Hi everyone
Long story short, due to some ear problems I have been forced to change my career path and was looking into ATC. I can still pass all medicals, however my ears don’t handle pressure change so it has become very very painful to fly.
Anyway so the questions I have are:
Are there any tips to passing the aptitude test?
Will coming from a flying job help getting you into ATC?
Is there a minimum or maximum age they will hire at?
Is it easy to transfer from FSS to VFR or IFR?
Thanks for any info!
Pilot to ATC
Moderators: North Shore, sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako
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hellholeflyer
- Rank 2
- Posts: 55
- Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2005 7:56 am
Pilot to ATC
Last edited by hellholeflyer on Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The minimum age is 18, and there is no maximum age (otherwise it would be discrimination).
It's an aptitude test, so some argue that you either have it or you don't. Personally I only studied the cube section, but then got to the test and found completely different ways someone could lay out a cube in 2d, so my studying didn't help at all. I think if you just do some mental exercises to make sure your mind is sharp (because the tests are timed) is all you can do.
An aviation background does help you get into ATC, I have found. Since it seems most courses are 90% ex-pilots, SHL seems to favor them over complete newbies.
As for moving from FSS to VFR or IFR, I don't know it all exactly, but I believe you have to wait at least 5 years as an FSS to transfer to the controller side. Then you have to impress your manager, because it's entirely up to them if you'll get a spot on an ATC course.
It's an aptitude test, so some argue that you either have it or you don't. Personally I only studied the cube section, but then got to the test and found completely different ways someone could lay out a cube in 2d, so my studying didn't help at all. I think if you just do some mental exercises to make sure your mind is sharp (because the tests are timed) is all you can do.
An aviation background does help you get into ATC, I have found. Since it seems most courses are 90% ex-pilots, SHL seems to favor them over complete newbies.
As for moving from FSS to VFR or IFR, I don't know it all exactly, but I believe you have to wait at least 5 years as an FSS to transfer to the controller side. Then you have to impress your manager, because it's entirely up to them if you'll get a spot on an ATC course.
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thatdaveguy
- Rank 4
- Posts: 267
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:07 pm
Re: Pilot to ATC
There aren't really any tips for the aptitude test unfortunately. It's truly one of those 'you have it or you don't' things. I did quite poorly on it, but I really aced the interview, and now I'm FSS...hellholeflyer wrote:Hi everyone
Long story short, due to some ear problems I have been forced to change my career path and was looking into ATC. I can still pass all medicals, however my ears don’t handle pressure change so it has become very very painful to fly.
Anyway so the questions I have are:
Are there any tips to passing the aptitude test?
Will coming from a flying job help getting you into ATC?
Is there a minimum or maximum age they will hire at?
Is it easy to transfer from FSS to VFR or IFR?
Thanks for any info!
There will be big changes in the hiring process as rumor is that Nav Canada will no longer be using SHL's services in the near future. However, that's rumor and hearsay...who knows.
I'm not sure about killer84's remarks about ex-pilots...that was not the case at all when I was there. When I was at NCTI one year ago, there were 3 FSS classes and 1 VFR classes going through. In my class, there were 2 pilots and 8 non-aviation background people. The other classes AFAIK had similar ratios.
If you want to be VFR/IFR, go VFR/IFR. It's VERY difficult to go from FSS into those streams. There are a lot of reasons for this, if you want more details PM me.
killer84 is correct, you need 5 years to be eligible for the program from FSS to ATC. Generally, FSS to IFR is impossible, but FSS to VFR is just difficult.
To do the EOCO program, off the top of my head you need:
1) Manager recommendation...basically saying you are an AMAZING specialist, not just average
2) Coworker recommendation, same as above
3) Ace some interviews
4) Willing to forfeit your job security to goto NCTI... once you checkout of NCTI your job is no longer protected and you can be fired without recourse if you are CT'd.
5) Willing to uproot yourself and do the whole INCREDIBLY stressful process of NCTI over again, just to get CT'd and back to square one. Well, not even square one, as you will not return to your existing FSS.
Things to keep in mind on the stream you choose:
In FSS, there's about an 80% checkout rate.
In VFR, there's about a 50% checkout rate...this LARGELY depends on where you are sent, as some towers are very poor at checking people out
in IFR there's a 5% checkout rate in some centres/sectors. The money is amazing, but if you end up with an OJI you don't get along with, tough sector, etc....you are in trouble
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invertedattitude
- Rank 10
- Posts: 2353
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 1:12 pm
Being a pilot helps for the first couple months of training in the simulator since you will be familiar with using RT procedures.
I was a pilot before hand, and I got a license, but honestly I think my overall knowledge of aviation helped me more, through my own personal geekiness towards it.
Having 1000 hours flying a 1900 or even 10,000 hours flying a 737 isn't going to help you one little bit when it comes to spotting conflictions.
You have it, or you don't.
I was a pilot before hand, and I got a license, but honestly I think my overall knowledge of aviation helped me more, through my own personal geekiness towards it.
Having 1000 hours flying a 1900 or even 10,000 hours flying a 737 isn't going to help you one little bit when it comes to spotting conflictions.
You have it, or you don't.
It's not for everyone. I went into it when there were few flying jobs. Aced the exam. Had a good interview. Absolutely HATED it. Way to anal for this "cowboy"! I just couldn't take it seriously. To many "my way, or the highway" attitudes. I've always looked for "other"(read...easier) ways to do things. They don't want "free thinkers". But, I know a few really happy controllers. On the outside. After a couple of beers though, they are as happy as you are, at your job. You don't need to be a rocket scientist. I think a rocket scientist would really hate it. An IQ of between 100 and 115 would be perfect. Higher than that....you'll go crazy. Much lower, and it'd be a hard grind.
And, there's a huge difference in work load. Picture ORD on a busy Friday afternoon. Picture YSB on a Sunday morning?
There's more than a little mental stress. Not as bad as teaching behavior challenged students, but stressful. When I did it, the guys with the highest marks would have their choice...most went VFR, in towers etc. The lower marks went IFR...see a pattern here?
Then my phone rang with an offer from First Air for some contract work in YFB. I never even quit....just headed out the door. They continued to pay me for two months...hehehehe.
And, there's a huge difference in work load. Picture ORD on a busy Friday afternoon. Picture YSB on a Sunday morning?
There's more than a little mental stress. Not as bad as teaching behavior challenged students, but stressful. When I did it, the guys with the highest marks would have their choice...most went VFR, in towers etc. The lower marks went IFR...see a pattern here?
Then my phone rang with an offer from First Air for some contract work in YFB. I never even quit....just headed out the door. They continued to pay me for two months...hehehehe.
An IQ of between 100 and 115 would be perfect. Higher than that....you'll go crazy
Doc, you really have some moronic posts sometimes...When I did it, the guys with the highest marks would have their choice...most went VFR, in towers etc. The lower marks went IFR...see a pattern here?
