It is done in DFW at, yup, ATP. So if you are up to that part, PM me and I can help.

[Blip16]

Originally Posted by benea

Thanks! Total time is 2100+, ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI. Assistant Chief Flight instructor at P141 flight school. Also do a little side work as a corporate pilot. Additionally I just retired after 20 years of enlisted service with the USAF. So vet preference played a role in selection...

i am guessing age too! i would like a job with the FAA i have a little more time than you, but no vet preference and i am still quite young, so probably not much hope for me.

what will your duties be and what FSDO? PM if you don't want to post publically. i am also interested in the interview process

[benea]

Don't know so much that actual age matters but the experience. While I don't have big number of flight time I have had lots of experience interacting with people and managing large programs and supervising lots of people. So with that being said most of the ASIs are second career types. Folks that have had some experience in the world and in aviation. Things that may help your cause: volunteer to be a FAAST team rep (that way you get to know the folks you want to work with), get some experience with a 141 school as assist chief flight instructor or with a 135 operator (again chief/asst chief time is preferable), experience writing ops manuals or training course outlines. Another thing I have on my resume that was helpful was my volunteer time with Civil Air Patrol. I have served as squadron commander, safety officer, instructor pilot and check pilot. All of these things show responsibility and the ability to evaluate other pilots. Hope that helps. As far as duties go it will be the same as any other GA ops inspector, P135/141 certification/inspection. Pilot evals, accident investigation, surveillance, and of course enforcement.

[Blip16]

Originally Posted by benea

Don't know so much that actual age matters but the experience. While I don't have big number of flight time I have had lots of experience interacting with people and managing large programs and supervising lots of people. So with that being said most of the ASIs are second career types. Folks that have had some experience in the world and in aviation. Things that may help your cause: volunteer to be a FAAST team rep (that way you get to know the folks you want to work with), get some experience with a 141 school as assist chief flight instructor or with a 135 operator (again chief/asst chief time is preferable), experience writing ops manuals or training course outlines. Another thing I have on my resume that was helpful was my volunteer time with Civil Air Patrol. I have served as squadron commander, safety officer, instructor pilot and check pilot. All of these things show responsibility and the ability to evaluate other pilots. Hope that helps. As far as duties go it will be the same as any other GA ops inspector, P135/141 certification/inspection. Pilot evals, accident investigation, surveillance, and of course enforcement.

i do conduct stagechecks for certificates, so i guess i have that going for me. not much else though

good luck with the new gig!

[SurferLucas]

I applied for a few positions with the ATL FSDO...each time saying "I don't meet qualifications".

I've got 3100 hrs, ATP with current CFI/CFII/MEI...Part 141/135/121/61 experience...Assistant Chief Flight Instructor/Check Airman...Part 135 Captain/IOE Captain...so I don't know what they want

[LoadMasterC141]

More than anything else, it is a good old boy program.

[tlove482]

I applied and got turned down too. I meet all the requirements that they give. They must have a hidden formula or something that accepts applications.

[benea]

I don't know so much about the good ole boy system as I would hardly consider myself as such. However if you don't have the vet preference points you may not, depending on the competition, make it through the initial screening process. No matter how good your qualifications someone with vet preference will go to the top of the list so on the occasions you applied and were told you weren't qualified or selected it could have been as simple as you were competing against folks with preference. Unfortunately you would never know...

[Blip16]

Originally Posted by benea

I don't know so much about the good ole boy system as I would hardly consider myself as such. However if you don't have the vet preference points you may not, depending on the competition, make it through the initial screening process. No matter how good your qualifications someone with vet preference will go to the top of the list so on the occasions you applied and were told you weren't qualified or selected it could have been as simple as you were competing against folks with preference. Unfortunately you would never know...

this is what happened to me earlier this year when i applied for the Airspace System Inspector position

[LoadMasterC141]

Originally Posted by benea

I don't know so much about the good ole boy system as I would hardly consider myself as such. However if you don't have the vet preference points you may not, depending on the competition, make it through the initial screening process. No matter how good your qualifications someone with vet preference will go to the top of the list so on the occasions you applied and were told you weren't qualified or selected it could have been as simple as you were competing against folks with preference. Unfortunately you would never know...

There are plenty of vets, and plenty that just made it. Actually, alot of the guys I have flown with in the last year have flight times in the 5 digits.

[Houston]

Allow me to respond to some of the general comments and then I will PM some of you with more specific information.

First, please note that these jobs are not just pilots, but also airworthiness (maintenance) and avionics. All the responses here have been from pilots. Please let your friends who are in maintenance and avionics know about these opportunities.

Second, be careful looking at the announcement you select. For example, right now, there are two general aviation operations inspector announcements. One is the nation wide basic announcement, which is the one that most people would qualify under. The other is specific to one branch of the FAA and requires TCE or DPE experience and knowledge. An applicant would have to have been a TCE, DPE or ASI (aviation safety inspector) to qualify for that job. It is conceivable that some of the comments about not being qualified were actually the result of applying under an announcement that was other than one for with the applicant was qualified. If you were told you were not qualified, go back and look at the qualifications and reapply. If someone tells you that you are not qualified, ask them why and ask them if there is an announcement under which you would qualify. Be persistent. It is your life, not theirs, and you need to take care of you more than they need to take care of you.

Being a veteran helps, but the majority of inspectors who are hired have never been in the military.

It is possible to get hired at a lower grade, but benea’s experience of being hired at the GS-12 level is more the norm.

For those of you who may not be familiar with civil service grades, let me recall a story from many years ago. In one of those many strange jobs I had in my youth, I sent invitations to a party for the commanding general of the base. Because the size of the party had to be limited, only the most senior people on the base were invited. The invitations went to Lieutenant Colonel’s and above and GS-11s and above. Be assured that starting as a GS-12 is a good deal. Also, almost all inspectors are promoted to GS-13 within 18 months of being hired.

The worst part of an inspector’s job (in my opinion) is the first year of training. However, what “old” inspectors have told you may be incorrect because things have changed since they went through training. It isn’t three months of anything, and it never was all studying regulations.

It definitely isn’t a flying job, but you’ll just have to take my word for what I’m going to tell you. After a certain point in life, flying is still fun, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all that is used to be during the more youthful years.

Enforcements are a very small part of the job. Overall, the inspectors job is to make aviation safer. Enforcements are just one tool in that toolkit.

Thinking about enforcements, let me digress a bit. Everyone hears the stories of those horrible inspectors who do some mean draconian thing to some poor soul who only made a minor mistake. But, did you ever notice that you only hear one side of the story. Think about all the times you have heard people describe vehicular accidents in which they were involved. Did you ever notice that it was always somebody else’s fault. Listening to one sided stories about enforcements follows the same pattern.

The interview can run the gamut from A to Z. Every supervisor and manager is unique and the interview can be anything they want it to be.

Finally, is it a “good old boy program”? No more than every other job in the world and a lot less than some.

If you have any specific questions, please send me a private message.

[WestIndian425]

Are there conflict of interest issues that come up if you're an ASI and work part time doing other flying?

[Jbroz04]

You can't. We had a maitenance guy become a ASI and he now rents his maintence shop to someone else because he can't do work outside of his ASI job since its a governement job.

[WestIndian425]

Originally Posted by Jbroz04

You can't. We had a maitenance guy become a ASI and he now rents his maintence shop to someone else because he can't do work outside of his ASI job since its a governement job.

Really? What if it's volunteer work, i.e. for a NPO?

[benea]

To the best of my knowledge volunteer flying is ok like with CAP or Angel Flight as is flight instruction for no pay (with friends/family members). Flying for pay is forbidden as it is a conflict of interest. You may have to inspect or take enforcement action against your employer! Wouldn't work out so well.

[WestIndian425]

Originally Posted by benea

To the best of my knowledge volunteer flying is ok like with CAP or Angel Flight as is flight instruction for no pay (with friends/family members). Flying for pay is forbidden as it is a conflict of interest. You may have to inspect or take enforcement action against your employer! Wouldn't work out so well.

Very good. I just wanted to check, as I do anticipate doing some flying for charity, but I wasn't sure if it's feasible or not. More confirmation is appreciated.

[SurferLucas]

Much thanks to you guys out there for the help. I applied for both ASI: GA and Air Carrier...the website finally took the apps and just waiting to hear if anything.

I'd really like the opportunity to work as an ASI and try to make aviation safer without all the politics that go along with (if that's possible).

All I know is, if I do end up getting a job with the FAA...there's going to be some beers on me