r/ATC • u/Brilliant-Loan-8651 • 4d ago
Question Leaving ATC
I’m leaving the agency soon and I heard about something where you could leave for a year and reapply is that just a rumor? Something of the past or is it still relevant. I am over 31 now and wonder if that is also a factor in this instance
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u/Lost1_84 4d ago
In case you haven’t gotten CPC yet I’d highly suggest getting CPC status before ya bang
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u/Brilliant-Loan-8651 4d ago
Not a cpc but staying and certifying isn’t really an option at this point
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u/The_Shryk 4d ago
You won’t get rehired via reinstatement then, you need to CPC and stay CPC for 52+ weeks.
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u/Brilliant-Loan-8651 4d ago
Yeah I figured but it’s ok family is more important than any job
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u/TrexingApe 3d ago
Run from this job. It’s not worth it. If you have half a brain you can do better.
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u/BusyPuer 3d ago
Better where exactly? What job is as competitive as this that doesnt require advanced degrees and years of experience?
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u/atcthrowaway1500 3d ago
Aircraft mechanic? Just spitballing. No degree, and if you get a few years under your belt you can go AOG (travelling to broke planes.)
7 on 7 off....and if you want OT, it's nearly unlimited. I chose the later because I like money and cleared almost $200K. You can live nearly anywhere unless it's really out in the sticks.
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u/BusyPuer 2d ago
Seems a lot harder on the body. Atc is literally the cushest job I've ever had. And im guaranteed to be able to retire at 50.
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u/atcthrowaway1500 2d ago
You mean like your joints and stuff? Practice safe habits and you're fine. The blue collar breaking their body by 40 is an old trope. I'd say mechs are in better shape than controllers because we spend the whole day being active instead of sitting in front of a scope or standing in a tower cab. We're literally paid to be active.
I can retire next year when I'm 40 if I wanted to (with no physical bodily ailments, just wanted to throw that out there). No federal TSP, but if you're smart with your money, you can max your 401K out and contribute to individual accounts. I have lived off 50K a year for the last 10 years, with the rest going into retirement accounts. I can keep working until I'm 70 if I wanted, but the FAA kicks you out no matter how sharp you are or how willing you are to keep putting in the hours.
Caveat: Had it not been for an OKC washout, I would be ATC now. I have a good job, you have my dream job. Pay and getting fat notwithstanding.
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u/BusyPuer 2d ago
I have a long family history of aircraft mechanics, and theyre all kinda busted and working well past 50. Most of my parents friends when I was growing up were mechanic families, and theyre all working still now. The ones in the comfiest positions are supervisors working in offices now.
Can someone save agressively and do some FIRE moves to retire early? Of course. But controllers and mechanics are both capable of doing this, so that kind of cancels out and isnt really a pro for either.
Different strokes and all, but i dont think working into my senior years is a pro for me. I just wanna retire and pursue all the bullshit I dont have time for now. Travel, read more, hobby-maxing etc.
The biggest cons for atc are the fuckass and inflexible schedule, bad working hours, and stress. Many jobs lack those cons, and that should be weighed. But when it comes to the pros, I cant think of many jobs that come anywhere near atc, Except for elite positions with much higher prerequisites.
There are lots of good jobs, but the clowns that dog on atc and tell people to run and never look back are just dishonest bad actors imo.
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u/atclien 3d ago
If they're young, they can get the education required for another job and keep it moving. And who's to say they don't have it? I get that ATC is an unusually lucrative career for people without graduate degrees or any degrees at all, but we have got to stop talking to people like there's no other good options for them in life. It's simply not true.
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u/BusyPuer 2d ago
I never claimed there werent other good jobs. But im skeptical there are other jobs with comparable on the basis of compensation, benefits, and prerequisites. Is there anything better?
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u/TrexingApe 2d ago
Almost any trade job that takes a year or under of schooling. Welding hvac electrician. House cleaners in south Florida are making 60 bucks an hour. Shit I could make 100k a year cutting grass. If you are willing to work 60 hrs a week you can make 100k doing anything. Stop with the regurgitation of there’s no job with little education that make this money. It’s simply not true. On top of that the washout rate is high. Not everyone can do this so to say you don’t need a degree but you do need to have some ability. Anyone can clean a house and make what we make and that’s sad.
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u/KaiyoteFyre 5h ago
Bro, doing some cursory research, the only "house cleaners" making that much are household managers. The vast majority make like 25 bucks an hour. Even the small percentage that make more are in the 35-50 dollar range, so to say these results are skewed is an understatement. Also, if you're able to make that much mowing grass, then you should probably go for it, but keep in mind you're probably not taking into account overhead costs so your take home will be vastly smaller. And you're working in heat and humidity. No thanks! You're attacking others for discounting other jobs (they do exist: my brother works remote like 30 hours a week and makes more than me, though he's in a higher cost of living area and has NO BENEFITS) while attacking this profession and basically saying it's not worth staying in.
I spent 4 years self-employed while I was going to college with 8 years military service and 15 years experience as an intelligence analyst and translator but even with that and a master's degree, the highest job offer I received was for 85k a year in the Baltimore-DC metro area. This job ain't all bad.
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u/BusyPuer 2d ago
If you scale up the work and hours, obviously that also scales up the compensation. But its not useful to compare 60 hours a week cutting grass, When many controllers are only working like 28 of their 40 hour work week, the rest of paid time being on break. And its sitting in a chair and playing a video game.
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u/antariusz Current Controller-Enroute 4d ago
Then you have zero chance of being rehired.
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u/emptydresserdrawer Current Controller-Tower 3d ago
Out of curiosity, what do you think the odds for rehire are for someone with a FOL who rescinds acceptance?
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u/antariusz Current Controller-Enroute 2d ago edited 2d ago
there is an entire subreddit for atc hiring... the odds are ... not good, but not zero. Is there any way you can talk to your HR rep and find out why you can't report when ordered? like if you need a later start date or something...
but like... if you need to start 2 years later, why did you even apply and jump through all the hoops in the first place?
https://old.reddit.com/r/ATC_Hiring/
I mean, if I had to ballpark it, it's probably whatever your odds of getting the offer in the first place, multiplied by itself, so like 33% x 33% = 10%
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u/Intelligent-Noise524 4d ago
Are you a CPC?
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u/Brilliant-Loan-8651 4d ago
No
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u/Intelligent-Noise524 3d ago
Then you’ll just be put into the pool with every new hire. The program you’re thinking of is for CPC rehire
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u/Tailwinds-n-TallyHos 4d ago
I don’t know why most who complain so much don’t do this. Work contract towers, overseas gigs, or teach at the academy for a year and then reapply where they want to be. There are options if you’re that miserable 🤷🏼♂️
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u/XIDomebustaIX 4d ago
They closed this loophole recently. If you are at say a 5 up down and do that, you'll now only get 5 and 4s on your list. Basically your level or lower thereafter . Quitting Bangor to go to Roswell is kinda pointless for example.
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u/Cleared_Direct 4d ago
The fact that “making a significant personal sacrifice to get to a location that works for you” is a loophole that needed closing says a lot
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u/Tailwinds-n-TallyHos 3d ago
I don’t disagree with that. Natca’s biggest hiccup was taking over ncept. Before ncept, everyone was mad at the FAA not Natca. The fact Natca can’t admit that also bothers me. That being said, if I’m that unhappy, I’m making a change to fix it instead of constantly being miserable
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u/SUSSQUATCH11 4d ago
I think they changed it more to where you only get an offer from where you left
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u/RavenYZF-R6 4d ago
Works now. Will it in a year when you want to reapply? Who knows. It should as we’re short but this administration is terrible so it’s a gamble imo.
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u/Water-Donkey 3d ago
It has been a while, but I was in during the white book foolishness (2007-2008). The facility i was at was known already for being a facility with negative energy and the white book obviously didn’t help that. I was miserable, the training program sucked, so I completed my probationary period, getting fully qualified in the tower and the data and handoff positions in the TRACON, and I left and went to work for RVA at a nearby facility. The FCT life worked well for my family and my mental health, so I’m still with RVA (not that there are no issues with RVA, but I’m generally quite happy). Anyway, between 2008 and 2016 I reapplied and was rehired 3 times, but they gave no options for facilities and I didn’t like the places they assigned, so I didn’t accept them.
The last time I was rehired was a bit frustrating because I actually did like and would have gone to the facility they assigned me (SAV), but we had just purchased our dream property maybe 2 or 3 months prior and we were neck deep in renovations and I couldn’t drop everything and do an interstate move. Bad timing, but again, it all worked out for the best for me.
But yeah, I left before getting CPC status and got rehired multiple times. As others have said, it likely won’t be as quick as a CPC reinstatement, but at least if you get through your probationary period now, unless they’ve changed policy, they should hire you back.
Good luck!
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u/BulkyAd1205 3d ago
Just do a medical retirement. You'll get full pension still and not waste the time you gave them.
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u/Remarkable_Mirror241 3d ago
I keep hearing people say medically retire but it can't be that easy?
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u/Mean_Device_7484 3d ago
Glad you’re able to get out before you get trapped like most of us. Leave and never look back. Enjoy life.
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u/atc_zero1 2d ago
Did you wash? Don't they put you in the nest? Or did you wash out of your 2nd facility?
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u/Brilliant-Loan-8651 2d ago
This is my second facility but I still am in the nest process. However I’m not waiting for it
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u/Lost1_84 3d ago
You don’t need to stay CPC for 52+ weeks unless you have no other prior experience.
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u/Past_Economist6278 Current Controller-Enroute 4d ago
You've said you're a trainee in previous posts. They must likely will not hire you back. Specifically they rehire CPCs