ITA Questions, and hopefully a little positivity.

[navcanhopeful]

Hello, in ~50 days I start IFR generic. I have a few questions that hopefully someone can answer for me.

Should I get my medical now? How do I know where to get my medical? Do they drug test during the medical? All of the links regarding the medical on the TakeCharge site are broken when I click them its nothing but "Page cannot be found" and "Page no longer exists

Im about 60% of the way through the ITA course, and have been taking notes throughout out and have been able to retain a decent amount of it 'I think'. I am hoping to have the whole course completed about 3 weeks before the start of the class so I can get into full review mode as I still have to work now. Is this a good strategy?

My biggest concern is regarding the actual exam on the ITA. Is it similar to how the course is set up. All of the review questions are simply copy and pasted from earlier in the lesson and for me personally once I have seen a question I am usually able to remember the questions which isnt great when some sections only have one question on a subject. Additionally is the ITA exam set up how the ITA quizzes and reviews are? Multiple choice, matching, T/F, Fill in the blank? It drives me crazy when I am doing a review questions and the 3 options for a fill in the blank question are sitting in a word bank to off to the side and each word is a different length and its obvious where it has to go. I have read all of the previous threads and there doesn't seem to be a consensus on how the ITA exam is structured. I understand that it changes probably fairly frequently, and Nav doesnt go around just publishing the exam but any info just regarding the format would be awesome.

Finally, kinda a weird question. Is this possible? With the job I have a ton of people know that I will no longer be working there when this starts and because of that know that I am trying to become an ATC. Literally 90% of people have told me about how they've failed, or a friend has failed trying to become an Air Traffic Controller, and how difficult it will be for me to make it through. Granted some of these are people who failed the initial in person exam, but still I am struggling to find much optimism or positivity from anyone quite frankly. I know the process is long, especially for IFR and how low the numbers are for people who actually check out. I am ready to eat, sleep, and breath this going forward and will be able to take my ITA stuff 100% when I can leave my jobs. If I give it my all and can't do it ill be fine, but some optimism is always nice.

Any advice will be more than appreciated. Im sure there are a few others who have experienced some of what Ive said above. Thank you if you take the time to respond. My literary skills aren't amazing so sorry if there are mistakes in the text above.

tldr; Medical how and when? ITA Exam same as course? Is the whole thing doable?

THANKS!!!

[DHC-1 Jockey]

I'm in VFR, so I can't speak to any of your IFR concerns, but here is the website for Civil Aviation Medical Examiners:

http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/2/c ... x?lang=eng

Get your medical ASAP. You don't want to find out you have a disqualifying medical issue after you've already started training, plus they'll probably want a photocopy from you on day 1.

Just call an examiner close to you and say you are looking for a CAT 2 medical to become an ATC, and they'll tell you what to do from there.

Regarding the ITA, for my VFR course, we spent the entire first week reviewing the ITA material in preparation for the test. We essentially just re-did the ITA in class which allowed us to ask the instructors questions if we were unsure of any concepts or information. I'm not sure if the IFR ITA is different than VFR, but to put your mind a little more at ease, we all scored over 95% on the ITA test. The "real" work begins after the ITA.

[Nica]

Just a question...which region are you in?

[chobs]

I'm just an IFR candidate waiting to get called to training, so take this for what it's worth ...

RE: The ITA. Have you thought about asking the instructors and people involved in your FIR? They would obviously have more detail than people on this forum and at least in my experiences, Nav Canada people I have dealt with are incredibly helpful and willing to answer questions that can help their trainees gather information.

As for confidence... Yes, the success rates you see posted online are concerning, but I think you have to consider this. There are many reasons someone can be unsuccessful in training: they don't put the proper amount of study/effort in, they have a bad attitude, they have too many distractions at home to get it done, they don't plan properly financially and succumb to that stress, they try to balance a job with training, they decide it's not for them and voluntarily withdraw, they get complacent, etc.

So there are all those reasons that can cause a CT ... Of course, I know if none of the above applies and the person eats, sleeps and breathes ATC training the success rate is still not 100%, but with all those failed trainees taken out of the mix, you have to assume the success rate is much higher for those who do put their whole life into it (but there's no real way to know the exact amount). Yes, it's possible you can train, put your all into it and simply find out you don't have the aptitude and fail, but I would imagine those people who do the above and have no external distractions or outside reasons to cause a CT have a much higher rate of success.

On top of that, honestly once you get to course you need to simply forget about the failure rate or even think about it. In my opinion that will just be a way to psych yourself out. The course will be extremely difficult, but it has been completed in the past, it can be completed and you have to believe in yourself that you can complete it too.

How's that?

[chobs]

Just a question...which region are you in?

He's YWR if I recall correctly.

[TheSteamingPile]

To answer your first question. No, they do not test for drugs. That being said, quit smoking pot if you want to have a career in ATC. I'm not going to suggest that you would even think about going to school high or anything like that but is it even worth the risk of having that suspicion on you as a trainee? I personally don't think so. Anyway, get your medical now as there's no real reason to wait.

2nd. The training culture has changed in the past 5 years. Instructors want to see you check out. They will help in any way possible (short of giving you the answers) to see you succeed. You will be afforded every opportunity to pass.

Don't worry so much about what is on the ITA exam. Know the material to a point where you are comfortable with the concepts and you will be fine as you get a somewhat specific review before the exam.

As one of the previous posters has stated, the stats for passing training are not good but there are very few people accepted for training and there are a variety of reasons as to why they can't complete the training. That being said, it is not easy and you will need to apply yourself and dedicate 90% of your 'free' time to being successful.

There is still the chance, however, that you just can't do the job. That won't be something you can control. Some folks just can't know and apply the knowledge with multiple aircraft and conflictions at the same time.

Keep a positive attitude no matter what, try hard and you will have taken care of the factors under your control. I wish you the best of luck.

[s1yx]

The ITA course is awful and is by far the worst part of the first training phase. The material provided is lacking, sometimes flat out wrong, and there is frankly too much there to be totally comfortable going into the exam. Spend as much time as you can pouring over details, the little things that you might not thing will matter may show up on the exam; this surprised our class. When the course tells you to memorize lists of things (designators, airport codes, etc) make sure to do that. It is a long exam, the longest of the generic program and while the format is similar to the course review, don't expect questions to be that easy on the exam; you won't really have long written answers but if you don't actually know the stuff then you won't be able to half-ass your way through it either. The first week of course is pretty much a write off, we did a bunch of administration tasks, some NAVCANADA required workplace training, and our class spent a lot of time studying together. You will get some review from the instructors before the exam but I feel like people overstate how much they will give you, at least in my experience. We were told that it is a self study course so they couldn't really do much for us in that regard. Like the rest of the course if you put in the effort you will succeed.

I don't feel like there is much excuse for failing generic. Whether you can do the job or not, if you put in enough time and effort to studying for exams and learning the sim runs then there is no reason you shouldn't pass basic.

[otherbarry]

I also am starting IFR Generic in 50 ish days. I only received the offer a week ago and have not received my official offer in the mail yet. How much training do you need to do before you go? How long do you spend studying before ever getting there? I am concerned now because I have not looked at the ITA course work at all. Do they send that with the training offer?

[TheSteamingPile]

I also am starting IFR Generic in 50 ish days. I only received the offer a week ago and have not received my official offer in the mail yet. How much training do you need to do before you go? How long do you spend studying before ever getting there? I am concerned now because I have not looked at the ITA course work at all. Do they send that with the training offer?

You should have received an email with a course name and password for the ITA along with a link.

[s1yx]

I also am starting IFR Generic in 50 ish days. I only received the offer a week ago and have not received my official offer in the mail yet. How much training do you need to do before you go? How long do you spend studying before ever getting there? I am concerned now because I have not looked at the ITA course work at all. Do they send that with the training offer?

They quote 70-100 hours to get through the material once, which honestly won't be enough especially if you don't have an aviation background. If you're a pilot or something then a lot of the material will be review and that will cut down the time investment significantly. Personally I was over double the time investment quote before I showed up day 1, and during that first week many more hours were spent reviewing with classmates. Like most of the theory in the course it will come down to how much time you have to put in to be successful. The passing mark is 80% but you will learn right away that you don't want to be at 80%, you want to be aiming for 90s though I would say just worry about getting through the ITA as it's relevance drops off right after completion. Our class had a couple licensed controllers write the exam and they had no idea about a lot of the material on there as it just doesn't apply to them in an IFR environment.

[otherbarry]

Thanks. I did not a receive a email with any information about the ITA. I will request that be sent.

[RexKrammer]

Like most of the theory in the course it will come down to how much time you have to put in to be successful. The passing mark is 80% but you will learn right away that you don't want to be at 80%, you want to be aiming for 90s though I would say just worry about getting through the ITA as it's relevance drops off right after completion.

This is key. You're the new guys training, and your progress is noted by more than just your instructors. First impressions count, and although the pass mark is 80% and you get one chance at a re-sit, you don't want to be known as the trainee that had to re-sit, or barely passed. A score in the 90s is considered better and you'll be recognised as having made the effort to make a good first impression.

When I went through, I spent many, many hours every day studying. It's a long hard slog, but worth it in the end. If you ever feel overwhelmed with the volume of material, just keep telling yourself, the end goal is worth it.

[Braun]

Like most of the theory in the course it will come down to how much time you have to put in to be successful. The passing mark is 80% but you will learn right away that you don't want to be at 80%, you want to be aiming for 90s though I would say just worry about getting through the ITA as it's relevance drops off right after completion.

This is key. You're the new guys training, and your progress is noted by more than just your instructors. First impressions count, and although the pass mark is 80% and you get one chance at a re-sit, you don't want to be known as the trainee that had to re-sit, or barely passed. A score in the 90s is considered better and you'll be recognised as having made the effort to make a good first impression.

When I went through, I spent many, many hours every day studying. It's a long hard slog, but worth it in the end. If you ever feel overwhelmed with the volume of material, just keep telling yourself, the end goal is worth it.

I've said it a lot on here and I will say it again. What Rex says is 100% true. Us instructors start asking questions about trainees very early in regards to work ethic, motivation, skill etc... Don't think because you are isolated in the generic classroom that the operational training team doesn't know what's going on. We will always hear about failures and people who are not putting in the work. As a trainee your job is to give it all you have and show to us you are putting the effort in. As an instructor I am much more motivated to go the extra mile to train someone who works hard than to spend my time training someone who is not giving it their best shot. It shows right away also who studied hard. Give it everything you have and so will we to make you succeed. Be branded as lazy and it is hard to get rid of that stigma.

[chobs]

I've said it a lot on here and I will say it again. What Rex says is 100% true. Us instructors start asking questions about trainees very early in regards to work ethic, motivation, skill etc... Don't think because you are isolated in the generic classroom that the operational training team doesn't know what's going on. We will always hear about failures and people who are not putting in the work. As a trainee your job is to give it all you have and show to us you are putting the effort in. As an instructor I am much more motivated to go the extra mile to train someone who works hard than to spend my time training someone who is not giving it their best shot. It shows right away also who studied hard. Give it everything you have and so will we to make you succeed. Be branded as lazy and it is hard to get rid of that stigma.

Great advice, but it still boggles my mind.. Does it happen a lot where you get trainees who are unmotivated/lazy/not hard workers? It seems to me anyway it would be tough for someone to want to go forward with this career without having a good work ethic.

[Braun]

I've said it a lot on here and I will say it again. What Rex says is 100% true. Us instructors start asking questions about trainees very early in regards to work ethic, motivation, skill etc... Don't think because you are isolated in the generic classroom that the operational training team doesn't know what's going on. We will always hear about failures and people who are not putting in the work. As a trainee your job is to give it all you have and show to us you are putting the effort in. As an instructor I am much more motivated to go the extra mile to train someone who works hard than to spend my time training someone who is not giving it their best shot. It shows right away also who studied hard. Give it everything you have and so will we to make you succeed. Be branded as lazy and it is hard to get rid of that stigma.

Great advice, but it still boggles my mind.. Does it happen a lot where you get trainees who are unmotivated/lazy/not hard workers? It seems to me anyway it would be tough for someone to want to go forward with this career without having a good work ethic.

What happens most often, this is my personal opinion, is people who are not mature enough to realize the tremendous amount of work to put in. It's not so much as they purposely don't do enough they just don't seem to have the drive or character to take the extra step it takes. I once had a trainee whom I told at least on 5 occasions to study certain elements because they obviously weren't acquired. He failed to see the importance of these elements and ended up being cease trained after several months on the floor. Also for anyone reading, maturity has nothing to with age.


Everyone has their own work ethic and every speciality is different. Personally I work in a TCU and I don't have time, while I am doing OJT, to babysit someone who doesn't know his/her procedures, MANOPS, airspace etc...I am there to help develop the controlling skills of my trainee. Often this leads to discussions about MANOPS, procedures etc... Which is obviously fine but if everyday I see there is information you should know that you don't that's a different story and will reflect poorly upon you.

Keep in mind as well that no one is perfect and mistakes will be made and are expected. We aren't looking for people who are perfect (mostly because it doesn't exist) but for individuals who work hard, have the skills, put in the time and effort to learn the materiel and are good team players.

[navcanhopeful]

Thank you all for your input and anyone else who contributes.

[belivo]

Great forum! Thanks to all who provided input!

[Grenseal]

I've said it a lot on here and I will say it again. What Rex says is 100% true. Us instructors start asking questions about trainees very early in regards to work ethic, motivation, skill etc... Don't think because you are isolated in the generic classroom that the operational training team doesn't know what's going on. We will always hear about failures and people who are not putting in the work. As a trainee your job is to give it all you have and show to us you are putting the effort in. As an instructor I am much more motivated to go the extra mile to train someone who works hard than to spend my time training someone who is not giving it their best shot. It shows right away also who studied hard. Give it everything you have and so will we to make you succeed. Be branded as lazy and it is hard to get rid of that stigma.

Great advice, but it still boggles my mind.. Does it happen a lot where you get trainees who are unmotivated/lazy/not hard workers? It seems to me anyway it would be tough for someone to want to go forward with this career without having a good work ethic.

What happens most often, this is my personal opinion, is people who are not mature enough to realize the tremendous amount of work to put in. It's not so much as they purposely don't do enough they just don't seem to have the drive or character to take the extra step it takes. I once had a trainee whom I told at least on 5 occasions to study certain elements because they obviously weren't acquired. He failed to see the importance of these elements and ended up being cease trained after several months on the floor. Also for anyone reading, maturity has nothing to with age.


Everyone has their own work ethic and every speciality is different. Personally I work in a TCU and I don't have time, while I am doing OJT, to babysit someone who doesn't know his/her procedures, MANOPS, airspace etc...I am there to help develop the controlling skills of my trainee. Often this leads to discussions about MANOPS, procedures etc... Which is obviously fine but if everyday I see there is information you should know that you don't that's a different story and will reflect poorly upon you.

Keep in mind as well that no one is perfect and mistakes will be made and are expected. We aren't looking for people who are perfect (mostly because it doesn't exist) but for individuals who work hard, have the skills, put in the time and effort to learn the materiel and are good team players.

I was wondering if there are anymore review questions for the ITA. It seems the block quizes are shorter with every new block. I don't think there are enough review questions to represent the material.

[s1yx]

I was wondering if there are anymore review questions for the ITA. It seems the block quizes are shorter with every new block. I don't think there are enough review questions to represent the material.

Not only are there very few review questions for the amount of material that the ITA contains, but they do an absolutely atrocious job at representing the style of question you will be presented with on the actual exam; the whole thing is garbage. Best thing you can do is pour over the material for hours and commit as much of it to memory as possible, and even then you will likely be surprised by some questions on the exam because the testable material is very expansive. Don't put much stock in the included review questions, the ones you will get on the exam will not be as straight forward.

It gets better once you start the course material though. The first two months will be a huge influx of information, but you have time to process it, and the instructors do a good job highlighting areas of focus with their reviews. It slows down a bit in the middle as far as theory goes and then ramps up hugely at the end of the course, but again as long as you are putting in the effort, the written exams won't be an issue.

[chobs]

I was wondering if there are anymore review questions for the ITA. It seems the block quizes are shorter with every new block. I don't think there are enough review questions to represent the material.

Not only are there very few review questions for the amount of material that the ITA contains, but they do an absolutely atrocious job at representing the style of question you will be presented with on the actual exam; the whole thing is garbage. Best thing you can do is pour over the material for hours and commit as much of it to memory as possible, and even then you will likely be surprised by some questions on the exam because the testable material is very expansive. Don't put much stock in the included review questions, the ones you will get on the exam will not be as straight forward.

It gets better once you start the course material though. The first two months will be a huge influx of information, but you have time to process it, and the instructors do a good job highlighting areas of focus with their reviews. It slows down a bit in the middle as far as theory goes and then ramps up hugely at the end of the course, but again as long as you are putting in the effort, the written exams won't be an issue.

It's really interesting to hear your insight.. I find information from people on the ITA is often so varied... Some people say it's the hardest written test of the whole course, some people say it's the easiest... I've read some people say that if you get 100% on the prep questions you're probably fine and obviously you have a different take on it.

What I am curious about is that... I often hear that most classes usually all pass and often with strong 90%+ grades... Is the prep material is so poorly laid out why do you think that is? (or am I wrong about that?) Maybe because people have advanced time to study it exclusively with no additional in-class stuff to balance?