Originally Posted by
grumpydwarf
I just applied through the April announcement. They drug their feet on the last couple applications; they timed out. I have a couple questions, assuming this application goes through.
Does the application process still take the better part of a year?
How long is FLETC for AIA? I saw conflicting numbers, but the lowest was 73 working days. That's a long time if weekends are not counted.
Is CBP feeling the pain of the pilot shortage? APC shows about 500 pilot on staff, but CBP official websites says they have over 700.
The application process still takes a while, it is hard to give estimates because a lot of the hangup is your clearance, which varies for everyone. We have started running one-stop hiring events where you do the face-to-face, poly, etc all in one day. You may want to ask about getting into the next one, I don't know when the next one is.
Figure 3-4 months for FLETC/Spanish.
500 is closer to the truth. We have been told of a raise to boost retention, but no start date yet. It is most likely coming, as DOD/DOS/DOJ/NASA/NOAA GS-13 pilots all saw a significant raise as of 1 JAN.