There are at least 3 different FAAs you can get placed into.
1) right into a high level facility, usually the Z’s. You might not be able to transfer out easily but you’ll be in the top tier of pay. Buying a house, maxing your TSP, these are all things you should be able to do quickly, with the exception of a couple UHCOL Z’s (ZOA and ZNY stick out here). You might not be able to transfer easily unless it’s ZLC or ZDV but at least you’re well above the Median pay, even on D3. You can always bid a supe job and you’ll prolly rank high given that you have high level ATC experience. This is one possibility
3) The 2nd is the advertised FAA. You’ll place right into a low level VFR tower and you’ll be certified in a few months and you’ll probably be picked up somewhere else a few months later. These facilities are revolving doors, each release results in near instant replacement, given how 1 person can be 10% of a facilities staffing. These are the places we’re people get out so often you can afford to wait for THE facility to pick you up, because you know that when it’s time, you will be eligible for release. You don’t have people stabbing each other in the back for Suoervisor jobs or hardships, because they aren’t necessary here. This is a great FAA, and the ones with low time in the agency who bounce direct to their dream facility in a year or 2 wonder why everyone else is so bitter.
3) the third FAA is akin to some kind of purgatory. This is the worst FAA. You’ll place into some up/down with consistently mediocre staffing and releases are few and far between, in some second or third rate city no one is trying to get to. You will take years to certify with the inevitable delays for people ahead of you, waiting for RTF, etc. you aren’t going anywhere soon. Your best shot is a hardship or a supe bid. No matter how piss poor your staffing is they always seem to find an excuse to carve out a sup job. God help you if you get close to numbers, you’ll prolly get 2-3 supe deviations, cutting you off at the knees yet again. You probably won’t be poor, but you’re not able to max your TSP, and you certainly won’t be getting a new boat and vacation house like the guy at the Z you know who stayed across from you at the academy. You’re well below the median pay, and maxing your 5-7 pay band doesn’t even get there. You might be able to release 1 person every 5 years or so. It will be like the hunger games. Friendships and working relationships will be ruined. People will do anything to get a hardship approved, or apply to every supe bid that pops up, because anything is better than this mediocre existence. Even internal supe jobs in your cursed facility will get several people applying, so they can take the job and leave as soon as their year is up. You will be the last person from your academy class still at their first facility. Your friends will be like hey, why are you still at XXX, like you’re staying there on purpose. Your only real hope is a desperation bid to N90 or C90. You won’t even bother with ERRs after a few years, since there’s no hope of ever getting close to numbers, because each time you do they approve a supervisor deviation and you’re back at the bottom. They will send you people from the academy, but it will be the dregs of the class, window lickers who can’t even spell ATC. You might get prior exp who either are ready to go out the gate or maybe you’ll suspect they bribed someone to take their asvab for them. Either way, you will get enough people so that if everyone certifies, which they won’t, you could release one person. Everyone wants to leave though. Not a single person is planning to stay, but you’re all getting stuck there. As before, when all those new people get close, a couple of Supervisor deviations and you’re right back at the bottom again. This is the worst path for a few hire.
There is a fourth FAA, the deeply understaffed higher level facilities that only gets bids, or ERRs, but these are dark places, and I will not utter their names here.
