So I wanted to get everyone's advice on what you would do. I have been at a facility for 6 years we have had 7 hard ships 1 person quit and go back DOD. 1 or 2 more potential hard ships and 1 maybe going to N90. Plus 1 or 2 more trying to go DOD. We haven't received any new trainees in 8 months. Our tanning program here is about 1.81 year or more, if you ask me that is crazy. I have received an offer to go DOD. Should I take the risk of leaving the agency in the hopes of reinstatement? or stay where I am at with no hopes of career progression for many many years? What would you all do? Please help
Advice???
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jdatc
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If you go DOD and come back what will your FERS contribution be? Same? If you are going to end up paying more for retirement, suck it up and tough it out or go N90 (if you realistically think you could make it). If you can go DOD, Aren’t super old and think there is a chance you could get back, why not if you are fed up?
Then again, 6 years at a facility isn’t that long in the course of a 25-30year career....
It is if u don't want to go through 4 facilities to MAYBE get to where u want ?
breakaway2000
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I would double check this, but the 4.9% people now have to contribute to FERS is based on the date you were originally hired. You should have no issue retaining your rate as you go DOD and potentially back to the FAA. As this could potentially turn into a large sum of money each year (as I'm assuming you're currently contributing .8-1.3%), please double check with HR.
In terms of negatives, there's not a whole lot (besides potentially adding a few more moves in your life). You continue all of your federal benefits and perhaps most importantly, your age remains locked. You can continue to apply to prior experience bids or CPC reinstatement up until you turn 56. The only true negative I can come up with off the top of my head is the loss in seniority.
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As long as there’s no break in service nothing pay/benefit related changes. Any credit hour balance is paid out, everything else transfers. Most aren’t, but There are DoD towers in NATCA so you would not even lose seniority time if you go to one of them.
I would make the decision with the assumption that you will stay DoD. Unfortunately there’s a lot of scumbags within FAA and NATCA who feel they are the gatekeepers and use what influence or power they have to impose their personal agendas regardless of the situation.
If your life will be better in the new circumstances, take it and then go from there. If being in the FAA is more important than the reasons you want to leave, don’t leave.
I would make the decision with the assumption that you will stay DoD. Unfortunately there’s a lot of scumbags within FAA and NATCA who feel they are the gatekeepers and use what influence or power they have to impose their personal agendas regardless of the situation.
If your life will be better in the new circumstances, take it and then go from there. If being in the FAA is more important than the reasons you want to leave, don’t leave.
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omnivector
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I left the government entirely, but HR made it sound like I'd come back at my old FERS rate but also didn't sound super familiar with what I was asking. Are they wrong? The FERS contributions are so high these days that I'd almost take an opt-out of the whole pension program and just pocket the money
I was at a 6 for almost 2 years. Our program was taking an average of 4yrs to qualify. I decided I would not spend 6 years at a place I really hated. I quit in 2013. Was so disgusted with everything I didn't even apply for the FAA or do ATC. I just got CIL for the prior experience bid in March. If you are unhappy and the FAA will not work for you. LEAVE and come back later. The FAA works for some people. We had people fail just to leave. We had one threaten to quit and they got a transfer. I threaten to quit, they tried to call my bluff. So I quit. And I do not regret leaving that place.
Do you have another way to make decent money? Are you youngish? If yes to both, I would get out and not give it a second thought. I would absolutely attempt a hardship first though. If it's denied and you end up quitting anyway there is now zero explanation you have to do on why you left other than the event your denied hardship was for.
Please keep posts on topic
The FAA and the union need suckers to work at the awful towers now that ncept is here. I'd suggest not being one of these people. The one thing that makes working at these places bearable, an eventual guaranteed release date, has been taken away in a huge part by natca. You can stay as long as you want but I'd be surprised if you don't get fed up with watching all the new academy grads get facilities that are worlds better than where you work with fast career advancement awaiting them.
Thank you all for the advise another question to follow up with
I am not sure how this DOD 30% supplement pay works
If I am making base pay with FAA at $60,908
Going to a location were the locality pay is 22.64 percent what GS 11 step should I receive for pay
They are stating GS step 2
I don’t know how this works
If you all know please let me know
I am not sure how this DOD 30% supplement pay works
If I am making base pay with FAA at $60,908
Going to a location were the locality pay is 22.64 percent what GS 11 step should I receive for pay
They are stating GS step 2
I don’t know how this works
If you all know please let me know
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Im familiar with the situation at MLU and while it sucks as do most situations at the small level facilities regarding staffing, you going DoD is not fixing the solution. The facts are this, some people are going to have to suck it up until growing pains of the NCEPT process are over. My low level facility did it and the 3 Hardships and 1 Dod transfer certainly didn't help. As long as the culture is running away from the problem instead of persevering through it, the FAA gonna be in the same predicament when you come back. just my 2 cents
The 30% supplement is in lieu of locality pay, you do not get both.
jdatc
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Is the DOD retirement the same? Does the supplement factor into your retirement calculation?
Also, what is the highest paid DOD facility then? When I started we had a guy go back to DOD, but it wasn’t very common back then.
CaptainObvious
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Highest I’ve seen that wasn’t a management GS13 position was right around 90k
Yes, retirement is the same and yes the 30% is included in retirement. It’s not necessarily a supplement, the SSR is a special salary rate.
Yes GS 13 is the highest barring management, however you’d be hard pressed to get a 13 out of the gate. It’s more typical that you’d get an 11 or 12 with the opportunity for promotion possibly to a 13.
Also, keep in mind, not every DOD facility receives SSR, and if they do, tower only positions get 25% and those that work approach receive 30%.
Facilities that don’t receive SSR, receive locality. I think for the most part all Air Force and Marine Corps facilities get it, the navy only had a few that do, and I’m not too sure about Army ATCers.
Facilities that don’t receive SSR, receive locality. I think for the most part all Air Force and Marine Corps facilities get it, the navy only had a few that do, and I’m not too sure about Army ATCers.
rugbydog11
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But they can go for a year, and get picked up on a prior experience bid straight to F11 or something that they actually want. Not wait for 3 years still at MLU, in hopes that NCEPT does somehow play out for them to be happy.
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