Im 21 and looking to attend school for air traffic control. Im not sure that this is the right place for this thread but maybe you folks can help! I am currently in no debt (s2000 is paid off thankfully!) I currently have my own business (if you want to call it that) of vinyl stickers, but rarely make money at it..maybe $200 a month. Thats under the table tax free cash. So with attending school my question is do i need to have a job also to be able to afford housing, gas, food, etc. or how do i deal with that sort of stuff. The school is 1.5 hours from my current home so i cant see commuting, although possible, not really what im after. The school is a 2 year course and the median salary last year was $109k or something silly like that due to a high suicide rate. Maybe some of you are in school or went through this same situation and can help

 

What program are you looking at? I attended ERAU for a while and I certainly heard that the wages were up there. But that was about half a decade ago.

 

If I understand correctly, there is an old pay scale and a new pay scale for air traffic controllers. The new pay scale is 30-40% lower than the old pay scale. Out of school, you'll probably start making ~40k.

 

Don't count your chickens so fast. I have a friend who finished air traffic control school, and scored a 97 on his exam. This was over 2.5 years ago. The wait list for placement is LONG, especially if you want to stay in your own state. We are in NY, and he has a choice of 5 airports, and still nothing. The starting salary is also not 109k, and they don't make overtime due to FAA regulations. It is a good job, but very stressful. Make SURE you get above 85 on your exam. If you do not, take it again. Don't bother trying to get a job with anything less than an 85. Your name will be at the bottom of the pile....a very large pile, for a VERY long time. Do well on it, I can't stress this enough. However, it would be wise for you to get a job while you wait to be called. Waiter, car wash guy at the dealer, whatever, since you might be waiting for a while.

 

good info, even at $40k for start id settle not really after it for the money just would like to be in with the airlines since i already have pilot license and it was between this and mechanic and id rather not get dirty all day (thats what the s2k is for ) I didnt know/expect the wait to be that long just for the fact you have to retire after 20 years or whatever it is for the FAA figured theyd always be hiring due to that and the fact that not many as far as i know go for this field because of stress. I dont mind moving though the fiance will be in grad school soon so she can do that wherever.

 

In a perfect world you'd work part time to pay for school so you can leave debt free. Most people get loans and try to work it off.

I think the problem with this type of training is it's too specialized. What do you do with it if you cannot find work? Why not join the mechanical core of the military so you never see combat?

Frankly I wouldn't investment my personal time/money into such limited training. The industry is going to be rocked in the coming years with the economics of air travel in flux right now. I would seek a more rounded education that had multiple options. Being trained for one job gets people into hot water.

You see them complaining later in life "this is all I know how to do" and "they shipped my job overseas, I cannot believe it".

I forsee a day when traffic controllers are not based state by state, but rather in larger regional hubs, with only a few people at the airports for the last few miles. I see a world where more computer work is done with less human involvement. If you consider what a traffic controller does, it could be replaced right now by a complex computer system.

While we'll likely always have a real person looking at a radar screen, they might only be looking at screens with trouble issues. IE managing 10-20 sectors at once. In effect you could be training yourself for a job that is not around in 20 years. And before you get all excited at your age saying they'll all be there, do your research on all the jobs that were around 50 years ago that don't exist today.

Whatever you train yourself in, make sure it opens many doors for you.

 

awesome info Rob-2! I have since moved on to aircraft mechanic although thinking about going the route of a commercial pilot, I have flight time as a single engine pilot so i may want to pursue that. Honestly that may put me in the same boat as traffic control with the limit of jobs.

 

You may go before you have to pay off your loan.

 

Keep your options open. Learn what you can and follow what you love.