Best job in the world?

[Jake Sully]

Does anyone ever feel like they are not happy with this job due to whatever the circumstances may be at your facility… the people, the environment, etc…. But you’ve put so much in that you don’t know what other job you’d do if you actually quit… and you try and suck it up and wait for the retirement? I’m not even half way there get. I’ve found so many ppl in this profession to be miserable fucks at work and it makes me not want to do it anymore. Granted I spent the first few years at N90… the people there are Gollum and their OT is their precious… kinda ruined it for me.

 

[Frankie]

I think the best thing about this job is once you’re off work you can stop thinking about it! Mind set is 100% the only way to survive.

 

[ClearanceClarence]

There’s a lot of shit that comes along with the job and honestly, I think the majority of the workforce would consider themselves unhappy. That said, I think the decent pay, good benefits, and the ability to retire in your early to mid 50’s are the biggest appeals. The idea of “toughing it out” is easier to swallow when you know you’re not gonna have to do it forever and should (hopefully) still have a solid 20+ years to enjoy life/do whatever you want when you retire.

 

[RichMabbutt]

Yeah I just look at it as a job. Make a ton of money and go home at the end of the shift. No paperwork. Nothing to take home.

 

[FightingIrish2012]

Bro. Because of NATCA we just got a 1.6% raise. Nobody was laid off during COVID. 1% of the controller workforce gets to move each year due to NCEPT. 4% of the workforce gets to move each year due to hardship scams. Plus because of the union we have 16 weeks of family baby leave. Due to solidarity we all get to pay between 1.7% and 4.7% into our pension.

If this is not the best job in the world, I challenge you to tell me what the fuck is.

 

[Papa_Mike]

Just make sure you go to the doctor. Don’t be a statistic that retires and dies at 60. This job SUCKs!!! But it affords me mostly with the things I wanna do in life. Don’t let the fear of losing your medical kill you..

 

[32andBelow]

Just make sure you go to the doctor. Don’t be a statistic that retires and dies at 60. This job SUCKs!!! But it affords me mostly with the things I wanna do in life. Don’t let the fear of losing your medical kill you..

I’ve never seen someone lose their medical and not save pay on some 9-5 job

 

[Mike Kilo]

I’ve never seen someone lose their medical and not save pay on some 9-5 job

Been in a while at a lot of facilities have ya?

 

[Smitty]

No.

 

[accskp]

I have been out of the ATC world for a long time, but I loved the work. I started out in the Navy at a VFR tower, a ship and then got out and went FAA to Houston Center. I hated the enroute and the Center environment. I was fired in 1981. I went back into the Navy and worked at a busy approach control on the east coast becoming a FWS. This was where I really developed a love for the job. It was the most satisfying and challenging job I could imagine. I went back to sea and really enjoyed the ATC as I became fully qualified in the shipboard radar room (Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) which was even more fun because there are fewer rules. Then I got promoted out of actual controlling and into the facility management side of things. That sucked but such is the nature of the military. My years as a frontline controller both ashore and at sea were the best years of my working life doing the best job in the world. The leadership and quality of supervisors in the FAA were terrible (at least where I was) or I might have stayed but I could not see myself spending 25 or 30 years of my life in that environment. I think if I had gone to a mid-level FAA approach control (up and down), I would have stayed there forever. I have no idea what the present day controllers are going through but for me the rush of working traffic was addictive and I loved it.

 

[AnyTrafficPleaseAdvise]

I am a bit of an aviation geek, so I enjoy the work itself. Talking to planes, busy pushes, and the camaraderie I enjoy with some of my coworkers is what I look forward to and enjoy. I’ve found I can distance myself from a lot of the bullshit drama behind the scenes. The mandatory OT and consistently being held over sucks, I’m certainly not happy with all union decisions, and I’m even more unhappy with the ineptitude of FAA Managers. At the end of the day, I make good money to work 4-5 hours/day and enjoy the work I do.

 

[GO]

I am a bit of an aviation geek, so I enjoy the work itself. Talking to planes, busy pushes, and the camaraderie I enjoy with some of my coworkers is what I look forward to and enjoy. I’ve found I can distance myself from a lot of the bullshit drama behind the scenes. The mandatory OT and consistently being held over sucks, I’m certainly not happy with all union decisions, and I’m even more unhappy with the ineptitude of FAA Managers. At the end of the day, I make good money to work 4-5 hours/day and enjoy the work I do.

This is about where I am at. Plus the fact that I can wear pretty much whatever I want to work

 

[32andBelow]

Been in a while at a lot of facilities have ya?

Have you seen a Bunch of people get fired for losing their medical?

 

[Raise when?]

Im just here for the paycheck, which is being decimated by inflation yearly. Thank you MaiNatca.Gov

My facility’s morale has never been lower

I am a bit of an aviation geek, so I enjoy the work itself. Talking to planes, busy pushes, and the camaraderie I enjoy with some of my coworkers is what I look forward to and enjoy. I’ve found I can distance myself from a lot of the bullshit drama behind the scenes. The mandatory OT and consistently being held over sucks, I’m certainly not happy with all union decisions, and I’m even more unhappy with the ineptitude of FAA Managers. At the end of the day, I make good money to work 4-5 hours/day and enjoy the work I do.

I have many of these types at my work, claim they love the job, love working traffic..yet they scam constantly and take any scam detail to get off the floor hahahah

 

[Mike Kilo]

Have you seen a Bunch of people get fired for losing their medical?

I have seen it yes. It’s just hilarious when you come on here spouting “knowledge” like you’ve been in longer than 3-4 years at one facility. Probably close to a year CPC though right? Congrats!

 

[Raise when?]

I have seen it yes. It’s just hilarious when you come on here spouting “knowledge” like you’ve been in longer than 3-4 years at one facility. Probably close to a year CPC though right? Congrats!

He is a zoomer, what do you expect?

 

[kombucha23]

I like working planes. Busy hours are fun and challenging and rewarding when done well. OT is a mixed bag, but I don’t take phone calls from work on my days off so I don’t get suckered into it and whatever I get forced onto me isn’t overly inconvenient (this year). Some shifts are a drag to get through, some go really fast.

Coworkers and management make all the difference. You spend 40+ hours a week with these people and it can be highly enjoyable and fun, or it can be a nightmare.

I’d rather do this than anything else almost (except if someone paid me to spank the monkey - something I’m already doing for free most days).

 

[SporadicVectors]

bEsT jOb In ThE wOrLd. Definitely that it is not but everyone’s experience is so drastically difference from place to place. Lots of people sitting there with little to no career progression and lots of people had the opportunity to go to a great facility from the start. Luck definitely plays a part. Nonetheless, it is undoubtedly a great job and hard to pass on overall. I would say stick it out and try to go elsewhere if you hate N90 that much because work environment will more than likely get better at most other facilities. If money is important to you, no better place to be than N90 other than maybe a high level Houston facility. I believe this job and the FAA bs is worth it if you’re at a Level 9 (Maybe Lvl 8 and up). Otherwise, I personally don’t think it’s worth it.

 

[Mr.Tickles]

While this certainly isn’t the end all be all of jobs. It would be rather difficult to find a job that requires this little experience that gives you the potential of this level of pay and benefits without 80 plus hours of work a week.

If you’re working at a center you won’t get a better paying job unless you’ve got or get some form of degree or certification.

 

[SporadicVectors]

While this certainly isn’t the end all be all of jobs. It would be rather difficult to find a job that requires this little experience that gives you the potential of this level of pay and benefits without 80 plus hours of work a week.

If you’re working at a center you won’t get a better paying job unless you’ve got or get some form of degree or certification.

Bingo