Air traffic control degree

[Ilovebananas]

Hello everyone, I'm new on this forum and wanted to know if a air traffic control degree is a good investment. Would you recommend it? Thx

 

[Olympus]

I'm not an expert but I think the prevailing opinion is that getting a degree from a CTI school is not worth it over getting a "regular" Bachelor's degree. If you go to CTI school you're essentially putting all your eggs into the ATC basket, and it's probably better to have a fallback option in case ATC doesn't work out. Getting in as an off-the-street (OTS) hire is a perfectly valid option.

 

[AnyTrafficPleaseAdvise]

I recommend getting a degree in something aviation related like aviation management or safety. It’ll give you a base general knowledge of aviation, but will allow you to gain skills you can use outside of air traffic control. I had academy friends with Embry-Riddle air traffic degrees fail the academy and now have $100,000+ debt with no real skills they can use outside of air traffic.

 

[UtahBeach]

You can see the entire industry is going into a slump. I would get a degree in something useful outside of aviation. You might need a fallback plan.

 

[spider]

It’s fantastic as long as you actually get the job and equally as important: certify.

Have a backup plan and as someone said above, make sure your backup plan isn’t aviation right now.

 

[JNev]

I did CTI and don't regret it, but you can't do it right now. Until they change it to the way it should be (and probably never will), you simply cannot put your eggs in that basket when you absolutely do not have to. I would explore other passions and just keep applying to public bids or go military if you're dead set on ATC

 

[Shikaka]

Get a logistics degree, big market for jobs and high pay. ATC is by no means close to guarenteed enough to warrant the debt. Half my academy class failed, 3 of 5 at my first facility failed...

 

[squawkIFR]

Hello everyone, I'm new on this forum and wanted to know if a air traffic control degree is a good investment. Would you recommend it? Thx

It’s basically a must have. The people at my facility with degrees in ATC are amongst the elite of the elite. JK don’t waste yo money.

 

[kshaky]

This is a tough question to answer especially now as the hiring rule has changed (that is the 10% rule being eliminated). I am currently going through the academy without a CTI degree. In theory, previously one had a decent chance of making it in without a CTI degree. It took me two years and I had likely 5 more chances to apply. Going forward who knows if they will hire as many off the street candidates as before especially as hiring numbers are projected to decrease. I discovered ATC after I had already graduated college, but if it were me I would only pursue a CTI degree if I was 100% I wanted to be a controller and/or work in aviation. If you do decide to do it have a backup plan as others have mentioned such as becoming an aircraft dispatcher.

 

[TreeFowerFife]

I don't recommend it. I'm CTI, finished academy in January and have been at my first facility for a month now. This job is purely aptitude based - you can't buy aptitude. CTI school just gives you a taste of what to expect, but doesn't teach you if you will be a good controller. My college years were valuable for the college experience alone and the personal growth you attain, but not for the piece of paper I walked away with.. my 2 cents

 

[PushingTin]

don't do it. not worth it. you cant even control your own fate as far as what facility you go to. waste of money. obviously if you have a crystal ball that said youd be somewhere you want to be and certified in X amount of years it would then be worth it... but most of that is out of your control and your 6 figure degree could literally hang on an arbitrary thin subjective line of whether or not your evaluator is having a good day or not.

I also love bananas, but theyre getting harder to find.

 

[Flo]

I wouldnt solely get an ATC degree. I would recommend doing it as a minor if thats possible (thats what i did)... if you really wanted to. The truth is that basics teaches you more than what you will probably learn in college. If you get in, just make sure you go to basics and there you will learn what you need to know to be successful.

 

[Electricfence]

i agree with what most people have said, get a degree that could be useful if you ultimately don't get placed in ATC and it doesn't really equate to the working environment .but then again most degrees don't.

However there is hope, if you read the other posts and see all the babies crying, you'll get to go to whatever facility you want based on all the resignations that will be coming.

 

[Robert_Boucher]

On the plus side if you do get a degree in ATC you can use the diploma as TP in case there's another shortage.

 

[TheDerp]

I wouldnt solely get an ATC degree. I would recommend doing it as a minor if thats possible (thats what i did)... if you really wanted to. The truth is that basics teaches you more than what you will probably learn in college. If you get in, just make sure you go to basics and there you will learn what you need to know to be successful.

My buddy did that. Got his accountant degree and minored in ATC. Unfortunately when we were in last semester. April of 2019 there were issues since the policy changed with using minor as cti graduated but it worked out well for him, he is now in ZAN. But i do recommend getting degree in aviation management or something else but just ATC.

 

[flypilot]

I just graduated with a CTI degree and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It's a really fun degree. However I definitely agree with others in that it is useless outside of aviation.

I did it knowing that I either wanted to fly or do controlling so I got my ppl and instrument during it. I was essentially working towards both and whichever happened first is what I would do. Ultimately I got picked up in the 2019 bid. If I fail the academy I have a head start on getting into the airlines, and they dont require specific degrees, just any degree.

So if you're okay with putting all your eggs in one basket like someone above said, then yeah go for it. It's a ton of fun. However, I personally wouldn't recommend it. You could get a CTI degree and age out before you ever get hired. Now you have a paperweight of a degree. And I do know a guy who had that happen to him.