CTO or not?

Z

Ztron

Member
Messages
72
Hey everyone,
I have the option to stay in the Navy a few more years and obtain a CTO, but my plan is to get out and work in Radar. I am facility rated Enroute. Would it be worth it to postpone my career and get a CTO? Would a CTO be useful for me at all in the future? I really just want to get out of the military and start my career in Radar. Not sure whether it will be worth spending more time enlisted just to get that CTO.

What would you do?
 
Personally, I would recommend getting your CTO but as stated above, if you have at least 52 weeks rated, you qualify for previous experience bids and not have to go to the academy initially
 
Mr. Mack said:
Personally, I would recommend getting your CTO but as stated above, if you have at least 52 weeks rated, you qualify for previous experience bids and not have to go to the academy initially
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Would being rated Enroute for over 52 weeks allow me also get picked up for a Tower position?
 
Ztron said:
Would being rated Enroute for over 52 weeks allow me also get picked up for a Tower position?
Click to expand...

It will get you into the agency which is usually the hardest part, if you certify at your first facility you have the "opportunity" to ERR out. If you wash you'll most likely be retained for a tower or up/down.
 
Ztron said:
Would being rated Enroute for over 52 weeks allow me also get picked up for a Tower position?
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They don’t care if you have a cto or not. As long as you have the required experience you will get a list to rank. I think you are getting some bad information though. I have yet to see a prior experience hire go straight to a center. You will more than like be getting a list of 7 and below up/downs, maybe some high level Tracons depending on your navy exp.
 
SugarFoot1 said:
They don’t care if you have a cto or not. As long as you have the required experience you will get a list to rank. I think you are getting some bad information though. I have yet to see a prior experience hire go straight to a center. You will more than like be getting a list of 7 and below up/downs, maybe some high level Tracons depending on your navy exp.
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He is facility rated enroute, they align their placement with their experience. Therefore...he would go the enroute option as stated in the bids...

 
Foogy said:
He is facility rated enroute, they align their placement with their experience. Therefore...he would go the enroute option as stated in the bids...

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I know what the bids say. I would like to see/know of anyone that has been prior military “enroute” that actually got offered a list of centers and went directly to one. I was initially given an enroute TOL from prior exp bid in 2016 then my list was all up/downs. Never seen a center on the placement list with reserved for prior exp next to it unless it was from guy I knew that was prior center and got out then reapplied.
 
Foogy said:
He is facility rated enroute, they align their placement with their experience. Therefore...he would go the enroute option as stated in the bids...

Click to expand...
Ztron said:
Hey everyone,
I have the option to stay in the Navy a few more years and obtain a CTO, but my plan is to get out and work in Radar. I am facility rated Enroute. Would it be worth it to postpone my career and get a CTO? Would a CTO be useful for me at all in the future? I really just want to get out of the military and start my career in Radar. Not sure whether it will be worth spending more time enlisted just to get that CTO.

What would you do?
Click to expand...
staying in longer to get a CTO would be something to fall back on while you wait to get in the FAA. If you have 52 weeks post cert with the experience the FAA considers real ATC then you are qualified. Even without a CTO you are most likely going to an up/down and will get tower trained at the facility. I have seen this over 15 times with prior exp military. Zero CTO but go to an up/down without going to the academy. Then after you get cert in the tower, it’s the ATMs discretion to send you to the academy for RTF(radar training). I have seen it go both ways. I would bet a pay check that you wouldn’t be offered a center with “Navy Enroute” exp only. Not knocking the navy just going off past bids. Go look at the placement lists for en route under the resources tab on here. Zero prior exp are assigned to enroute facilities
 
SugarFoot1 said:
staying in longer to get a CTO would be something to fall back on while you wait to get in the FAA. If you have 52 weeks post cert with the experience the FAA considers real ATC then you are qualified. Even without a CTO you are most likely going to an up/down and will get tower trained at the facility. I have seen this over 15 times with prior exp military. Zero CTO but go to an up/down without going to the academy. Then after you get cert in the tower, it’s the ATMs discretion to send you to the academy for RTF(radar training). I have seen it go both ways. I would bet a pay check that you wouldn’t be offered a center with “Navy Enroute” exp only. Not knocking the navy just going off past bids. Go look at the placement lists for en route under the resources tab on here. Zero prior exp are assigned to enroute facilities
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I appreciate your input. I'll keep all that in mind! What is an up/down?
 
The hiring path is still an option despite observations. Whether you have a CTO or fac rated as a radar controller you qualify for prior experience. So really you should ask yourself what you want to do in the mean time between the military and hopefully getting into the FAA. A CTO wont speed up a prior experience bid, as you already have the necessary experience to apply on experienced bids. You could be one of the contract controllers who have been trying to get in with a CTO for years. Doesnt mean you'll get hired or certify. You would be in the same situation but with less years to apply if you went the CTO route.

As a prior military person myself, I would actually argue you should get out and apply on bids while utilizing the GI Bill to secure a secondary option other than wasting away trying to get in or in a contract tower. Have a backup.
 
Foogy said:
The hiring path is still an option despite observations. Whether you have a CTO or fac rated as a radar controller you qualify for prior experience. So really you should ask yourself what you want to do in the mean time between the military and hopefully getting into the FAA. A CTO wont speed up a prior experience bid, as you already have the necessary experience to apply on experienced bids. You could be one of the contract controllers who have been trying to get in with a CTO for years. Doesnt mean you'll get hired or certify. You would be in the same situation but with less years to apply if you went the CTO route.

As a prior military person myself, I would actually argue you should get out and apply on bids while utilizing the GI Bill to secure a secondary option other than wasting away trying to get in or in a contract tower. Have a backup.
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Thanks Foogy, I completely agree.
 
Foogy said:
He is facility rated enroute, they align their placement with their experience. Therefore...he would go the enroute option as stated in the bids...

Click to expand...

Not necessarily true.. I was facility rated enroute, no tower experience, and the prior exp bid I was hired on gave only tower options with no enroute or even tracon-only options.

Stay in, get your CTO... in case you end up "needing" to go to a Contract Tower at some point.
 
adub said:
Not necessarily true.. I was facility rated enroute, no tower experience, and the prior exp bid I was hired on gave only tower options with no enroute or even tracon-only options.

Stay in, get your CTO... in case you end up "needing" to go to a Contract Tower at some point.
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Exactly. People putting some crazy info out. This guy thinking he is guaranteed to go to a center bc bad info. Prob shouldn’t take advice from strangers on a career decision but still
 
If the enroute experience is a Navy facsfac you’ll qualify for a prior exp bid, but results will vary. I worked with a guy that only had that (giant killer I think? Whatever is off east coast of VA) and got offered low level tower only. He told me a friend with the exact same exp got a list about a month before him and had mid/high level tracons and towers. Point being it’s all about timing and needs of the FAA at the time.
 
ajmezz said:
If the enroute experience is a Navy facsfac you’ll qualify for a prior exp bid, but results will vary. I worked with a guy that only had that (giant killer I think? Whatever is off east coast of VA) and got offered low level tower only. He told me a friend with the exact same exp got a list about a month before him and had mid/high level tracons and towers. Point being it’s all about timing and needs of the FAA at the time.
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Colorectal but going straight to a center like a couple people said is a little out therre
 

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