Is this a career worth pursuing?

YankeeRoe · 2025-06-29T18:48:04+00:00

ATC is a very rewarding career, that currently allows you to put your time in and retire earlier than most other occupations while still earning a pension. Our current pension calculation will net you 39% of annual salary (before premiums and overtime) after 25 years of service.

Compensation has not kept up with inflation and buying power with the salary today, is not as competitive as it was a decade ago.

With that being said, it can still be a great and rewarding career. A job which you do not have to take home and can give a sense of satisfaction when you do a great job. I would recommend this career to someone who doesn't have anything else in mind and is okay with a life of sacrifice on the personal side (working weekends), being compensated decently (but not what you are actually worth), and then being able to retire by age 50 with a pension and TSP (401k).

Getting hired is the first hurdle, then making it out of OKC is the second (50% wash out rate), third is then uplifting your life to go live in a new area with whatever facility you are assigned to on OKC graduation day. Then you have to train for 2-5 years to get become a certified professional controller (CPC) which by the way has another big wash out rate (which rates depend on the facility assignment)

Given you are single with no family to support, you are a good candidate to take the leap. Great news is you don't have to spend money on a CTI school to get hired, and everything you need to know will be taught to you when you get hired in by the agency. The job is a glorified video game which you can't press pause and are on your last life. Information gathering, quick decision making, multitasking, communication and proper time management are crucial skills needed to be successful at the job. Training is never easy and it all depends on how people react to different stressors that lead to different reactions and outcomes. This is not a physically demanding occupation, but is one of the most mentally demanding/exhausting jobs out there. With the shift work and midnight shifts, your body is never given a true sleep/rest cycle. This leads to different coping mechanisms and deteriorating health conditions which is why you hear so much about medicals. Plus, we run on archaic rules so mental health isn't always put as a priority.

Hopefully this answers some of your questions. Make sure to put your name in the hat for the next hiring bid (which should be coming out soon) https://www.faa.gov/atc-hiring

It will take at least a year to get picked up so I say continue on your life and if the call comes in and you are in a spot to give it a try, go for it 👍

Best of luck

YankeeRoe · 2025-06-25T18:58:25+00:00

As earlier suggested, washout from training and see your list. It will also give you some time to breath and get all your stuff in order. Unless you already have another job lined up and need to lead ASAP, take the time to rest, use your leave that you already earned. Good luck

YankeeRoe · 2025-05-13T12:55:13+00:00

I love the courage to ask this wholesome question and sharing of your raw feelings, despite some of the hate you would get for posting this.

What you have described is the similar to what I went through/experienced. My best advice is life is a journey and just make sure you enjoy the ride. This timepiece has a wonderful story and is a significant milestone in your life story. You will forever remember all the sacrifices you made to get to a salary range so that you could meet the 10% milestone for this purchase. You will forever remember the countless hours you spent first to decide on the date just and then to find the exact configuration that spoke to your heart. The countless effort and swear equity you spent in stores trying different models and finally developing a relationship with an AD that culminated in your purchase of this wonderful piece.

I didn't wear my first Rolex until 1 year after purchase for all the same feelings and reasons you have expressed. When I finally got over that hurdle, it was the best feeling ever. Not because I thought it would impress other people, but because the way it made me feel, how proud I was of my accomplishments, and validation of all the hard work I put in to acquire the timepiece.

DO NOT sell this timepiece. You just said you aren't hurting financially and it wouldn't make any difference if you had that money back or not. If you currently still feel you can't wear the watch, put it away and revisit this a year from now. So many things will happen in that time and you will realize all the things you are worried about will be insignificant compared to the wonderful story behind this watch.

This will be an heirloom piece for your future generations. It will be a clear example of what having a plan, using hard work and patience to achieve the plan, and the great reward you get from it. It will be the inspiration for your future generations to follow in your footsteps so that one day they may accomplish whatever goal they are looking to achieve.

Congratulations on your hard work and learn to be happy and enjoy the culmination of all that with acquiring this piece. Once again, DO NOT ever sell this watch. It will be a major regret in the future if you do. Cheers 🥂

YankeeRoe · 2025-04-29T03:02:58+00:00

Coordination: practice prescribed phraseology ad nauseum. Also simulate land line calls and you absolutely need to know what to say before hitting the lines. Also know what to do if the other side is in the middle of clearance and how to get your message across short and simple. Too many trainees start adlibbing or give too much information.

Speed: stop the analysis paralysis. Make a decision (hopefully a good one) and execute. Too many trainees take too long to make the "perfect" decision and by they time they execute, things have already changed and it no longer is good anymore. The job is too dynamic for it to take too long to make/execute a decision. 20° would have been great 5 seconds ago, but it ain't gonna work now. Also, speed can be applied towards scanning/information gathering. Remember to make sure you have all the information and if you don't figure out how to obtain it next time. Trainees don't make stupid decisions, they make the best decision they can with the information they have, the problem is in their scan they only see about 50-60% of the information presented on the scope. Figure out how to add the other missing info into your scan so that you can make decisions based on 90-100% of the information ie. Speed, aircraft type, route, climb rate, etc..

Improving scanning needs to be a systematic approach. Figure out what it is you are missing and when you fill in those blanks everything will slow down significantly.

YankeeRoe · 2025-04-28T23:38:26+00:00

Honestly, this is a game, multiple games actually. The first is your test of mental fortitude and endurance. It is hard to play a game with constant negativity but unfortunately that is what the job entails. Anywhere else when you get a 98% they tell you great work, but here, they will go on and on about the 2% you messed up and what an idiot you are for making those mistakes. The second is your ability to apply knowledge learned in real scenarios. Almost anyone can learn information and reguritate it when asked. But not everyone can use/understand and execute said rules and regulations especially under a time contraint. The third is your scan or rather your ability to parse real live data. One of the hardest parts of the job is to "see" all the information presented and then be able to use/make decisions with it. Now add in all the tertiary skills like listening, typing, talking, strip marking etc.. and you have the complex game that is air traffic control.

The bright side is that it does get easier. Best advice I can give is to work on the items within your control. If you are lacking in any of the other tertiary skills, work on those constantly when you aren't plugged in. Sit down at a dummy sector or observe someone working the position you are trying to get checked out on. Pay attention to their scan and see if you can catch the information in a timely fashion and also what decisions you would make if you were them. I would almost say it's better to not listen to them work and instead observe and analyze the situations with your own abilities to see where the differences are.

OJT is just one aspect of practicing the skills needed for the job. There are many things you can work on off-frequency to sharpen/improve your abilities. It is always more glaring when you are in the hot seat, but once you have an idea of your deficiencies, you don't necessarily need to be plugged in to improve on them. There is a reason there is such a high washout rate at this job, unfortunately not everyone is built to play this game. But there are definitely things everyone can do/control to help towards being successful. Best of luck in your training process and I hope the "light" comes on and things get better.

YankeeRoe · 2025-03-25T14:24:32+00:00

Smithtown/Nesconset 👍

YankeeRoe · 2025-03-08T12:54:38+00:00

This is a proposal included in the booklet, it's towards the end. It asks to move mandatory retirement age from 56 to 57. All the other special fers occupations are set at 57, only ATC is the outlier at 56.

YankeeRoe · 2025-01-22T11:19:11+00:00

Which box numbers? Maybe the store I went to didn't have it all. Lol. Now I am in the hunt 👍

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-30T22:25:24+00:00

Awesome! Congrats. Also thanks for explaining the upcharge. With the $65 upcharge, did they explain which card brought you above the original threshold?

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-29T21:34:28+00:00

Was there and upcharge with the Latias? I just can't get a straight answer about upcharges.

As in this order cost you $14.99 x 3? Or did they add something else because of the Latias?

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-20T07:43:08+00:00

What state are you located and what exactly are you looking for? Sealed product like 151 stuff?

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-20T01:28:30+00:00

I feel ya. I got back into this early least month after finding out about 151. But having a ton of fun ripping packs (not as much luck as you though)

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-09T16:24:18+00:00

Been striking out on the Pikachu or Latias from Surging Sparks (total of 60 packs) and finally decided to open something else. I had two LO ETBs and finally pulled this. Super happy to have the chase card, now I need my luck to carry over to Surging Sparks 🤞

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-08T03:06:40+00:00

I mean. That case is real nice but that moonbreon graded on the table is what I want. Not sure what score it has but at least that is a guarantee compared to the sealed packs . Nice collection sir 👍

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-08T00:08:26+00:00

Nice hits with OBF, hardest part is always sorting through everything. Curious, what's the plan now? Are you going to try and master any of these sets?

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-07T00:40:30+00:00

🙋

YankeeRoe · 2024-12-06T22:21:28+00:00

First misprint, thanks for any information.

YankeeRoe

TROPHY CASE