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College for aviation? Air Nat'l Guard? ROTC?


birchbark
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My oldest has been shooting for a career in aviation for a number of years, specifically Air Traffic Control. After a bit of college research, we were leaning toward U of North Dakota. Even though he has been active in Civil Air Patrol, DS always maintained that he was not interested in going the military route.

He surprised us the other day by saying he is strongly considering the Air Nat'l Guard, which I guess provides training for ATC. Money savings is one reason; the other is time savings. He says he could be trained in and on salary in less than two years. His CAP rank would give him an advantage also.

I am still trying to wrap my head around this sudden switch; I had been putting all my research into college, not military! So now I am wondering about the ROTC option also. Seems like a way to get your cake and eat it too? But he'd be back to four years of school then, which sounds like a long time to an impatient 18yo (just turned). He got a decent ACT score, FWIW.

So if any of you have experiences with any of these routes, please share thoughts and experiences, ideas and suggestions! I'm not seeing much on Air Nat'l Guard in particular. How much can you specify your training in something like ANG? Ugh, so many questions. This is our first rodeo for all of this. And time's getting tight for next fall's plans.

Also any tips on guiding adult children in these kind of decisions!

 

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Things change over the years, so HE needs to get up-to-date information.   When I enlisted in the Air National Guard, it was into a specific unit and I knew which Tech school I would go to and which job I would train for. That is an advantage for your DS, IF the unit he is interested in joining needs someone to fill an ATC slot.  If not, he is out of luck there.

The Air Force Reserve is another possibility for him.  Also the Navy Reserve.

With regard to  your main theme, after Basic Training, we went to the same Tech Schools with Regular Air Force people.  

The key for him, based on my experience, which was a long time ago, would be if he knows before he enlists, which position he will train for and fill in that particular ANG unit.

OT: If he doesn't go military, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University might be another possibility, but if I assume, that would cost far more than the school in North Dakota.

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OP:   What contact(s), if any, has your DS had with the FAA?   I would suggest that he begin there.  Ask where the people received their training. Ask what the Physical and Mental requirements are. Ask a lot of questions.  If they were going to begin from scratch, training to become a Controller, where would they do it? Would they hire him and train him from scratch or do they require the initial training is somewhere else before being hired?  If he hasn't done so already, he should try to arrange a visit in the Control Tower of your local airport.  Also, if possible, he should try to arrange a visit to the nearest ARTCC. Here's a list of them:

https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/service_units/air_traffic_services/artcc/

I visited the ARTCC in Fort Worth, many years ago.

Regarding ERAU:  It would be interesting to know the quality of the UND graduates and the quality of ERAU graduates, in that field, and to know how well prepared they are for that career.  I am skeptical of ERAU, because they seem to have very low admission standards. However, I also believe/suspect they have some courses that are awesome.  How much Financial/Merit Aid ERAU might or might not provide to your DS is also an interesting question. I suspect it might be worth his time for him to investigate ERAU thoroughly, before dismissing the idea. Maybe worth submitting an application to ERAU in addition to UND?

I am assuming that he does not want to become an Airline Pilot. There is an ENORMOUS shortage of airline pilots and will be for the next 10 or 20 years.

Good luck to him!

ETA: On the FAA web site, it says they will hire Entry Level Controller applicants, without previous experience. They must have 3 years of post secondary education or work experience.

https://www.faa.gov/jobs/career_fields/aviation_careers/


 

Edited by Lanny
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I asked my brother who is an air traffic controller about this. (He does not have any military background, so I don't have any info about that aspect of it.) He said that the requirements have been changing over time, but they currently are: have three years of progressively responsible work experience, or a bachelor's degree, or a combination of post-secondary education and work experience that totals three years. (I should have clarified with him, but I think he means that these are the requirements in order to qualify to enter the FAA training program in Oklahoma, which I believe everyone needs to do prior to hiring regardless of education. Again, I have no idea how that may differ though if your son goes through the military.) He said that Stuckmic.com is the website for people who want to become controllers, so that would be a good website to check out for up to date info.

He suggested NOT getting a degree in air traffic control and that, if your son really wants to get a bachelor's, it really doesn't matter what it is in; choose something useful. Otherwise, there are so many different qualifications (health and other) that are needed along the way, and if he doesn't pass something, then he's stuck with a degree in air traffic control. Also, that way he has back up if he doesn't get hired because it's quite difficult to get hired currently.  Applications only open up once a year, and one of my brother's new coworkers applied for six years before finally getting hired this year. Going back to what degree to get, my brother has several friends who went to UND Grand Forks and majored in business management with emphasis in aviation; several of them minored in air traffic control. My brother also suggests, before proceeding with plans to become an air traffic controller, go ahead and get a second class airman medical exam. He personally knows people who were offered jobs but then failed the medical tests, including two people who failed because it was discovered they were color blind, which is an automatic disqualification. (It's sort of surprising that they didn't know this when they were younger.) 

It's interesting to know that the majority of air traffic controllers do not work at airports in control towers. (Maybe you already know this, but I had no idea until I actually knew an air traffic controller!) The vast majority are working in control centers near major cities where the controllers are working behind computers, each controller responsible for a specific section of the U.S. I've never seen the building my brother works in, but from what he's described, it's just an average looking building in an industrial park or similar area. The sector he's in charge of isn't necessarily in the same state he's located in. As planes pass through his assigned sector, he's responsible for communication with the pilots and then when they leave his sector, they get passed off to another controller. He makes a very good living, but it is tough hours, as the controllers are constantly working different hours of the day. For example, he may work third shift hours one night, then second shift hours the next day, first shift hours another day, etc. I was always puzzled why this is so until he explained that all controllers need to be extremely proficient with their skills and that if they all worked consistent shifts, the third shift controllers wouldn't have nearly the level of practice/experience as those who work first shift because of the heavier air traffic during the day. He seems tired all the time because of this, but overall, I get the impression he likes his job a lot! Hope some of this is helpful!

 

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