2 job offers - need advice

[32andBelow]

I don't think she's looking for just money guys. ok I have to say that I don't know what people are smokin but ATC don't actually get paid a lot! I don't know why everybody is thinking that. people who work at tech companies, large corps, etc gets paid A LOT more than ATC lol. and some people who do less demanding/stressful office jobs get about the same if not more than some ATC folks. yes, for people without degrees it looks a lot but for successfully educated people not really. even youtubers make more than ATC, sorry.

They get paid a lot compared to a flight attendant.

 

[N90-EWR]

Seriously? I'm having a hard time trying to comprehend how anyone would even hesitate for one second to take an ATC job because of an offer to be an FA.

Then again, anyone that doesn't have ATC as their one and only career goal, probably shouldn't be an ATC. Go take the FA job, and leave the ATC job for somebody that truly wants it!

I don't think she's looking for just money guys. ok I have to say that I don't know what people are smokin but ATC don't actually get paid a lot! I don't know why everybody is thinking that. people who work at tech companies, large corps, etc gets paid A LOT more than ATC lol. and some people who do less demanding/stressful office jobs get about the same if not more than some ATC folks. yes, for people without degrees it looks a lot but for successfully educated people not really. even youtubers make more than ATC, sorry.

Not all ATC jobs are paid the same. Yes, there's other jobs that pay more, but how many jobs out there that have the pay and benefits of an ATC job don't require a college degree? or even a masters? A lot of the guys I worked with at N90 were hired either directly from the Air Force, or off the street (I was off the street) and nothing more than a high school diploma. I was grossing over 300k a year (with overtime) for my last 5 years on the job (well over 200k for the last 15). Took early retirement with a near 6 figure pension. There is no FA job in the world that can even come close to that.

I have a highly educated wife that has a masters degree and is an HR executive at a very large national laboratory, and after 25 years of work experience, and grinding through the corporate ladder she's finally getting close to catching up to my last year as active ATC salary. I know a lot of people with degrees that are just barely over 6 figures, and they're working for big companies.

If the OP has a useful bacherlors or masters, sure....there's likely other high paying opportunities out there, but if not........ I highly doubt that a better opportunity will come up. Certainly not as an FA.

 

[Conflicted in Aviation]

I have a BS degree in marketing. I just don’t want a desk job and hate the soul-sucking 9-5. Ideally, I could do both ATC/FA jobs but the FAA prohibits dual-employment :/

 

[Robert_Boucher]

I have a BS degree in marketing. I just don’t want a desk job and hate the soul-sucking 9-5. Ideally, I could do both ATC/FA jobs but the FAA prohibits dual-employment :/

They actually don't prohibit dual employment, in some locations people have to get a second job just to make ends meet. In your situation the FAA would allow you to be an FA because it's a conflict of interest. They wouldn't want you giving special treat to whatever airline you work for.

 

[Conflicted in Aviation]

They actually don't prohibit dual employment, in some locations people have to get a second job just to make ends meet. In your situation the FAA would allow you to be an FA because it's a conflict of interest. They wouldn't want you giving special treat to whatever airline you work for.

Makes sense. For academy training, you cannot be dual-employed. So that’s why I assumed ATCs can’t be dual-employed either

 

[Mike Kilo]

Do you have a class date yet? If not you might as well start the FA and see how you like it. Maybe you’ll hate it and it will be an easy choice. If you do have a class date I would probably let ATC play out through the academy and hold off on the FA which you can probably reapply to down the road. Letting academy play out will at least show you where you would start your career and whether enroute or tower. Don’t like any locations on the list you can just bow out and hit up the FA again.

 

[Conflicted in Aviation]

Do you have a class date yet? If not you might as well start the FA and see how you like it. Maybe you’ll hate it and it will be an easy choice. If you do have a class date I would probably let ATC play out through the academy and hold off on the FA which you can probably reapply to down the road. Letting academy play out will at least show you where you would start your career and whether enroute or tower. Don’t like any locations on the list you can just bow out and hit up the FA again.

I was completely cleared for the Academy in October. I am still waiting for an academy date. Those who were cleared in March 2021 are just now getting to the academy in November/December 2021.

So I am thinking I won’t go to the academy until late spring or summer 2022. I could be wrong.

Hired by the legacy airline on 11/8/21. Flight attendant training would be 12/6/21. Graduation in late January 2022

I am also scared of failing the Academy and being back at zero, I’m not worried about passing FA training. I’m sure it has its challenges, but it is far more passable than ATC.

 

[Mike Kilo]

I was completely cleared for the Academy in October. I am still waiting for an academy date. Those who were cleared in March 2021 are just now getting to the academy in November/December 2021.

So I am thinking I won’t go to the academy until late spring or summer 2022. I could be wrong.

Hired by the legacy airline on 11/8/21. Flight attendant training would be 12/6/21. Graduation in late January 2022

I am also scared of failing the Academy and being back at zero, I’m not worried about passing FA training. I’m sure it has its challenges, but it is far more passable than ATC.

So you could potentially have 5 months of FA experience to judge by the time an academy date comes along.

 

[Robert_Boucher]

Yeah I'd go with FA since you've got a date set and it seems like your almost guaranteed to graduate. If think it's worth risking your FA job for a shot at the FA down the road then make that call. I personally wouldn't risk a dream job just for a shot with the FAA if you aren't 100% into it.

Edit to add I just remembered I had a guy in my class that was an FA at the time and the airline let him take a leave of absence then he quit when he passed the FAA. Maybe that's an option for you, he was at a regional airline if it makes a difference.

 

[steakvendor]

Don't want to be identified on here -- using a throwaway.

Hi everyone,

I'm so conflicted and really don't know what to do.

I am pending an Academy class date, I am from the Jan 2020 bid.

I also just got hired to be a flight attendant with a major/legacy airline.

I never thought I would get both of these opportunities in just a few short months.

Both roles are so different and I'm not sure what would make me happier.

any thoughts?

Be aware that you’re asking for input on an ATC forum, so you’re going to get quite a bias here.

 

[guillorec]

You're asking a forum of air traffic controllers if you should be an ATC or FA. Naturally everyone here is going to be pro-ATC. I'll give some downsides of ATC that no one likes to talk about and pros for FA/airline career.

ATC might be great money and benefits, if you're lucky enough to get en route or go to a tower you can easily transfer out of. There's a very real possibility of being stuck in bumfuck low-level tower for most of your career. You'll work nights and weekends for the majority of your career no matter what. Guys have worked for the agency for 20 years and can't get weekends off. Your family/social life will suffer, it's a fact and you can't do anything about it (although this won't be much different as an FA). It's not always easy to swap to the shifts you need. Generally work environments are toxic. "Banter" is all good and fun but in an agency with zero accountability, discrimination is rampant with persistent homophobia, racism, etc. Management pretends not to hear these comments so they don't have to do anything about it.

Being an FA, you'll make a lot less money but you can live anywhere you want. Flight benefits are severely underrated. Travel anywhere in the world, take day trips anywhere on your days off. When I was at the airlines we routinely took day trips to bermuda, Florida, weekend trips to Europe. First class across the country for $30. You'll never be able to have that experience as ATC. Yeah maybe if you get a level 12 in a cheap area of living you can afford to take cool trips, but only a couple times a year when you get leave approved. No such thing as spontaneous trips like that.

That “toxic work environment “ comment is so spot on but rarely mentioned

 

[SkyPapi]

I was completely cleared for the Academy in October. I am still waiting for an academy date. Those who were cleared in March 2021 are just now getting to the academy in November/December 2021.

So I am thinking I won’t go to the academy until late spring or summer 2022. I could be wrong.

Hired by the legacy airline on 11/8/21. Flight attendant training would be 12/6/21. Graduation in late January 2022

I am also scared of failing the Academy and being back at zero, I’m not worried about passing FA training. I’m sure it has its challenges, but it is far more passable than ATC.

I’m also preemployment, so I don’t have any actual insight on the job itself. That being said, this is likely your one opportunity to pursue air traffic control. I’m not saying getting an offer as an FA is easy, but I’m certain that you could find another job if things didn’t work out at OKC, especially with the training you’ll have in your pocket by the time a class date comes around.

It makes sense to accept your offer for FA at this time. By the time your offer materializes with the FAA, you should have at least a couple months of experience under your belt to determine whether or not FA is all its cracked up to be. Your offer will also include your track, so if career trajectory is a big concern, you can make your decisions accordingly when the time comes.

For what it’s worth, I have an okay desk job right now. I didn’t necessarily have dreams of being an engineering technician or anything, but it’s about as good as it gets for someone with my credentials. While the prospect of going to OKC and failing is certainly a concern, I think the FOMO from playing it safe would induce overwhelming regret.

Either way, best of luck.

 

[Spaceforce]

That “toxic work environment “ comment is so spot on but rarely mentioned

If you ever bring it up, you’re a snowflake. I’d say that is the worst thing about this job vs the schedule

 

[TushingPin]

If you ever bring it up, you’re a snowflake. I’d say that is the worst thing about this job vs the schedule

people sleeping on the overall stress of the job. Majority of controllers dont have a problem controlling it/handling it, but its there. Always there.

 

[Conflicted in Aviation]

So someone from my bid was just notified by his/her HR rep to look out for a March 2022 class date.

I cleared before him.

FA training graduation would be late Jan 2022.


I am considering going to FA training and then requesting a "personal leave of absence".
Probation is 6 months long. They grant up to 6 months for personal leave.

However, there is no guarantee of approval. If they approve it, I'd use that leave to go to the Academy and see what happens. If I fail Academy, then I can request to return back to "active duty" for the airline.

Is this unnecessary? Am I doing too much lol.


Ideally, I would complete the 6 months probation with the airline, become a permanent employee, and then request leave and go to the Academy. I would really appreciate not having to go through the hiring process with the airline all over again. 40k applicants, only 1k are being hired.

However, I have no idea and no hope that the Academy would hold out an offer for me and let me go to the Academy in July/August 2022.


ugh

 

[Phanatical]

I would talk to HR, but I do not believe the agency allows dual employment while at the academy. Also, it’s generally very difficult (not impossible) to have outside aviation employment approved by management in general, even if you would be on leave status.

 

[Mike Kilo]

So someone from my bid was just notified by his/her HR rep to look out for a March 2022 class date.

I cleared before him.

FA training graduation would be late Jan 2022.


I am considering going to FA training and then requesting a "personal leave of absence".
Probation is 6 months long. They grant up to 6 months for personal leave.

However, there is no guarantee of approval. If they approve it, I'd use that leave to go to the Academy and see what happens. If I fail Academy, then I can request to return back to "active duty" for the airline.

Is this unnecessary? Am I doing too much lol.


Ideally, I would complete the 6 months probation with the airline, become a permanent employee, and then request leave and go to the Academy. I would really appreciate not having to go through the hiring process with the airline all over again. 40k applicants, only 1k are being hired.

However, I have no idea and no hope that the Academy would hold out an offer for me and let me go to the Academy in July/August 2022.


ugh

Do the FA gig to start and see when you get a date when you applied doesn’t necessarily relate to your date as we have seen. The FAA has also allowed people to push their dates back.

 

[Conflicted in Aviation]

Do the FA gig to start and see when you get a date when you applied doesn’t necessarily relate to your date as we have seen. The FAA has also allowed people to push their dates back.

I would like to ask the FAA for a delayed start date. However, how far back of a delay will they grant me?

If they ask why, I'm sure I can't say "oh I have a FA offer on the table and I want it as a back-up in case I fail the Academy."

I'm sure that's a conflict of interest, isn't it?

 

[Mike Kilo]

I would like to ask the FAA for a delayed start date. However, how far back of a delay will they grant me?

If they ask why, I'm sure I can't say "oh I have a FA offer on the table and I want it as a back-up in case I fail the Academy."

I'm sure that's a conflict of interest, isn't it?

I think you mean a family obligation ?. People talk all the time about delaying just to attend a wedding that’s not even their own lol.

 

[Balls2/H]

I would like to ask the FAA for a delayed start date. However, how far back of a delay will they grant me?

If they ask why, I'm sure I can't say "oh I have a FA offer on the table and I want it as a back-up in case I fail the Academy."

I'm sure that's a conflict of interest, isn't it?

I know of several others that asked for a June-July star because of their kid being in school and there was zero proof required