Air Traffic Controller

dazzerd

dazzerd

dazzerd

Associate
Joined
14 Mar 2007
Posts
1,672
Location
Winchester
I'm musing about changing my career. Have been in financial services in one way or another for about 12 years now as an analyst and I'm completely bored with it, sick of offices and sick of the bs what goes in these places.

Anyway a long time ago (before I went uni) I thought about doing air traffic control but put it on the back burner.

I'm thinking about doing it again. I know getting in is difficult, and I'm willing to take a substantial pay cut whilst I'm training: salary become 10k for 12 months....but goes up to circa 30k after training and 40k+ after 3 years.

Anybody actually an atc, anybody have any experience or input to what the job is actually like? One thing I am concerned anout is placement after training, I'm not sure if they can send you anywhere in the country which would be a problem with a wife and a child soon to be.

cheers
 
If you are thinking about applying to Nats, the job is a mobile grade and one of the first things you will sign is a bit of paper saying they can send you anywhere at any time with little notice. Chances are that when you get posted to and validate at a unit that you'll be there for the rest of your career if you want to be but post-college training, they can send you anywhere from Belfast to Aberdeen to Swanwick on the south coast and anywhere inbetween.

I've been doing it since 2004 and I still look forward to going into work every day. It pays well, there's plenty of time off and there are loads of opportunities for personal development and career advancement.

If you have any particular questions just fire away. There are a couple of other controllers who post here from various disciplines. I do London Terminal Control as does another member, someone does London Area Control and there's a fella who works up at Aberdeen amongst a couple of others so you should get plenty of advice from all corners!

EDIT: I see you live in Winchester. Go to any of the local bars and they'll be full of ATCOs! Loads of us live in Winchester so if you're ever looking to talk about it there's plenty around :D
 
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Snograt said:
Apply for LTC.

Pack for Benbecula.
Click to expand...

Not far from the truth. We recently had someone posted to us who requested Prestwick Centre as his wife and kids lived up there. Someone on the same course applied for Swanwick because of the same situation. Where do Nats send them? Both ended up miserable and I know one of them got a paid move. There's far too much emphasis put on what those detached-from-reality idiots at the college have to say about which unit is most suitable for someone.

Despite the frustrations that come from the business unit (commonly known as Fraggle Rock) it's a damn good job once you're settled.
 
cm1179 said:
i assume concentration plays a massive part in this profession. how do they test this?
Click to expand...

During selection there are various tests which focus on your ability to remember accurately and process data effectively whilst faced with distraction. They also focus on how you prioritise your tasks among various other things. They are by no means definitive but they seem to give a fairly accurate picture.
 
Scuzi said:
If you are thinking about applying to Nats, the job is a mobile grade and one of the first things you will sign is a bit of paper saying they can send you anywhere at any time with little notice. Chances are that when you get posted to and validate at a unit that you'll be there for the rest of your career if you want to be but post-college training, they can send you anywhere from Belfast to Aberdeen to Swanwick on the south coast and anywhere inbetween.

I've been doing it since 2004 and I still look forward to going into work every day. It pays well, there's plenty of time off and there are loads of opportunities for personal development and career advancement.

If you have any particular questions just fire away. There are a couple of other controllers who post here from various disciplines. I do London Terminal Control as does another member, someone does London Area Control and there's a fella who works up at Aberdeen amongst a couple of others so you should get plenty of advice from all corners!

EDIT: I see you live in Winchester. Go to any of the local bars and they'll be full of ATCOs! Loads of us live in Winchester so if you're ever looking to talk about it there's plenty around :D
Click to expand...

Thanks Scuzi, something to think about. In any decision on placement do you have a preference? Or is it just tough you go where you go! Living where I do is perfect for pretty much any any place in the south; I suspect telling my misses that we are moving to NI or Scotland is going to result in my balls being cut off and heavily stood upon:)

ps Hopefully apps reopen next year, I would hope to be ready to leave my current job after March, still want to get my bonus before I tell them where to shove it:p
 
dazzerd said:
Thanks Scuzi, something to think about. In any decision on placement do you have a preference? Or is it just tough you go where you go! Living where I do is perfect for pretty much any any place in the south; I suspect telling my misses that we are moving to NI or Scotland is going to result in my balls being cut off and heavily stood upon:)

ps Hopefully apps reopen next year, I would hope to be ready to leave my current job after March, still want to get my bonus before I tell them where to shove it:p
Click to expand...

You get to state your preference with a short story about why you prefer it. History tells us that if you want Swanwick then you should apply for Prestwick and vice versa :p
I think they're learning their lesson though so I suppose there is a good chance you'll get what you want but always be prepared to go anywhere.

Good luck with it!
 
Scuzi said:
there's a fella who works up at Aberdeen
Click to expand...

I'm at Edinburgh now. Back to civilisation!

I echo everthing Scuzi has said. It's a very rewarding career. You need to be prepared for up to 3 years of hard work though, during which if you aint up to scratch you can be out the door quicker than you can say P45.

Salary wise, at the college you will be on £10k per year plus living allowance (about 970 quid per month after deductions). After posting you go up to £16k but lose the living allowance, so you effectively take a wage cut to around 930 quid per month. The wages get a bit better after validation ;)

I started at the college in April 2008. At the time I had a house, wife, 3yo son and twin baby girls. I left my wife and kids in Edinburgh while I went to Bournemouth for 9 months. My wife's mother helped out with the kids and my dad helped out financially, without their help it would've been a no go. It was hard being away from my family but I went home a few times for the weekend and phoned home every night. The social sessions at the weekend helped too! (It's amazing how quickly a 31yo family man can adjust to a student lifestyle ;) ). The 9 months went quickly and it was all worth it in the end.

As for posting requests it's a bit of a lottery really. I wrote a 3 paragraph sob story on how I really needed Edinburgh and they sent me to Aberdeen. 18 people started my Aerodrome course, 2 quit, 4 failed.
Of the 12 who passed 6 requested an Approach course and 6 requested London airports (Aerodrome only). They did split it 6 & 6, but one person who wanted London got an Approach place and one person who wanted Approach got sent to London.
Of the 6 people on the approach course...
The one who originally wanted London failed their first set of summatives and promptly got what they wanted and were sent to Stansted.
1 wanted Edinburgh and got Aberdeen (me).
1 wanted Manchester and got it.
1 wanted Glasgow and got Aberdeen.
1 wanted Manchester and got Belfast. (She validated and left the company to go to Newcastle)
1 wanted Birmingham and got Cardiff.

Like I said a bit of a lottery. Although I've heard from a very credible inside source that HR are beginning to pay more attention to peoples requests.

Any other questions feel free to ask.
 
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cm1179 said:
i assume concentration plays a massive part in this profession. how do they test this?
Click to expand...

Scuzi said:
During selection there are various tests which focus on your ability to remember accurately and process data effectively whilst faced with distraction. They also focus on how you prioritise your tasks among various other things. They are by no means definitive but they seem to give a fairly accurate picture.
Click to expand...

You mean they don't get you to play Flight Control ?

Booo !
 
I went for the assessment about 3 years ago but failed the first round of tests at Manchester, I have 4gcse and an a level, they didn't actually ask for any proof of qualifications, was I actually ineligible to apply anyway:eek:
 
neodude said:
I'm at Edinburgh now. Back to civilisation!

I echo everthing Scuzi has said. It's a very rewarding career. You need to be prepared for up to 3 years of hard work though, during which if you aint up to scratch you can be out the door quicker than you can say P45.

Salary wise, at the college you will be on £10k per year plus living allowance (about 970 quid per month after deductions). After posting you go up to £16k but lose the living allowance, so you effectively take a wage cut to around 930 quid per month. The wages get a bit better after validation ;)

I started at the college in April 2008. At the time I had a house, wife, 3yo son and twin baby girls. I left my wife and kids in Edinburgh while I went to Bournemouth for 9 months. My wife's mother helped out with the kids and my dad helped out financially, without their help it would've been a no go. It was hard being away from my family but I went home a few times for the weekend and phoned home every night. The social sessions at the weekend helped too! (It's amazing how quickly a 31yo family man can adjust to a student lifestyle ;) ). The 9 months went quickly and it was all worth it in the end.

As for posting requests it's a bit of a lottery really. I wrote a 3 paragraph sob story on how I really needed Edinburgh and they sent me to Aberdeen. 18 people started my Aerodrome course, 2 quit, 4 failed.
Of the 12 who passed 6 requested an Approach course and 6 requested London airports (Aerodrome only). They did split it 6 & 6, but one person who wanted London got an Approach place and one person who wanted Approach got sent to London.
Of the 6 people on the approach course...
The one who originally wanted London failed their first set of summatives and promptly got what they wanted and were sent to Stansted.
1 wanted Edinburgh and got Aberdeen (me).
1 wanted Manchester and got it.
1 wanted Glasgow and got Aberdeen.
1 wanted Manchester and got Belfast. (She validated and left the company to go to Newcastle)
1 wanted Birmingham and got Cardiff.

Like I said a bit of a lottery. Although I've heard from a very credible inside source that HR are beginning to pay more attention to peoples requests.

Any other questions feel free to ask.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that loads of info. It's on hold till next year as there is no recruitment so will see what happens in the new year. Regarding salary I thought the salary went up to 28k after validation?

I can cope with 1 year at 10k but not a couple more at 16k. That's about 50% less than what I'm on now.
 
Slumberbox said:
I went for the assessment about 3 years ago but failed the first round of tests at Manchester, I have 4gcse and an a level, they didn't actually ask for any proof of qualifications, was I actually ineligible to apply anyway:eek:
Click to expand...

As far as i know(might have changed) but you dont need any qualifications to apply or you only needed GCSE's and if u can get through the tests and whatever else they put you through you can get a job there. I think they just want peope with the ability to do the job, you dont need to have a degree to do it just the skill to manage the job effectively.
 
dazzerd said:
Thanks for that loads of info. It's on hold till next year as there is no recruitment so will see what happens in the new year. Regarding salary I thought the salary went up to 28k after validation?

I can cope with 1 year at 10k but not a couple more at 16k. That's about 50% less than what I'm on now.
Click to expand...

It goes up to 28k after validation if you validate within 3 years of your start date. After 3 years it goes up to 43k-51k depending on location. Validation at a unit can take anywhere between 3 months to 2 years and in some cases longer.
 
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