Hiring Bid FAA-ATO-20-ALLSRCE-65607

Now closed...hope you applied before the site malfunctioned last night.

In other news, tier 2 people report their endless wait has finished recently for the July 2018 bid. Thus, considering it took them a year and a half, I conclude I may be in OKC in a year and a half. Now the "hurry up and wait" begins!

Anyone know if the FAA forces you to Tier 2 if you fail the initial MMPI-2 in the ATC exam but already have had much if not all of the related testing (FAA psychiatric and neuropsychiatric with their consultants) they would have ordered as you previously needed it to get your medical for second/first class pilot privileges? IE: Can they use the existing info and tests in your standard airman medical file to expedite the process or do they stick you in the tier 2 slow lane regardless if you fail MMPI-2?
If you fail the MMPI-2 you are going to get Tier 2. I think I remember reading in the paperwork that if you have previously taken the MMPI-2 within a certain time frame you can use that. All your other stuff will be part of your medical file and so the Flight Surgeon will likely pull it and look at it, but you still have to take the MMPI-2.
 
If you fail the MMPI-2 you are going to get Tier 2. I think I remember reading in the paperwork that if you have previously taken the MMPI-2 within a certain time frame you can use that. All your other stuff will be part of your medical file and so the Flight Surgeon will likely pull it and look at it, but you still have to take the MMPI-2.

To be clear, yes, I took the MMPI-2 while working to get my FAA Medical Certificate for operating aircraft due to my medical history. I don't know if my score counts as a "fail" or not. I did it as part of the complete neuropsych battery...


Anyway, hopefully said time frame is long enough for my previous administration of the test to count. Well, that is assuming it's a pass by ATC standards.
 
I have a friend who applied to this bid and is about to turn 31 within the next couple of weeks. Would it be a good idea for him to contact HR immediately about his age before the referred portion of the hiring process? I don't want lead him astray and have his application tossed because he pesters them day 1.

I've seen a few posts here and on SM saying conflicting things about aging out. Some are saying you need to get a TOL before turning 31, others have said just applying before 31 is good enough.
 
I have a friend who applied to this bid and is about to turn 31 within the next couple of weeks. Would it be a good idea for him to contact HR immediately about his age before the referred portion of the hiring process? I don't want lead him astray and have his application tossed because he pesters them day 1.

I've seen a few posts here and on SM saying conflicting things about aging out. Some are saying you need to get a TOL before turning 31, others have said just applying before 31 is good enough.

He/you/whoever needs to apply to the bid before turning 31. He will be ineligible for any further OTS bids but he will be fine for this one. Calling HR won’t expedite the process any and he will get the same answer.
 
I have a friend who applied to this bid and is about to turn 31 within the next couple of weeks. Would it be a good idea for him to contact HR immediately about his age before the referred portion of the hiring process? I don't want lead him astray and have his application tossed because he pesters them day 1.

I've seen a few posts here and on SM saying conflicting things about aging out. Some are saying you need to get a TOL before turning 31, others have said just applying before 31 is good enough.
As long as he doesn't turn 31 before the bid closes he is good. So in this case your friend is ok
 
Looks like the FAA reopened this bid, opened back up and closing again today (1/29) at midnight.

"This vacancy is being reannounced for one day due to an unplanned USAJOBS outage on the original closing date."

Hopefully nobody that applied before it was reopened turned 31 on 1/29. That would just be a huge buzzkill. I'd definitely be calling HR if that happened to me!
 
When I applied and went through this process back in 2016-2017 and the first step was a very long biographical test. Are they not doing those anymore?
 
Best of luck everyone going through this bid!

I applied to last years OTS bid for the first time and the best advice that I can share to anyone who is going through this for the first time is exactly what I was told several times. Try to forget that you ever applied for the time being and keep moving forward with your life. If you're frantically checking your email every single time you hear a chime on your phone you will quite literally drive yourself insane. The waiting period for any particular part of the process can span from a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

Again, best of luck!
 
I emailed my rep regarding my status and when I may see a start date, She replied with: "Currently, due to our small staff and needing to review all applications from the recent announcement that closed, we won’t be sending out class date e-mails for a couple of weeks. This is also due to all classes currently being filled through May, as well."

So we will be waiting a while before we see any new dates given out.

Looks like they are understaffed but focusing on this bid so good news/bad news?
 
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I can't speak for ATSA study material because I've never tried it, but you'd be surprised how very little you need to study for something like this. I feel like it's all mental and mechanical and as soon as you go through it you either get it or you just don't. With that said, before I took the ATSA I was also contemplating buying study material to ensure success, but in the end I saw a lot of advice that suggested against it. I suppose if you feel it will help you then sure.
 
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I can't speak for ATSA study material because I've never tried it, but you'd be surprised how very little you need to study for something like this. I feel like it's all mental and mechanical and as soon as you go through it you either get it or you just don't. With that said, before I took the ATSA I was also contemplating buying study material to ensure success, but in the end I saw a lot of advice that suggested against it. I suppose if you feel it will help you then sure.

I personally got a BQ (best qualified) score on the AT-SA last year. Unfortunately, I then lost the lottery for pool 2, but I'm back in this year for this bid. I'm going to roll over my score, assuming that's allowed this year, and then I will push further into ATC assuming I don't get a different big opportunity in another life direction in the meantime. All my eggs are not in the ATC basket. Considering how the process can go wrong, this is probably a good thing.

Anyway, I found Aviation Media & IT GmBH's AT-SA prep software (atcprep.com) helpful, it was definitely worth it for the cognitive/sim portions.

Otherwise, GRE-level reading comprehension and logic/quantitative questions would probably also be helpful for the word problems they give you.
 
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I personally got a BQ (best qualified) score on the AT-SA last year. Unfortunately, I then lost the lottery for pool 2, but I'm back in this year for this bid. I'm going to roll over my score, assuming that's allowed this year
I'm in that same boat. Best qualified but didn't make it out of pool 2. I plan on using my score again but still not 100% sure how to do it.
 
I'm in that same boat. Best qualified but didn't make it out of pool 2. I plan on using my score again but still not 100% sure how to do it.

Just don't take the atsa again. I scheduled mine not realizing I could use the same score again and called hr. They said just don't show up because if you take it again they take the new score whether or not it's better.
 
I used this checklist that my fiancee created to help track everything and due dates. Obviously make sure it follows along with the numerous letters you will receive through this process but it was a super helpful tool. It is for use after you take the AT-SA and get your CIL. Best of luck everyone.
 

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