Hiring Bid Air Traffic Control Specialist - Trainee: FAA-ATO-18-ALLSRCE-57792

[GulfBravoPapa]

General 2/3 of applicants gets enroute and 1/3 get terminal. If the FAA is having a hard time filling classes for either route they may offer to let you change. Typically they do not let you ask to change but some times.

Your options out of the Academy:
Enroute - you will be going to a center. Level 10-12 (can someone verify ten is the lowest?)
Terminal - standalone tower, up/down, very very rarely for OTS a standalone tower. Towers and up/downs will be level seven and below, occasionally a level eight. At an up/down you complete the tower portion first and then go back to Oklahoma for the RTF radar portion.

 

[Wizard]

General 2/3 of applicants gets enroute and 1/3 get terminal. If the FAA is having a hard time filling classes for either route they may offer to let you change. Typically they do not let you ask to change but some times.

Your options out of the Academy:
Enroute - you will be going to a center. Level 10-12 (can someone verify ten is the lowest?)
Terminal - standalone tower, up/down, very very rarely for OTS a standalone tower. Towers and up/downs will be level seven and below, occasionally a level eight. At an up/down you complete the tower portion first and then go back to Oklahoma for the RTF radar portion.

ZUA is an 8

 

[Stinger]

Enroute - you will be going to a center. Level 10-12 (can someone verify ten is the lowest?)
Terminal - standalone tower, up/down, very very rarely for OTS a standalone tower. Towers and up/downs will be level seven and below, occasionally a level eight. At an up/down you complete the tower portion first and then go back to Oklahoma for the RTF radar portion.

ZUA is an 8 and ZSU is a 9.
Every tower class for the most part will have a mix of up/downs and tower-only's to choose from. It's rare for a list to consist of entirely up/downs.

 

[ATCHopeful]

Just curious, who does clearance and ground frequencies? Obviously these are only at big airports like LAX and JFK, but I'm just curious who does that? Is it terminal people? Or is it something else entirely?

 

[GulfBravoPapa]

Just curious, who does clearance and ground frequencies? Obviously these are only at big airports like LAX and JFK, but I'm just curious who does that? Is it terminal people? Or is it something else entirely?

Every single airport has clearance delivery/flight data and ground control. Those are the tower controllers.

 

[sizziano]

Just curious, who does clearance and ground frequencies? Obviously these are only at big airports like LAX and JFK, but I'm just curious who does that? Is it terminal people? Or is it something else entirely?

Controllers. Busier airports the positions are split but slower facilities ground and clearance are usually combined 24/7.

 

[yungsodapapi]

I can confirm this. I just saw the KSN site that says 1868 were HR qualified. Hiring goal this year is 1431. IIIF everyone passes(70%+), I would guess all/most get selected.

I hope this is still true.

 

[Wizard]

I hope this is still true.

Prior experience , n90 bid are going to eat into that number.

 

[Flashy Vectors]

Several applicants last year after getting TOL were able to swap specialty’s. However I believe the TRACON classes were for the N90 hires since everyone I met in those TETRA classes were from NY.

 

[kshaky]

I hope this is still true.

Nope those numbers were updated to almost 5000 qualified candidates.

 

[Elittle21]

Referred. Hoping to get a TOL. But can somebody explain to me what information is on the TOL? Like do they tell you if your terminal or enroute?

 

[jballen004 Tubadude2]

I think I know the answer to this, but does anyone know approximately how many will be offered TOL’s? I would be interested to see that as a % of how many were referred..

 

[Sir_Unable]

Referred. Hoping to get a TOL. But can somebody explain to me what information is on the TOL? Like do they tell you if your terminal or enroute?

Yes they’ll tell you either enroute of terminal.

 

[jballen004 Tubadude2]

Nope those numbers were updated to almost 5000 qualified candidates.

Dear god that’s a massive variant

 

[mtyiran57]

Referred!

 

[blockdenied]

Nope those numbers were updated to almost 5000 qualified candidates.

Damn where the hell did you get those numbers....

 

[kshaky]

Damn where the hell did you get those numbers....

lol numbers updated 10/17....HR has now qualified 4968 and invited those 4968 to take the atsa. So much for our good odds this time around.

Not sure if this is credible but seems consistent with what I have seen from another user who is verified to be in HR.

 

[squawkIFR]

So if you are chosen for Terminal but you really want TRACON. How do you get TRACON?

Most of the towers are also tracon. meaning you will get rated in the tower then get rated in the tracon. a buddy of mine that i used to work with in the air force, went to the academy, went to his facility, got rated in the tower, then went back to the academy to go through radar school.

 

[BillyBob]

lol numbers updated 10/17....HR has now qualified 4968 and invited those 4968 to take the atsa. So much for our good odds this time around.

Gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers

Not sure if this is credible but seems consistent with what I have seen from another user who is verified to be in HR.

Would your user friend also know when the TOL’s will be sent out? *wink wink* *nudge nudge*

 

[jballen004 Tubadude2]

So critique my thinking here folks. Full disclaimer, I know this has room for error/ variables:

4968 qualified candidates took the ATSA. Let’s assume 75% passed(I’d assume less actually did, but for the sake of the exercise we will go high). That’s 3726.
Hiring goal is 1431. Assuming there are no other outside bids(I know there are but don’t have even an approximate number of how many), you would need to be in the top 38%(1431/3726) of scoring to receive an offer.

What all am I not accounting for that would decrease that number, and by how much?