ATC Process help

[Skyler Evans]

Im sure there is another thread on here about this, I am looking for some information about the process of becoming an ATC. Currently I am in the Army and will ETS after 7 years starting in October 2017. I figured a jump start would be to my advantage. Can someone explain how the hiring process works, how a resume will be looked at and what is looked for, what experience qualifies for certain positions? How much do they look at education and how much does military experience come into effect when looking for an ATC job. My job in the Army is Flight Operations and I have overseen aircraft on missions in Afghanistan as well as here in the states on a daily basis with cross country flight and coordinating between our aircraft and airports. If there is any advice for jump starting this process please let me know. Best regards.

 

[cmac88]

Someone with more knowledge coming from the military side will probably chime in and things have changed, but I believe without military atc experience you'll have to apply under an off the street bid but you do get veterans preference points. It seems they're having at least 1-2 hiring bids a year so if there is one even before October 2017 I would apply before you get out. They have tried to streamline the hiring process but as for getting the call it seems to be more of a crapshoot then it was before. Good news for you is they will be hiring substantially at least through 2018 barring some other political upheaval.

If you haven't yet, www.stuckmic.com is a good source for people that are going though the process but beware as its mostly people on the outside looking in so not all the information is going to be accurate.

 

[NovemberEcho]

None of your Army experience counts as ATC. You will have to apply to an "Off the street"/General Public announcement. You will get veterans preference though. The job announcement can be found on usajobs.gov and they usually have them 1-2 times a year. They have a resume builder on their website that I recommend using. You will also have to take a biographical assessment and if you pass that a test called the AT-SA. Basically tests that the FAA says helps weed out people who don't have the aptitude for the job. Assuming you pass and get selected, you'll be sent to Oklahoma City for either terminal or enroute. You'll get a list of facilities your last week or so of class and you pick them based on class ranking.

 

[ajmezz]

I think vets get to skip the bio q now, along with cti grads.

 

[NovemberEcho]

I think vets get to skip the bio q now, along with cti grads.

I believe that's only prior experienced ATC vets who skip the bio-q. Non-ATC vets still take it.