2 job offers - need advice

Pass travel is less of a benefit than it used to be with the airlines. As you know, most flights are very full the last 10-15 years, usually you’re better off buying a ticket else you hose up your whole trip getting bumped. And for me you’re comparing a job opening Cokes w little to no pension, to a career job, a profession.
Flight attendants are a little different cus they can occupy extra jumpseats. But still ATC is way better.

FA: work super long days but only get paid for the hours you are flying. Get paid less. Worse health care. Worse retirement. Worse schedule.
 
Flight attendants are a little different cus they can occupy extra jumpseats. But still ATC is way better.

FA: work super long days but only get paid for the hours you are flying. Get paid less. Worse health care. Worse retirement. Worse schedule.
Travel bennies, easier, mostly stress free work, plenty of opportunities to work in other jobs in the company once you have a foot in the door, ability to choose where you live and I'm guessing much easier to get time off without scheduling it a year in advance, not even seeing a weekend without scheduling it for decades, etc etc etc.

There's tradeoffs everywhere, and what's good for you may not he good for everyone. Not all controllers luck out and get put right in a lvl10-12 center in a city they want to live in.

I'm not about to quit and go sling peanuts, but I definitely get the appeal of that lifestyle, more so than people who think this job is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
 
Travel bennies, easier, mostly stress free work, plenty of opportunities to work in other jobs in the company once you have a foot in the door, ability to choose where you live and I'm guessing much easier to get time off without scheduling it a year in advance, not even seeing a weekend without scheduling it for decades, etc etc etc.

There's tradeoffs everywhere, and what's good for you may not he good for everyone. Not all controllers luck out and get put right in a lvl10-12 center in a city they want to live in.

I'm not about to quit and go sling peanuts, but I definitely get the appeal of that lifestyle, more so than people who think this job is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Before I worked in atc I worked for an airlines for like 6 years. It’s a decent job but atc blows it out of the water for pay and benefits. Also we can move around in the federal government if we want to. Few do tho. I’d recommend someone going straight into an admin job at an airline than start as an FA if they truly want to work for the airlines

Flight crews have vacation bids just like we do. And they have to bid their work schedules monthly I stead of yearly. And it takes years to build seniority just like us.
 
If the ATC money isn’t a big factor to wanting to be in ATC. I’d say take the job that will show you the world before you’re ready to stay in one spot you’ll call home one day. Sounds cheesy but having an opportunity to explore what many can’t for low cost is quite the opportunity.
 
ATC for money and flight attendant for fighting meth heads on a plane? You must be one of the #bestjobintheworld guys and a CNN paranoia subscriber guy.

The money might be a lot more comparable then you think if this person gets stuck in terminal and a level 5 or 6 facility for 10 years. The flight attendant job nets you free travel for life, but the schedule probably will suck the first 5 years.

I’m not saying ATC is not still the better overall package in most cases, but this question does not have a obvious answer and is a lot closer then 90% of people might think.
I can tell you are bothered.

Good.
 
Travel bennies, easier, mostly stress free work, plenty of opportunities to work in other jobs in the company once you have a foot in the door, ability to choose where you live and I'm guessing much easier to get time off without scheduling it a year in advance, not even seeing a weekend without scheduling it for decades, etc etc etc.

There's tradeoffs everywhere, and what's good for you may not he good for everyone. Not all controllers luck out and get put right in a lvl10-12 center in a city they want to live in.

I'm not about to quit and go sling peanuts, but I definitely get the appeal of that lifestyle, more so than people who think this job is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I hear Vance is hiring
 
Before I worked in atc I worked for an airlines for like 6 years. It’s a decent job but atc blows it out of the water for pay and benefits.
Not arguing this in the least bit. Its demonstrably true.

Also we can move around in the federal government if we want to.
Good luck with that if you hold purely a controller skill set.

Few do tho. I’d recommend someone going straight into an admin job at an airline than start as an FA if they truly want to work for the airlines
If you were young and had nothing tying you down that's debatable. Sounds like OP may be.

Flight crews have vacation bids just like we do. And they have to bid their work schedules monthly I stead of yearly.
Shit I'd rather bid monthly. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing 2 months from now, much less next year. That's one of my big gripes with this job. Spot leave denials wouldn't really be an issue if I could bid guaranteed leave or days off 4 weeks out instead of 40.

And it takes years to build seniority just like us.
I'm aware. Being potentially stuck at the bottom of your bumfuck facility for a decade before the ncept gods let you move is probably worse than anything the airlines offer.

I'm in no way saying being a FA is a good CAREER move, but for a young person whose priorities may not be grinding it out for that sweet retirement in 30 years, and instead enjoying thier 20s or early 30s before they are tied down with real responsibilities..... I dunno depends in thier priorities is all I'm saying, and a career in ATC is a big hindrance to life enjoyment at times, especially if you are stuck in bumfuck nowheresville where you don't want to be, can't get leave or a piece of the weekend , and can never leave making about what a level 5 or 6 controller makes....which is comparable to a FA at a Major airlines salary maybe that changes the tune a bit.

I hear Vance is hiring
Lmao I move my wife any more into the sticks than we already are I'm gonna be single again and looking into these FA gigs
 
Not arguing this in the least bit. Its demonstrably true.


Good luck with that if you hold purely a controller skill set.


If you were young and had nothing tying you down that's debatable. Sounds like OP may be.


Shit I'd rather bid monthly. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing 2 months from now, much less next year. That's one of my big gripes with this job. Spot leave denials wouldn't really be an issue if I could bid guaranteed leave or days off 4 weeks out instead of 40.


I'm aware. Being potentially stuck at the bottom of your bumfuck facility for a decade before the ncept gods let you move is probably worse than anything the airlines offer.

I'm in no way saying being a FA is a good CAREER move, but for a young person whose priorities may not be grinding it out for that sweet retirement in 30 years, and instead enjoying thier 20s or early 30s before they are tied down with real responsibilities..... I dunno depends in thier priorities is all I'm saying, and a career in ATC is a big hindrance to life enjoyment at times, especially if you are stuck in bumfuck nowheresville where you don't want to be, can't get leave or a piece of the weekend , and can never leave making about what a level 5 or 6 controller makes....which is comparable to a FA at a Major airlines salary maybe that changes the tune a bit.
I guess my point is is that atc is more of a one shot thing for many people so I wouldn’t recommend giving it up. Plus getting in young in ATC is so beneficial. I’ll never be number 1 in seniority cus there’s people younger then me that already have 5+ years.

If they picked atc and washed for whatever I think it’s a fine career path. I came kind of close to staying in airline over ATC and I’m so glad I didn’t do that.

Also if you want to work in a higher level airline job your available cities to live in are even less than atc. Way less. Flight crew can technically commute but it cuts into your off time. And it doesn’t really work when you just start out and you are always on reserve.

I’d be down to bid monthly. It’s a bit chaotic tho. Maybe quarterly or semi yearly for us would be good.
 
ATC for money and flight attendant for fighting meth heads on a plane? You must be one of the #bestjobintheworld guys and a CNN paranoia subscriber guy.

The money might be a lot more comparable then you think if this person gets stuck in terminal and a level 5 or 6 facility for 10 years. The flight attendant job nets you free travel for life, but the schedule probably will suck the first 5 years.

I’m not saying ATC is not still the better overall package in most cases, but this question does not have a obvious answer and is a lot closer then 90% of people might think.
Im at a level 5 but with a 5 years under the 6 pay scale. Base is 101k and with cip, differentials, and 100ish hours of OT I'll gross just shy of 130k. New CPCs here that are willing to work a little OT will gross about 105k. I've had Fri/Sat rdos for the last 3 years. Just wanted to share that life can be ok at a low level facility. My friend was a flight attendant and his pay sucked but he traveled alot.
Full disclosure: my commute is 50 minutes each way.
 
atc blows it out of the water for pay and benefits.
With two years of seniority a DAL flight attendant is making more per hour than I am, if this website is accurate.

Screen Shot 2021-11-10 at 14.50.13.png
Now they might not be earning night pay, or Sunday, or CIC, or anything else. And that's pay per flight hour, so you have to knock that number down a fair bit because they aren't going to be flying 160 hours a month. But I'm getting real sick of your myopic Center-only perspective... when you got D1 you were making more per hour than I am as a CPC right now. Not everyone has the opportunity to work at a high-level facility.

I guess my point is is that atc is more of a one shot thing for many people so I wouldn’t recommend giving it up.
Now this is very true, and I would support OP asking the airline if they can put the offer on ice while they give ATC a shot.
 
With two years of seniority a DAL flight attendant is making more per hour than I am, if this website is accurate.

View attachment 7068
Now they might not be earning night pay, or Sunday, or CIC, or anything else. And that's pay per flight hour, so you have to knock that number down a fair bit because they aren't going to be flying 160 hours a month. But I'm getting real sick of your myopic Center-only perspective... when you got D1 you were making more per hour than I am as a CPC right now. Not everyone has the opportunity to work at a high-level facility.


Now this is very true, and I would support OP asking the airline if they can put the offer on ice while they give ATC a shot.
Flight attendants only get paid for the hours they fly and they can only fly 1000 hours per year. With connections and stuff it’s possible to work like 10 hours ins. Day and only get paid for 4. Most flight crews get a monthly guarantee of pay around 70 hours. Also going straight into delta with no experience would be hard. Not impossible but hard. Way easier if you can speak a second language
 
OP here:

I just turned 28, no kids. Although it would be nice to have a family one day with the right person.

I have been wanting to be an FA since I was like 5 years old.

I was also interested in ATC but didnt apply until recently since I never thought I would be lucky enough to get hired. One of my good friends graduated from embry riddle with an ATC degree and she’s been trying to get picked up on a bid the last 5-6 years.
 
OP here:

I just turned 28, no kids. Although it would be nice to have a family one day with the right person.

I have been wanting to be an FA since I was like 5 years old.

I was also interested in ATC but didnt apply until recently since I never thought I would be lucky enough to get hired. One of my good friends graduated from embry riddle with an ATC degree and she’s been trying to get picked up on a bid the last 5-6 years.
If your 28 then try atc. Good chance this will be your only opportunity at it. And at your age you prolly won’t get another opportunity at a pension like this
 
All pretty accurate. Not that atc is a bad career, but there's way way too many people who think this is a dream job. It's really not.

It is for some of us. I’ve done the corporate world thing, I’ve done the trade school mechanic thing. One was soul sucking and one was back breaking. ATC is a dream job compared to lots of others out there, especially if you don’t have a degree.
 
Id say apply for both and give yourself sometime to think about it. To me it seems like the deciding factor may come down to travel lifestyle vs money. Either way go with what your dream job is.
 
It is for some of us. I’ve done the corporate world thing, I’ve done the trade school mechanic thing. One was soul sucking and one was back breaking. ATC is a dream job compared to lots of others out there, especially if you don’t have a degree.
Don't get me wrong best job I've ever had but it has warts people don't like acknowledging, and if you don't live eat and breath airplanes those warts grow tiresome and ugly coupled with the intangibles like facility climate and inability to move if thats what you want for your life. I just get tired of people screaming from the rooftops how great this job is, when the only thing really great about it is the pay, benefits and job security in comparison to the level of education you need to do the job. Sure those are nothing to hand waive away, but it's not everything when it comes to your day to day level of satisfaction.

Maybe I'm just jaded, who knows.
 
I got hired with both the FAA And a legacy
Gotcha yeah IDK it seems like being an FA is a dream job for you. The upside is there's no age limit to becoming an FA so you could apply again later if you want to pursue ATC. If I didn't have a merit based job at Delta I probably would've stayed the money was good and the profit sharing checks were real nice.
 
OP here:

I just turned 28, no kids. Although it would be nice to have a family one day with the right person.

I have been wanting to be an FA since I was like 5 years old.

I was also interested in ATC but didnt apply until recently since I never thought I would be lucky enough to get hired. One of my good friends graduated from embry riddle with an ATC degree and she’s been trying to get picked up on a bid the last 5-6 years.
It seems your passion is FA. I think deep down you know the answer. I wouldn't read too much of what others are saying it will only confuse you. It's all subjective. You need to ask yourself what makes YOU happy? What is important to you? Do some elimination and you will get there.
 
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.
 
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