Anyone in ATC school /ATC pay question

[FlynEarful]

Is any one or has anyone been in ATC school?
If so where did you go and how was it?
Also what is the starting pay for a new towere or center controller?
How does the salary increase over time?

Thanks.

[Newps]

FlynEarful wrote:

> Is any one or has anyone been in ATC school?

Do you mean the college program?


> If so where did you go and how was it?
> Also what is the starting pay for a new towere or center controller?

Depends on what facility you get sent to. Starting pay will be in the
low $30K's for an FAA job, contractors will be a lot less.


> How does the salary increase over time?

The lowest paid controllers at the slowest facilities are in the low to
mid $40K's. The very busiest facilities will have a pay rate well over
$100K. These are for FAA jobs.

[Sonja Wong]

"FlynEarful" asked:
> Is any one or has anyone been in ATC school?
> If so where did you go and how was it?

If you're asking where, I'm assuming you're not talking about the FAA
Academy in OKC.

I'm currently at a CTI school - Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA (just
outside of LA). It's a small program--only 3 teachers outside of the
private pilot ground school classes--but it's getting popular now and the
other required classes fill up quick. It's community college, so you only
need to earn an A.S. degree to complete the program and be eligible for hire
(this means you only have to take 10 classes to graduate if you already have
a bachelor's degree). Plus, being community college, it's dirt cheap if
you're a California resident: only about $50/class with fees added in.

The classes are kind of easy if you're already a pilot. In addition to
private pilot GS (which you can waive if you have a PPL), they require
classes in navigation, safety and human factors, FARs, Wx, Computer
Information Systems, instrument ground school, aircraft recognition, ATC
environment (teaches you the actual work they do), and team skills building.

You can learn more about it at http://aeronautics.mtsac.edu/

> Also what is the starting pay for a new towere or center controller?
> How does the salary increase over time?

The pay depends on what kind of facility you work at, how much traffic that
facility handles, and where that facility is located. Controllers at
airports near rapidly rising terrain get paid more than those at airports in
relatively flat areas. I heard that controllers at Brackett (KPOC), a Class
D, get paid more than those at Ontario (KONT), a Class C, for that reason.
SoCal TRACON pays way more than LA Center. And then you have to add in
locality pay--working in an area with a high standard of living means the
FAA will pay you more to be there.

You can find out more about the wage scale at
http://www.airtrafficcafe.com/atc_jobs.shtml

Hope that helps!

-Sonja

[DeltaDeltaDelta]

I'm currently at a local school here in Zagreb, Croatia, Europe. Here we
learn some basic stuff about aviation in the first year: aerodynamics, baisc
navigation, engines, fuels. and such and in the second year we cover this in
more detail. Then, for the next half year we have simulator trainings. After
we finish the sims, a comitee from Eurocontrol gives us some tests and if we
pass we go for 6 months to Frankfurt for additional, specialised studies and
then 6 months back here as a trainee. As I heard, the pay here is approx
$2000 per month for the first licence, but can increase to $5000 till the
5th (instructor) licence. Also, i've been told, ATC pays in Croatia are
among the highest in Europe...first you start in the tower, then on approach
and finally in a regional center (at least here)...

Triple Delta

"Sonja Wong" > wrote in message
...
> "FlynEarful" asked:
> > Is any one or has anyone been in ATC school?
> > If so where did you go and how was it?
>
> If you're asking where, I'm assuming you're not talking about the FAA
> Academy in OKC.
>
> I'm currently at a CTI school - Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA
(just
> outside of LA). It's a small program--only 3 teachers outside of the
> private pilot ground school classes--but it's getting popular now and the
> other required classes fill up quick. It's community college, so you only
> need to earn an A.S. degree to complete the program and be eligible for
hire
> (this means you only have to take 10 classes to graduate if you already
have
> a bachelor's degree). Plus, being community college, it's dirt cheap if
> you're a California resident: only about $50/class with fees added in.
>
> The classes are kind of easy if you're already a pilot. In addition to
> private pilot GS (which you can waive if you have a PPL), they require
> classes in navigation, safety and human factors, FARs, Wx, Computer
> Information Systems, instrument ground school, aircraft recognition, ATC
> environment (teaches you the actual work they do), and team skills
building.
>
> You can learn more about it at http://aeronautics.mtsac.edu/
>
> > Also what is the starting pay for a new towere or center controller?
> > How does the salary increase over time?
>
> The pay depends on what kind of facility you work at, how much traffic
that
> facility handles, and where that facility is located. Controllers at
> airports near rapidly rising terrain get paid more than those at airports
in
> relatively flat areas. I heard that controllers at Brackett (KPOC), a
Class
> D, get paid more than those at Ontario (KONT), a Class C, for that reason.
> SoCal TRACON pays way more than LA Center. And then you have to add in
> locality pay--working in an area with a high standard of living means the
> FAA will pay you more to be there.
>
> You can find out more about the wage scale at
> http://www.airtrafficcafe.com/atc_jobs.shtml
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> -Sonja
>
>