Hiring Bid Air Traffic Control Specialist - Trainee: FAA-ATO-17-ALLSRCE-53474

  • Thread starter Thread starter MJ
  • Start date Start date
JBabs said:
On that note, for someone who is OTS with no experience whatsoever, would it be beneficial or hurtful to use an online ATC simulator prior to going to the academy? I was using one where you just type the basic commands such as speed, heading, altitude and clearance to land/takeoff. It doesn't involve phraseology so there's really no need to worry about learning wrong phrases to say. I was thinking it could be beneficial to just get an idea of patterns and handling volume? Honestly I feel like its great to work with for nerves/confidence. Good idea or best to leave it alone?
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I'm a strong supporter of doing anything over nothing. Learning/getting comfortable with different headings/altitudes will have some carry over when it comes to vectoring. The thing that will benefit you the most for that type of game is simply getting comfortable executing given commands with regards to volume/stress. At it's core, this is what separates the majority of people who pass or fail the academy. Can you continue to issue proper, timely commands as the stress and volume increase? Like I mentioned early, everyone leaves the academy knowing what to do, it all comes down to if you can do it under stress and the different distractions additional volume brings.

I would also encourage anyone who is waiting, especially the OTS candidates, to schedule a tour at your closest FAA facility (Terminal if you're terminal, enroute if you're enroute). Anyone can use the three digit identifier (MCO, ATL, ZSE, etc) in the search bar. You'll be able to find the phone number for the facility there to call and schedule a tour. Sit down on position with someone and watch them, talk with the controllers, see what the end result is and what this job is all about. I fell in love with this career after taking a tour and every day at the academy I still had that memory of what I was working so hard for. Being able to see it first hand will help you to visually what you're working for and hopefully create an additional passion to help you get through the long wait from TOL to academy.
 
Anyone else feel as if you didn't do very well on the ATSA?

Distinguishing what side the plane was facing was a piece of cake.

Determining the difference between two numbers... easy.

Solving for A B or C was also very simple to me.

Now, when we're talking about figuring out what order people are in based on a paragraph and you only have one minute to decipher it.

Or, trying not to crash planes whilst solving math problems.... yep, I don't think I did very well.

BUT I must not have done as poorly as I thought considering I got a TOL.

Anybody else feel that way or am I just very hard on myself?
 
Md328 said:
Anyone else feel as if you didn't do very well on the ATSA?

Distinguishing what side the plane was facing was a piece of cake.

Determining the difference between two numbers... easy.

Solving for A B or C was also very simple to me.

Now, when we're talking about figuring out what order people are in based on a paragraph and you only have one minute to decipher it.

Or, trying not to crash planes whilst solving math problems.... yep, I don't think I did very well.

BUT I must not have done as poorly as I thought considering I got a TOL.

Anybody else feel that way or am I just very hard on myself?
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Yep I feel the same exact way. I am starting to question whether or not I did well enough to get a TOL. I am OTS and this was my first time applying and testing so that makes it a lot more nerve wrecking for me.
 
Md328 said:
Anyone else feel as if you didn't do very well on the ATSA?

Distinguishing what side the plane was facing was a piece of cake.

Determining the difference between two numbers... easy.

Solving for A B or C was also very simple to me.

Now, when we're talking about figuring out what order people are in based on a paragraph and you only have one minute to decipher it.

Or, trying not to crash planes whilst solving math problems.... yep, I don't think I did very well.

BUT I must not have done as poorly as I thought considering I got a TOL.

Anybody else feel that way or am I just very hard on myself?
Click to expand...

I feel like I just read an entry from my diary.
 
How many collisions did you guys get? I don't know exactly how many I got, but it felt like a lot. TOL received. And yet I didn't get one last year when I think my chances were higher.
 
NewComer said:
Yep I feel the same exact way. I am starting to question whether or not I did well enough to get a TOL. I am OTS and this was my first time applying and testing so that makes it a lot more nerve wrecking for me.
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I applied to last years bid but I didn't pass the biographical assessment.

I'm OTS too. Don't give up hope, it's still REALLY early in the waiting game.
 
S Bart said:
How many collisions did you guys get? I don't know exactly how many I got, but it felt like a lot. TOL received. And yet I didn't get one last year when I think my chances were higher.
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I had several. I swear it was to the point I was guessing at the math problems just so I wasn't crashing planes.
 
I mentioned this back in October, but at one point i accidentally nudged the 0 key at the start of a round and every single plane on the screen collided. Was a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach for the rest of the test, still got a tol
 
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If you think about it in a different aspect; The FAA doesn’t expect you to be perfect at problem solving, that’s nearly impossible with the amount of information being presented to you during the ATSA. What they’re looking for is a high level of aptitude and a willingness to screw up and still continue solving the problem.
 
Does anyone have an idea of when we will receive CILs? Also are we thinking we will leave for Oak City this year if everything goes smoothly? Just trying to get a timeline...Im getting married this fall so lots of planning 🙂
 
I'm pool 2 with a TOL. My ATSA experience was practicing for about 20 hours in the simulator first. Clearly gives you a leg up vs people not doing that. I estimate I had 4-5 total collisions in the collision sector, usually because they were happening so fast and the math problems seemed to really disappear at an alarming rate. The word problems I would guess I answered 50% correctly. Easily the most difficult portion. I'm wondering how key the bio Q was at the end, I think I was pretty good at keeping my "attributes" prioritized. Did not have a problem with the A/B=C, Eyeball on plane, or differences. I was really really flying through the differences I answered a ton of those, I wonder if that mattered at all.

Also very curious to the poster who said he switched to En-route. My assigned HR rep won't return my call, I don't want to be annoying but if this is possible I'd like to make the switch before it's too late. Who should I be contacting for this? Did I just get a bad/busy rep?
 
REBECCA said:
Does anyone have an idea of when we will receive CILs? Also are we thinking we will leave for Oak City this year if everything goes smoothly? Just trying to get a timeline...Im getting married this fall so lots of planning 🙂
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I messaged my HR rep and they said they couldn't tell us when the CIL letters were coming out but said "It shouldn't be long after TOL confirmation" so from what I have seen it ranges from 2 weeks since TOL to 6 months but, i'm seeing most people getting them about a month after on average. Then you usually take the MMPI-2 in the first week and your medical in the first couple weeks if you pass through with no issues then its usually 2-4 month between getting your FOL and class date which is usually a month out. If you are deemed tier 2 from the mmpi then you have to go through alot of secondary evaluations to finally get a class date but most people still get through it just takes twice as long.
 
What is it that makes people seem to want enroute more? I'm a Terminal TOL and perfectly fine with it, I like the additional flexibility in terms of destinations.
 
Pay is based on traffic there are 24 ARTCC and 100’s of towers most don’t exceed a level 6 while the centers are almost all 10 and above. Some towers pay better then centers but they are at the busy international airports and it’s a long wait to get to one.
 
Md328 said:
Anyone else feel as if you didn't do very well on the ATSA?

Distinguishing what side the plane was facing was a piece of cake.

Determining the difference between two numbers... easy.

Solving for A B or C was also very simple to me.

Now, when we're talking about figuring out what order people are in based on a paragraph and you only have one minute to decipher it.

Or, trying not to crash planes whilst solving math problems.... yep, I don't think I did very well.

BUT I must not have done as poorly as I thought considering I got a TOL.

Anybody else feel that way or am I just very hard on myself?
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Yes- I am now feeling like maybe I scored on the low end of “passing”. Still waiting for a TOL. Only time will tell...
 
Hitchcock said:
Pay is based on traffic there are 24 ARTCC and 100’s of towers most don’t exceed a level 6 while the centers are almost all 10 and above. Some towers pay better then centers but they are at the busy international airports and it’s a long wait to get to one.
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Can you elaborate on this? What's the wait/timeline like? I get that I'm gonna likely be at a say level 6-7 tower and CPC in 12-18 months, what kind of wait time do I have on getting into DIA? Are their additional qualifications I'd have to obtain before being considered? Is the wait long because everyone else is vying for those spots too? I guess I'm confused how you go from a level 6 to a 10+
 
REBECCA said:
Does anyone have an idea of when we will receive CILs? Also are we thinking we will leave for Oak City this year if everything goes smoothly? Just trying to get a timeline...Im getting married this fall so lots of planning 🙂
Click to expand...

I am getting married in October and I got a TOL as well!
 

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