SAVE PAY

I just wanted to see if anyone has gone through this recently, as other threads I've found are a few years old. Will I be able to save pay when I transfer over to the FAA? I'm currently a Federal employee (GS12), and was told by my HR rep that at the Academy I will be paid a little more than other trainee's but no even close to my current salary.
But according to the NATCA Collective Bargaining Agreement (2016) " Article 108: Pay Section 5(c)

Section 5. New Hire/New Entrant/Re-Entrant Pay Setting.


a. New Hire (required to attend Initial Qualifications (IQ) Training): Basic Pay for terminal and

en route employees is set at the AG pay band effective the day after their graduation from the

FAA Academy.

Basic Pay for Flight Service employees is set at the FSS IQ pay band upon entering initial

qualifications training and is set at the FSS AG pay band upon successful completion thereof.

b. New Hire (not required to attend Initial Qualifications Training): Basic Pay set at the AG pay

band upon the effective date of his/her appointment to his/her facility of record.

c. New Entrant: A new entrant will retain his/her current federal pay up to the maximum of the

Developmental-3 pay .

d. For a Military or DOD Civilian controller with fifty-two (52) consecutive weeks

experience as a certified air traffic controller, Basic Pay shall be set at the lowest developmental

pay level for the assigned ATC facility upon the effective date of their appointment to their

facility of record."

So if I'm reading and understanding this correctly I should be allowed to save pay when I switch over, since I fall under "New Entrant". Any input or experience is greatly appreciated.

I'm curious to find out how your save pay situation concluded. I am also a GS-12 in federal position and highly considering joining the FAA by applying to the academy and the pay was my worry before reading this thread and doing some research. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I'm curious to find out how your save pay situation concluded. I am also a GS-12 in federal position and highly considering joining the FAA by applying to the academy and the pay was my worry before reading this thread and doing some research. Any help or comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
So at the Academy you are paid like 10k a year more than OTS candidates. Once you’re assigned a facility your pay is set up to try and match your GS salary up to the D3 pay band for assigned facility. So if you want to match your current salary you’ll need to get a level 7 tower right out of the academy. I got a level 5 and he difference in base pay was almost 10k. So once I CPC I’ll only receive a 6% pay increase which isn’t much. In all to include locality I lost 20k a year. So let’s just say I want to certify quick and leave.
 
So at the Academy you are paid like 10k a year more than OTS candidates. Once you’re assigned a facility your pay is set up to try and match your GS salary up to the D3 pay band for assigned facility. So if you want to match your current salary you’ll need to get a level 7 tower right out of the academy. I got a level 5 and he difference in base pay was almost 10k. So once I CPC I’ll only receive a 6% pay increase which isn’t much. In all to include locality I lost 20k a year. So let’s just say I want to certify quick and leave.

That's helpful information. Thank you. Just to clarify, you got paid 10k more over the course of a year? Or the 2-3 months that you were at the academy?
 
That's helpful information. Thank you. Just to clarify, you got paid 10k more over the course of a year? Or the 2-3 months that you were at the academy?
Neither. Say a true OTS applicant is paid the equivalent of $25,000/year while at the Academy this poster got paid the equivalent of $35,000/year.
 
That's helpful information. Thank you. Just to clarify, you got paid 10k more over the course of a year? Or the 2-3 months that you were at the academy?
The pay is over a year. So you really have to make an informed choice as to whether ATC is what you really want, and if you know you can do the job! The stress of being at the academy and getting that QA brief on how much points you can loose is pretty real, and the room for error is pretty slim.
My advice is that if have the knowledge and experience in ATC I would do it. At first I was given a TOL for enroute and I knew didn’t want to go that route. So I sent my HR rep an email explaining I have experience being an RPO for the tower environment and that I would be more successful if I were switched to Terminal. If ATO didn’t approve my switch to terminal I told myself that going ATC isn’t for me (I’m also 32 so this was my last shot) and that I’m fine where I’m at as a GS12. In the end I made it through the academy and happy I have a job that I love. The money is there, I just have to remember that I have to start from the bottom again and that the loss in pay is only temporary. But I do have a family so I have to get a part time job to make up for the loss of income lol...
 
The pay is over a year. So you really have to make an informed choice as to whether ATC is what you really want, and if you know you can do the job! The stress of being at the academy and getting that QA brief on how much points you can loose is pretty real, and the room for error is pretty slim.
My advice is that if have the knowledge and experience in ATC I would do it. At first I was given a TOL for enroute and I knew didn’t want to go that route. So I sent my HR rep an email explaining I have experience being an RPO for the tower environment and that I would be more successful if I were switched to Terminal. If ATO didn’t approve my switch to terminal I told myself that going ATC isn’t for me (I’m also 32 so this was my last shot) and that I’m fine where I’m at as a GS12. In the end I made it through the academy and happy I have a job that I love. The money is there, I just have to remember that I have to start from the bottom again and that the loss in pay is only temporary. But I do have a family so I have to get a part time job to make up for the loss of income lol...

Totally understand. I'm in the same boat basically and this opportunity would be my last shot at getting in. Except that I am just more familiar with enroute so I'm hoping to go in that direction first.
 
Is the save pay you are getting based only on your GS basic pay or basic pay + locality? My GS11 basic pay is 53k but with adjusted locality its 68k, would I save pay the 53 or 68k?
 
Is the save pay you are getting based only on your GS basic pay or basic pay + locality? My GS11 basic pay is 53k but with adjusted locality its 68k, would I save pay the 53 or 68k?

Locality does not transfer. It is local to where you are when you’re getting it.
 
Is the save pay you are getting based only on your GS basic pay or basic pay + locality? My GS11 basic pay is 53k but with adjusted locality its 68k, would I save pay the 53 or 68k?
You will save pay 53k and then add the locality to your new location.
 
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