Hiring Bid Air Traffic Control Specialist - Trainee: FAA-ATO-18-ALLSRCE-57792
- Thread starter MJ
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- ZLA Los Angeles Center
I just ordered mines today, digitally and printed copy.
RedRedApril8
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I’ve got about 3 weeks left. I’d say the thing that makes it really tough is the amount of time you have to learn information. Everything builds off of the next and if you don’t understand something, you need to make sure you know it before class the next day or you will be left behind. At the end of the day, everything really comes down to final radar evals and all of the academic tests and even non radar evals are worth a pretty small amount of points.
Also, it seams basics is brought up on here a lot as being a cake walk. It is by far some of the dryest and mind numbing material, but if you don’t study you won’t pass. For the 3+ months I’ve been here it sounds like quite a few classes have lost someone in basics. I don’t think I could rank it on a scale yet, I’ll get back to you in a few weeks lol
denver0739
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I would agree with what was said about basics. It is easy information and all the tests so far are multiple choice. My class is about a week and a half away from end of course(the only test that really matters in basics) and honestly, you’ve gotta try and keep the info fresh so some studying will want to be done.
bigshotscott
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You will have to study each week in basics if you want to pass. You'll get a new book each week of the five weeks you're there and then be able to retain any of the main (and sometimes minor) bullet points from any page. I studied pretty damn hard for the final basics test. Like RedRed said, it is dryyyy stuff but you've got no choice but to cram it into your head.
Crossing the street is fun, you feel sort of important...then they hit you with more mind numbing book material. It won't hurt to get a little head start on learning the map in basics, it helped me. I don't know how others have felt but when starting both non radar and radar I felt quite overwhelmed. The first day the teachers tell you to pull out the boards for non radar and they run a practice problem you're sitting there not knowing wtf is going on. Just stick with it and it will slowly start to make sense. Get together with classmates during non radar to run the problems again that night. Radar is 3-4 weeks long with 46 practice problems. It hasn't come as naturally to me as some of my classmates and during the first couple of weeks they introduce a handful of new topics in EACH new problem. I was sleeping like 11 hours a night easily. The last week they introduce no new topics and it's just you trying to hone your skills for eval's. You have to be on your game when you're working the scope and know your procedures. What are the exact steps if a pilot declares an emergency? What are the exact steps for a bylerly departure? Then the line starts ringing. Etc.
it's quite challenging/10
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RedRedApril8
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Yup that’s pretty much it for anyone wondering. First few weeks of non radar you will feel overwhelmed but have to just stick with it and it usually starts to click for most people a week or so before non radar evals. Not for everyone though, that’s for sure...
Also are you the class that just got there list and evals Monday and Tuesday or the following class?
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Well good luck guys, my goal
StealthChain , you smart any?
It sounds like my priority should be to find the smartest person in the class and become best friends with them lol .
StealthChain , you smart any?
bigshotscott
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Yep that's us, eval's Monday/Tuesday. Not a great list either lol.
StealthChain
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Mind sharing your list?
I like to think I'm at least not dumb haha. I think we will be good as long as we put in some hours studying after class. I'm ready to get there, that's for sure.
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Hey, I'm not dumb too!
Yeah I'm planning on staying close to the rest of the classmates, so far I haven't seen that many of us for sept 3
ClearanceClarence
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Yes echoing the advise from others, whatever you do, don’t let the feeling of being overwhelmed at the academy get to you. The program is designed to be a mental/emotional/academic roller coaster and see how you respond to the pressure and prioritize getting each given task accomplished.
Basics is ‘easy’ in the sense that it’s just straight book work and memorizing definitions and whatnot. That being said, it’s challenging in the fact that they throw so much information at you and on the end of course test, you could be asked to answer questions on any minor fact they threw at you over a 5 week period. Also, the final test is definitely more challenging than the block tests or ELTs. Most people are going to need to study pretty hard at the end. Don’t risk getting close to that 70% cliff.
Your first week of initial qualification is a culture shock coming from Basics. You’re going to be hit with a ton of information all at once, and your instructors are going to dive right into things. The majority of people feel like they have no clue what the hell is going on at first, but again, this is how they have it set up. We had one guy in our class quit on day 2 just because he was overwhelmed. Don’t be this guy. As time goes by, things slowly start coming together and making more sense; until they throw something new into the mix and you feel like you don’t know anything again, then the cycle repeats.
#1 piece of advice though, don’t quit because you feel overwhelmed. It happens to everybody, and again, it’s a roller coaster ride. Plus, the government is paying you a salary, they’re providing you with free lodging, paying for your food, and giving you great health insurance while you’re in the academy. At the very least, you’ve got nothing to lose by sticking it out for 4 months. DONT QUIT!
Basics is ‘easy’ in the sense that it’s just straight book work and memorizing definitions and whatnot. That being said, it’s challenging in the fact that they throw so much information at you and on the end of course test, you could be asked to answer questions on any minor fact they threw at you over a 5 week period. Also, the final test is definitely more challenging than the block tests or ELTs. Most people are going to need to study pretty hard at the end. Don’t risk getting close to that 70% cliff.
Your first week of initial qualification is a culture shock coming from Basics. You’re going to be hit with a ton of information all at once, and your instructors are going to dive right into things. The majority of people feel like they have no clue what the hell is going on at first, but again, this is how they have it set up. We had one guy in our class quit on day 2 just because he was overwhelmed. Don’t be this guy. As time goes by, things slowly start coming together and making more sense; until they throw something new into the mix and you feel like you don’t know anything again, then the cycle repeats.
#1 piece of advice though, don’t quit because you feel overwhelmed. It happens to everybody, and again, it’s a roller coaster ride. Plus, the government is paying you a salary, they’re providing you with free lodging, paying for your food, and giving you great health insurance while you’re in the academy. At the very least, you’ve got nothing to lose by sticking it out for 4 months. DONT QUIT!
- Messages
- 479
- Facility
- ZLA Los Angeles Center
Seems like that one guy who’s playing videos games online, and is losing by c amount of points and feels like he can’t catch up to win. Seems terrible IMO.
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I told StealthChain this before, but i'm almost 30 with a wife and kid. I can't quit lol. Besides, i'm not a fresh-outta-college party animal. I got mouths to feed.
Thank you guys for the feedback, it helps to know what i'm getting into.
- Messages
- 479
- Facility
- ZLA Los Angeles Center
Quitting is not a option in my book either. I’m trying to better my life not stay stagnant where I’m at today. The day I set foot in OKC, I’m there to put in some work.
OKbusyB
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If I could give you guys any advice, it would be to get the phraseology DOWN. Repetition, repetition, repetition. You can’t be fumbling on how to spit out a point out, manual handoff, emergency steps, etc. I’m a more visual learner, so non radar was more difficult for me, but I did enough to survive to give myself a good chance going into radar.
Know the SOP’s, LOA’s, and airspace without question. It’ll give you a small, small taste of what they’ll be like at your facility lol.
Most importantly, find a way to relax. Mine was chewing gum during the problems for some reason. Just find a way to get over those first 5 min jitters and get in a groove. If you prepare yourself right, you can go into evals, rock the problems, and land an awesome career. I’m a year out of the academy, and I couldn’t be happier with this. Ya training sucks and you feel like a idiot learning, but I absolutely could not picture myself doing anything other than this.
Put in the work and you all will do just fine.
Know the SOP’s, LOA’s, and airspace without question. It’ll give you a small, small taste of what they’ll be like at your facility lol.
Most importantly, find a way to relax. Mine was chewing gum during the problems for some reason. Just find a way to get over those first 5 min jitters and get in a groove. If you prepare yourself right, you can go into evals, rock the problems, and land an awesome career. I’m a year out of the academy, and I couldn’t be happier with this. Ya training sucks and you feel like a idiot learning, but I absolutely could not picture myself doing anything other than this.
Put in the work and you all will do just fine.
StealthChain
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I remember us being in the same bid and everything haha. Are you developmental yet in Chicago?
OKbusyB
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Yep! Started on my 3rd sector last week. You finally get a class date??
StealthChain
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