Well I hope some one can give me some good advice, Im 19 and starting college to be a pilot, and thats all I have ever wanted to do, but it looks like there wont be any jobs or very few airlines hiring when im ready to apply. So I have been thinking to change my degree plan to ATC, I think it might be a more secure job to go with than an airline pilot with all the Furloughs going on. So im just looking for some advice about my plan and being a pilot. Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

 

My buddy left the airline world to be a controller - He loves his job . He maintains his CFI and gets local 135 gigs on the side. He's home everyday - Wheres shorts and a tshirt to work and makes better money and has better benies than me. Not to say there arent any challenges in the ATC world but hey, at least there arent gonna be 4,000 controllers on the street in the next year like there will be pilots in the airline biz.....

 

Maybe you could get an ATC minor in school?

Why limit yourself? Do both and that way your "Plan B" is made.

 

You know, its really only a decision that you can make yourself, and it will probably be a hard call!

There are definite pros and cons to both sides.

Lets deal with the airlines first: I don't know how many hours you have, but you're going to have to build a lot of time to land an airline job. The days of getting in with 300 hours are probably over for quite a long time! There is going to be a huge supply of qualified high time pilot out there looking for work in the next few years and that is going to make it ultra-competitive for available jobs. Not to mention the cost of flying to build your hours is going to go up with every increase in gas.

While flying is a great life for those who love it - it also has its downsides. Low pay, long hours, little opportunity for living your life - at least during the first few years. Those things tend to improve with time. Its not as glamorous as it once was. Keep in mind that a lot of us live in hotel rooms in Podunk, USA on most of our trips -- nothing like a South Bend, Indiana overnight on Christmas Eve!

ATC: The pay is definitely good, the job (currently) is much more secure and the outlook is pretty good. You will have a good schedule and good benefits. The work is hard and stressful though...you may not enjoy sitting in front of a computer screen yelling at pilots for 8 hours a day. You may end up a controller in Podunk, USA.

A good friend of mine was a controller in the Air Force. He's now an FO at American Eagle. He had the opportunity to take an ATC job with a ridiculously much higher pay scale than what he's making now...but he wanted to fly. No word yet if he regrets that decision or not at this time. However, I think if he faced the conditions we are looking at now in hiring, he might have taken that job. And he always has that to fall back on. But he loves flying more than anything else...and I think he would do ATC and fly in his spare time.

So you have to weigh the pros and cons of both career paths. I can tell you that getting into a flying job at this time and in the near future is going to be hard to nearly impossible until all the furloughed pilots have found a new job. That could take a year or more depending on what happens with the airline industry. Nobody has a crystal ball to see that though...

In the end you need to follow your gut instinct. Consider both careers carefully. Maybe see if you can get a tour of an ATC facility and talk with the people that work there, see how they like it, see what they think about it. Evaluate if you could stand doing that type of work -- since you already know you love flying!!

Good luck to you in either path you choose!

 

Go to school to be a controller and get your ratings. Then in a couple of years, when you get out of school, you can go one way or the other. I really think this industry is going to turn around and I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet. Good luck on your decision.

Flex

 

ATC is on a downhill slide to due labor issues (which appear to be due to management failures). Hard to say whether it's going downhill faster than the airlines though.

If you think you would enjoy controlling, definately keep that option open. Fortunately you're young enough to wait a few years and see which way the wind is going to blow in aviation. Like someone said, I know several controllers who are active in general aviation.

 

This question comes up regularly here. Don't do either as a college major. Study and get a degree in ANYTHING but aviation related stuff. Something that interests you would be fine.

FAA ATC is no longer wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip flops to work. Many are working 6 day work weeks, 10 hours a day. It's a poisonous work atmosphere, and the starting pay is 37k on a "B scale".

I probably don't need to spell out all the failings of the airline industry on here.

What good schedule ? Even in the "good ole days", you get Tue/Wed off, with a midshift thrown in the end of your work week. Just like airlines, there is seniority. You're not going to walk into a "good schedule", then or now. It's just a lot worse now.

Job security ? Sure, you'll get the same job security that FSS got on Oct 1, 2005. It was "thanks for stopping by". Their services were no longer needed, and the agency is not even sorry that some came up a few days short of retirement.

With the upcoming change in the White House, anything could happen. There may not be a federal ATC workforce anymore.

The benefits aren't anything more than you'd get with any decent company. Life and health insurance, 401(k) (called a TSP), paid vacation and sick time, blah, blah.

 

Absolutely don't go to school to be a controller. They are hiring folks off the street. No college degree, no formal training. Just able to speak, read and understand English. Over 18, able to hold a second class medical.

You don't need to spend ONE PENNY or minute of your life to get a controller job. And there's a reason it's so easy, and will be for years to come (well, if it's not privatized).

 

Wise words. The airlines are looking for any 4 year degree; not necessarily aviation related. That being said I don't know if I would have studied any other field since I always wanted to be a pilot. Frankly I love what I do and as depressing as the industry is right now, I really don't see myself leaving it until aviation is extinct. So my two cents is follow your heart. Keep in mind if you do go the flying route, you have about six years to see how things work out. Four years for your degree and another 2 years instructing to get competitive time. And if you need to hedge, minor in aviation while earning your certs and major in a "safer" subject.

 

Agreed. The best action, IMHO, is to major in something that is readily marketable. An actual skill, not psychology or something. Get your ratings on the side and see what happens. Being a pilot just isn't a good career anymore. The competition is high, especially right now, or for the next 3-5 years anyway. If you can land a JOB, then enjoy it, but always be ready to fall back on your non-aviation training.

I am in my 2nd year at a regional. I much enjoy my job, but I am almost 90% certain that I'll be furloughed or the company will go out of business within the next 6 months. All the planets are aligning, unfortunately. I am sticking it out for now just as a "hale mary" to pad the logbook as much as I can while the getting is good, but I'll probably be back at a desk job (for which I majored in) inside of a year, unless I decide to instruct for a while, but even those jobs will probably be taken. But, I'll catch it on the upswing again. It feels good to know that I don't NEED aviation to put food on the table. You might feel the same way.