Anyone in YEG region willing to answer a few questions?

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nfpeanut
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Anyone in YEG region willing to answer a few questions?

Post by nfpeanut »

Well, after 4 years of applying, expiring, applying again and nearing the end of my candidacy, I've finally received an offer for VFR starting Nov. 5. I'm in the YEG region, and I'm wondering if there are any users out there in the same region who would be willing to answer a few questions for this new student...specifically if you've been through the process recently. Specifically here are some things I'm wondering about:

1) My offer indicates upon successful completion of the course I may placed in any region in Canada. Are all offers worded this way, or, if you're guaranteed to stay in the region you applied is the wording different? What was your experience?

2) Does anyone know the rationale behind placements other than operational requirements? I.E. is there any weight given to current place of residence, test scores, training/SIM performance, or any other criteria that is considered when matching successful students in the basic training with their initial placement?

3) My ultimate goal would be to work in the YEG terminal. I know I will have to be placed outside this tower in the beginning, but generally speaking how long does one have to wait to get placed in this terminal? Is there anyone out there that can speak on their experience of being placed in a smaller facility and how long did it take to get to a larger, busier location? (Of course I know it's all about the operational requirement, but I'm looking for examples of how it happened for you). YEG region seems to have a higher turnover than most of the country, so one would assume there is lots of opportunity for movement within this area.

I'm sure I have more questions, but these are burning me up right now. If anyone out there is willing to send me a PM to discuss any tips they have as I embark on this new journey, I would heartily welcome them. I guess I'm looking for a few "sort of mentors" for along the way, as aviation is a completely new field of work for me. I am leaving behind a successful 15 year mining career and so this a wild departure from what I'm used to. Leaving my current job is a big risk as I won't be able to go back to it, and I'll be taking a fairly substantial pay cut to work in this field. I just want to be informed, as well as realistic in my expectations going forward through this process, so that I can be a successful hire for NavCanada. I appreciate any information and advice anyone is willing to dole out.
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stabilizedapproach
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Re: Anyone in YEG region willing to answer a few questions?

Post by stabilizedapproach »

1) all offers are worded this way and chances are you will stay but you agreed to move anywhere in Canada and I’m sure you said it’s okay when they interviewed you.

2) Course scores, performance and requirements

3) you don’t have to work Edmonton tower to move to terminal. Seniority bids can happen after a few years. You’ll have to go through the entire generic training process again for IFR, so really think whether it’s worth it. Good thing is you’ll have a job if you flunk out of it. IFR is a completely different universe than VFR but it’s possible - people have cross trained before.

The success rates for training are increasing but still not close to 100%. If you are concerned that you won’t be able to go back to a successful career that paid you well, really reconsider whether this is a good option for you. Training is 100 bags of suck but if you put in your effort, you’ll pass generic VFR for sure - however that’s not the end of the road. Be prepared for the long haul though - that’s what gets most people when they burn out half way.
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golfaddict
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Re: Anyone in YEG region willing to answer a few questions?

Post by golfaddict »

1. Yes all initial offers will be worded this way. But yeg needs bodies badly, be prepared to go to Whitehorse, Yellowknife or McMurray because 95% of trainees are sent to those 3 sites.
2. Your placement will depend on a couple things. Operational requirement will always be number one. Your test scores and performance can affect where you are placed depending on how many people in your class actually make it through basic. If your whole class makes it there is a greater chance they will send the top students to places like springbank or even yyc. That being said the checkout rate for new students in Edmonton region right now is awful, somewhere around 50%.
3. When you say yeg terminal I'm going to assume you mean yeg tower. Yeg is one of the most sought after towers in the region and I would say give yourself 15 years (ballpark) before you have a realistic shot of winning a seniority bid into there.

I'm too new here and it wont let me pm you, if you have any other questions just ask.
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nfpeanut
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Re: Anyone in YEG region willing to answer a few questions?

Post by nfpeanut »

Sent you a PM golfaddict.
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