It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine when I see posts asking about ATC in the guard and if it’s easier to get hired that way.
Long story short: I’m guard ATC and I just got picked up after 5 years of applying... OTS bid too, not like I could apply for the prior exp bids anyway.
Here is my long story explanation:
The guard is great for school money, serving your country/state, and getting a shot at “trying it before you buy it” with air traffic. If you want to do it, be honest with yourself about the military aspect of it. You will still be expected to perform all military service like all the men and women you serve with.
Now that we established that you’re 100% good with military service for 4-6 years and you really want to do it... here is some good knowledge I wish someone told me: You’ll spend 1-1.5yrs in basic training, tech school, and OJT. It’s good training, you’ll make some good friends and it’ll change your life. That being said, you cannot put military training on hold if you get hired by the FAA... Military comes first. So you’re gonna delay entry to the agency by at least that timeframe.
Note that the prior experience bids call for 52 weeks POST- Certification FULL TIME experience. That means AFTER you get rated at your base, you’ll need to pick up a full time slot (AGR, DOD Technician, etc.) for a continuous 52+ weeks. Personally, I did 2 years of AGR and Technician. However, mine was broken into 6-8months at a time. So while it was “consecutive” the FAA did not deem that as 52weeks.
The guard will allow you to put down on the application that you have CTOs, RAPCON, etc. whatever facility ratings you manage to get in the mean time. You’ll also earn the ability to skip AT basics (I recently opted to not skip as it’s been 5 years since I did school. Figure a few weeks of classroom won’t hurt).
Lastly, if you get picked up and are doing the pre-screening for the agency: do not be disappointed when your country tells you to deploy. It’s the life you signed up for and the FAA will hold your spot, you’re just gonna wait a little longer.
I’m not trying to discourage you or sway your opinion, I’m just giving you all the information that I have learned on my own. I wouldn’t trade my guard experience for anything, it has given me a great foundation in ATC that I can build off of. Just be smart in your decision and realize that you’re making a commitment to something bigger than your ambitions and dreams.
**Much love from the Middle East**
-PW
(Message me if y’all have any questions or anything)