Well, i just had an interview in person today with westjet for the TAC position. Ramp Rat.
Just wondering if anyone knows what the medical involves. I got my Cat 1 trans canada one allready so the medical part dont bother me but the interview said theirs also a physical check like pushups etc.
Jon
WestJet Ramp Agent
Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, North Shore
I don't know if they are any different than the rest of the companies in Canada these days for hiring, but a company medical usually means that they will be doing drug testing on you as well as any other normal stuff. Usually though I think that they would specify that if that is what the exams involve, you should probably have asked them the details when they told you about it.
Push ups, chin ups, sit ups, etc..................I doubt it and hope not, I never would have gotten a job in the industry!! But you never know.
Your TC Cat 1 medical actually means squat until you are being looked at for a potential flying position.
IMO
Push ups, chin ups, sit ups, etc..................I doubt it and hope not, I never would have gotten a job in the industry!! But you never know.
Your TC Cat 1 medical actually means squat until you are being looked at for a potential flying position.
IMO
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crossjohn98
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- Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 2:20 am
Re: WestJet Ramp Agent
Mostly they just require physical examinations like x-ray, stool, urine and blood.
Re: WestJet Ramp Agent
It's a basic physical. They want to make sure you can do that job without hurting yourself. If you're in decent shape the test is easy. 10 push ups and 10 sit-ups, a hearing test, you do pee in a cup but they are checking for diabetes. You shouldn't have much trouble.
Welcome to the WJ family, once an owner, always an owner
CD
Welcome to the WJ family, once an owner, always an owner
CD
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flying4dollars
- Rank (9)
- Posts: 1298
- Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:56 am
Re:
Not completely true. I worked TAC for WestJet and my Av Medical was enough for them to be satisfied. Also, was never drug tested.Pratt wrote:I don't know if they are any different than the rest of the companies in Canada these days for hiring, but a company medical usually means that they will be doing drug testing on you as well as any other normal stuff. Usually though I think that they would specify that if that is what the exams involve, you should probably have asked them the details when they told you about it.
Push ups, chin ups, sit ups, etc..................I doubt it and hope not, I never would have gotten a job in the industry!! But you never know.
Your TC Cat 1 medical actually means squat until you are being looked at for a potential flying position.
IMO
Re: WestJet Ramp Agent
Wow. This post was inactive for a few years lol.
The medical was really easy. I worked there at two different times and went through two different medical/fitness tests. No drug test's at that time (5 yrs and 2 yrs ago), but you did provide a urine test to show if you were diabetic or not as mentioned above. The first one was just the push-up's chin-ups and hold your feet off the ground while laying down for x amount of time... The next one was with a new company and they made me go back and forth in a room lifting weights off the floor, stacking them on a shelf and vice-versa. It was all timed and they would record your heart rate etc. Again. Real easy. Both time's I was there, I had a valid cat 1 medical and it didn't really change anything. I still had to go for there department medical/fitness evaluation both times that I was hired. As a side note, having your radio operator's license comes in handy if you later apply internally within the department for de-icing, since you won't have to take the test again.
When I originally posted, I was pretty green from just drinking the Westjet Culture Kool-Aid. =P
For all those new people that are trying to figure out which ramp to go onto... WestJet was only good because of the people you work with. I have met people there that I will probably be in regular contact with for the rest of my life. The benefits were good as well and the WestJet stock options in any department are amazing. The ramp itself though was almost always short staffed. 15-20 sick calls a day were normal days due to injuries, and sometimes even because they were really sick, but more then often were because people got fed up and started to abuse the system (f/t get paid sick days as your on salary). I'm sure the abuse of sick days is still around but one would think it would have decreased with the way our job market/economy went in the last little while, and I do know that they have started to deal with the people that are consistently late/absent without excuse. The wage is a lot more comparable to other ramps and crew chiefs are on a much better pay scale then when I was one. Not having to deal with union politics was nice too but also had its drawbacks.
Comparing to the Air Canada ramp will just kind of make you mad at times. You do more work at WestJet for less. WestJet is expanding everyday and more destinations/interline benefits keep popping up, but the better flight benefits would still be with AC. Since AC is union though, if someone higher up the ladder then you wants to get on the plane and there is one seat left, he's going to get it no matter how early you got there before them, whereas WestJet was done by whomever checked in first.
I'd say more then 80% of the time, people who start working with the WJ RAMP start out loving it for at least the first 6 months to a year but then that love turns into a bitterness.
In the end...
Would I change the fact that I chose to work at WestJet rather then another company?
Nope
Did I leave the company with a bitter taste left over?
Yes.. Both times lol
If returning to the ramp, would I go back?
I did before and prolly would again but only because I enjoyed the majority of people I worked with.
Would I recommend the WJ Ramp to others?
To at least get your foot in the door and some ramp experience, yes. As a stepping stone within the company, no.
Would I recommend aspiring pilots to get a job on the WJ Ramp?
Yes, because it is a good way to network, especially if your a crew chief or de-icer as you can come into contact with a lot of pilots. In the end, it will all stem down to how good of a talker you are though. Plus it's just flat out awesome to work with the aircraft directly on the ramp. Not to mention if your a plane spotter, you get ramp access and the chance to get right up close with some pretty amazing birds (from civilian to military depending on your airport's traffic). You really get to appreciate the aircraft in a different way.
I would definitely recommend part time status over full time status tho. You can make more money this way and it will be a lot easier to trade/drop your shifts to work around your flight training or anything else you have going on in life. You just have to maintain a minimum of 25/hrs a week over a certain averaging period (6 weeks?? 8 weeks?? cant remember exactly).
Plus since its shift work on a bidding system, you can try to get that shift rotation that suites your needs. When I had ground school in the evenings, I managed to work mornings so I could attend ground school. When my ground school finished though, I generally liked starting in the early to late afternoons. This way I could book my instructor and/or aircraft earlier in the day to enjoy the smoother flights that the morning summer air tends to provide.
What work conditions would i expect on a day to day basis?
Expect diverse and changing conditions. Weather, as we know, can screw with aviation tremendously. It can sometimes work in your favor, allowing you to drop a flight that you might have had, or it can work against you by adding additional flights to your day and sometimes even giving you back to back flights with multiple flights coming in at the same time. With that said... you'll have the gravy days where you'll get 2-3 hour breaks and the crap days where the only time you get to eat is when your on your way from one flight to the next. (especially in the cases of de-icers during snow events/IROP conditions. Sometimes I'd be so busy with de-icing that I would have to call a friend over the radio and get them to go grab me a ham and swiss from timmy's just so I could get some food in me during the 12-16 hr day that I would spend only in the truck.)
Went kind of off topic here but since I started the topic and gave it a pretty general title, I'm not sorry =D
I am sorry for the novel though lol. I haven't posted in a while tho so it's long overdue.
Feel free to msg me with any questions you have if your looking at getting into the ramp. In the end your going to love it... But you'll also love to hate it
The medical was really easy. I worked there at two different times and went through two different medical/fitness tests. No drug test's at that time (5 yrs and 2 yrs ago), but you did provide a urine test to show if you were diabetic or not as mentioned above. The first one was just the push-up's chin-ups and hold your feet off the ground while laying down for x amount of time... The next one was with a new company and they made me go back and forth in a room lifting weights off the floor, stacking them on a shelf and vice-versa. It was all timed and they would record your heart rate etc. Again. Real easy. Both time's I was there, I had a valid cat 1 medical and it didn't really change anything. I still had to go for there department medical/fitness evaluation both times that I was hired. As a side note, having your radio operator's license comes in handy if you later apply internally within the department for de-icing, since you won't have to take the test again.
When I originally posted, I was pretty green from just drinking the Westjet Culture Kool-Aid. =P
For all those new people that are trying to figure out which ramp to go onto... WestJet was only good because of the people you work with. I have met people there that I will probably be in regular contact with for the rest of my life. The benefits were good as well and the WestJet stock options in any department are amazing. The ramp itself though was almost always short staffed. 15-20 sick calls a day were normal days due to injuries, and sometimes even because they were really sick, but more then often were because people got fed up and started to abuse the system (f/t get paid sick days as your on salary). I'm sure the abuse of sick days is still around but one would think it would have decreased with the way our job market/economy went in the last little while, and I do know that they have started to deal with the people that are consistently late/absent without excuse. The wage is a lot more comparable to other ramps and crew chiefs are on a much better pay scale then when I was one. Not having to deal with union politics was nice too but also had its drawbacks.
Comparing to the Air Canada ramp will just kind of make you mad at times. You do more work at WestJet for less. WestJet is expanding everyday and more destinations/interline benefits keep popping up, but the better flight benefits would still be with AC. Since AC is union though, if someone higher up the ladder then you wants to get on the plane and there is one seat left, he's going to get it no matter how early you got there before them, whereas WestJet was done by whomever checked in first.
I'd say more then 80% of the time, people who start working with the WJ RAMP start out loving it for at least the first 6 months to a year but then that love turns into a bitterness.
In the end...
Would I change the fact that I chose to work at WestJet rather then another company?
Nope
Did I leave the company with a bitter taste left over?
Yes.. Both times lol
If returning to the ramp, would I go back?
I did before and prolly would again but only because I enjoyed the majority of people I worked with.
Would I recommend the WJ Ramp to others?
To at least get your foot in the door and some ramp experience, yes. As a stepping stone within the company, no.
Would I recommend aspiring pilots to get a job on the WJ Ramp?
Yes, because it is a good way to network, especially if your a crew chief or de-icer as you can come into contact with a lot of pilots. In the end, it will all stem down to how good of a talker you are though. Plus it's just flat out awesome to work with the aircraft directly on the ramp. Not to mention if your a plane spotter, you get ramp access and the chance to get right up close with some pretty amazing birds (from civilian to military depending on your airport's traffic). You really get to appreciate the aircraft in a different way.
I would definitely recommend part time status over full time status tho. You can make more money this way and it will be a lot easier to trade/drop your shifts to work around your flight training or anything else you have going on in life. You just have to maintain a minimum of 25/hrs a week over a certain averaging period (6 weeks?? 8 weeks?? cant remember exactly).
Plus since its shift work on a bidding system, you can try to get that shift rotation that suites your needs. When I had ground school in the evenings, I managed to work mornings so I could attend ground school. When my ground school finished though, I generally liked starting in the early to late afternoons. This way I could book my instructor and/or aircraft earlier in the day to enjoy the smoother flights that the morning summer air tends to provide.
What work conditions would i expect on a day to day basis?
Expect diverse and changing conditions. Weather, as we know, can screw with aviation tremendously. It can sometimes work in your favor, allowing you to drop a flight that you might have had, or it can work against you by adding additional flights to your day and sometimes even giving you back to back flights with multiple flights coming in at the same time. With that said... you'll have the gravy days where you'll get 2-3 hour breaks and the crap days where the only time you get to eat is when your on your way from one flight to the next. (especially in the cases of de-icers during snow events/IROP conditions. Sometimes I'd be so busy with de-icing that I would have to call a friend over the radio and get them to go grab me a ham and swiss from timmy's just so I could get some food in me during the 12-16 hr day that I would spend only in the truck.)
Went kind of off topic here but since I started the topic and gave it a pretty general title, I'm not sorry =D
I am sorry for the novel though lol. I haven't posted in a while tho so it's long overdue.
Feel free to msg me with any questions you have if your looking at getting into the ramp. In the end your going to love it... But you'll also love to hate it
Re: WestJet Ramp Agent
How do I get into ramp? I've tried several times with WJ, but never get a response.
Re: WestJet Ramp Agent
keep trying. all depends on if they are in need of people or not. keep an eye out for the online job postings.
Maybe update your resume to make it stand out a bit more.
Maybe update your resume to make it stand out a bit more.
