It is expected not to get vetoed by Trump, moving shutdown date to Dec. 11th. What happens then is very in the air and mostly dependent on the election.

I have applied for ATC training in Poland 15 years ago. I got quite far in the recruitment process and apparently passed the FEAST test. Unfortunately there were only so many slots open that even though I scored positive i didn't qualify. Since then I did other things in my life, but have recently remembered about this and learned that the polish ATC is understaffed and there's no upper age limit, so I decided to give it another shot. I'm quite certain that I'm not as sharp-minded anymore as my 22 year old self was and wanted to know is there any point in trying to train for the test? There are various online resources claiming they could help you prepare for your FEAST, but I have also read it's designed in a way that actually tests your abilities that cannot be trained or obtained. What do the people who actually have passed it think?

I recently received a letter stating I must supply my VA disability rating specifically my rating or I’ll lose my medical clearance within a month.

I’ve been in the agency for over 13 years and this has never been a requirement in order to get my medical clearance until now. They have all of the information that was used to obtain my disability rating because they have my medical records from when I was in the military.

I’m curious if anyone else has been giving their VA disability rating in order to maintain their medical clearance? Have I just fallen through the cracks for 13 years and this is medical information that they’ve required all along or are there others like me who have new information being required in order to keep their medical clearances?

Edit: Preciate everyone’s answer. Seems it’s all pretty standard and they just didn’t have an official letter from the VA.

I’m in training to be a clinical psychologist and through a series of events ATCs have increasingly come under my radar as an area of concern. I hear about the working conditions and the amount of over time and I’ve heard but not seen solid statistics on the higher than average suicide rate in this field. Can those in the field corroborate? And for the purposes of a project I am going to start can y’all describe what sort of mental health resources would be helpful or useful to have either for crisis moments or for ongoing help? And what sort of specific cultural/work changes would be theoretically most beneficial? I understand that there’s some sort of peer support program for acute moments on the job. Does this get used much? Is it helpful? Is it well staffed? Thank you for any and all information and I am incredibly appreciative of the hard work you guys do everyday to get me and millions of others across the world safely!
Update: just for clarification I meant specifically in the US

Passed probationary period at a center and training on r sides and hating it, what happens when you withdraw from training?

I really want to become a air traffic controller and will do my FEAST 2 in 20 days. I'm wondering if i should pay for SkyTest and start training their since it seems pretty hyped.

btw I'm doing the Swedish FEAST 2 test if that matters.

I’m applying to take the ATC exams in Poland. I’ve practiced the FEAST tests online many times, and I’m doing very well. I definitely meet the English language requirement as well. My only concern is the Class 3 medical requirement. I can’t find the exact medical requirements anywhere. Physically, I’m fine, but I have a vision disorder that’s corrected with contact lenses (-7.25). With something like this, is there even any point in trying?

Do you think we are at a point where this is a possibility? What are some of the concerns and what are the benefits?

Are we at a point where we let Grok be the local controller at La Guardia for a day or do you think it needs more time? Thank you for your responses.

Is it frowned upon or a flex cracking one of these open at work? Like if it's truly 0.0% ABV

I joined the Navy as ATC almost 10 years ago, I didn’t graduate ATC schooling before my job had got changed. I still think about it and really want to go ATC route now that I’m not longer in the Navy.

Now the hard part. I have a history of PTSD and Major depressive disorder on my record. I was diagnosed over 5 years ago, my symptoms of everything are improved. No PTSD symptoms anymore. I haven’t been on medication for years. The only depression I’ve really experience in the last two years has been due to postpartum. Other than that, mentally I’m much better than I was when I initially was diagnosed. Years of therapy, coping and handling things.

Is going ATC even a possibility for me? I know I would have to go to get a HIMS psych eval and such but.. is this attainable? Or should I just bury this dream?

A confluence of events lead me to accidentally really enjoy tuning into liveatc.net (hope that's not a dirty word here) and then also sometimes identifying on flightaware flights being communicated. I may just be getting old but something about it speaks to me. Anyway, I'm curious about a couple things. I can't seem to figure out how to tune in to which tower may be communicating with a given flight. Like after a tower handoff how do I determine which tower to tune into next? There are so many in each region. Secondly, and related, if I wanted to try to follow a specific flight, like my own on in-flight wifi, or if someone I know is flying, is there a reliable way to check in on the right towers at the right time?

Apologies if these are dumb questions in this forum, it's all brand new to me.

What aptitude tests/websites are good to practice for AIRNAV Ireland?

Hi, i am a construction worker M25, i work as a apprentice carpenter and drywaller. I have been working in this trade for more than two years i want, i am thinking about change.
My current job is so stressful physically and environmentally. But lately i am listening to lot of controllers that says how company is keeping them on edge to save money and always making them working overtime due which they are always burnt out. So i wanna know that is it true ?
And second thing, i am mostly preparing through Aon test or reading through transport canada AIM or practicing spatial reasoning or dual n back, this is what chat got told me to prep for, so like is this really what i need ? Thanks in advance.

US ATC: Debate at my facility and some people say that if we swap with someone 1 level above us, we don't get any pay increase if we are above the bottom of the pay band. Others are saying that you get 6% going up one facility level, similar to a normal ERR, regardless of pay.

Swapping from a 6 with someone from a 7.

Hey everyone!
As an air traffic controller, I recently got hit with an idea to make a retro-style indie game based on real-world enroute atc scenarios.

You’d have aircraft asking for descents, avoiding active NOTAM areas (strictly prohibited!), requesting climbs to higher flight levels, and all that good stuff.

Then it hit me: *Who on earth wants to deal with this much stress in their free time?* Is anyone actually going to find this fun? Or am I just being way too pessimistic here? What do you guys think?

I recently made an Excel sheet comparing staying in the military as an enlisted member or officer, finishing my contract, and going ATC in a level 5 tower, level 6 tower, level 7 tower, and lastly a level 12 Enroute facility.

In this scenario, I'm married with 2 kids, and they have dental and healthcare.

I don't need exact figures, but instead just within hundreds of dollars if possible, or even thousands.

In these figures, I'm also not counting TSP contributions, but I will obviously contribute. I just need take-home pay after necessary deductions. I also used an 8% state income tax, which might be inaccurate, so let me know if this should be higher. I assumed I'm contributing to the NATCA union, paying 800 dollars a month for healthcare. Vision and dental are 100 dollars a month. I didn't include random medical visits and other dental visits.

ATC Level 5 (CPC Pay) - I chose to do CPC pay because Level 5s generally certify within a year and a half, but if this is not correct, then let me know please. I also did locality pay of about 17% since it was the most common one in 123atc

Monthly Pay with OT and differentials: 8.9k, with deductions of about 3.7k, with a take-home pay of 5.1K. This is also for working 200 hours a month or 50 hours a week.

ATC level 6 (CPC) Pay-

Monthly Pay of 9.2k, paying 3.8k in necessary deductions, making the take-home pay about 5.4k. Working 200 hours a month, or 50 hours a week.

ATC Level 7 (CPC) Pay-

Monthly Pay of 11.3k, with deductions being a total of 4.1k, making the take-home pay about 7.2k. This is working again: 200 hours a month or 50 hours a week.

Enroute Level 12 (CPC) Pay- I know this will most likely take 1 or 2 years to certify, but I still want to see how accurate this scenario is.

Monthly Pay of 20k, with deductions of 7k, making the take-home pay about 13k. Working 200 hours a month, or 50 hours a week.

Thanks!

I heard from my ATC friends that ATC is one of the few jobs people actually move from USA to Canada to in order to work. Its unusual to hear about a job that has better pay in Canada than USA. Is it true that the compensation/QOL of Canadian atc is better than in America?

Specifically level 9 and below. If you have less than 10 years in service and a degree- you are better off as a school teacher. Better schedule. Summers off. Weekends off. Christmas and all major holidays off. Similar benefits. Better pay after a few years. Become a teacher and have a better life.

Bedford getting pressed a bit more. Love to see it.

Not really a surprise but it is official now.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/travel/4701801/faa-air-traffic-controller-raises-staffing-shortage/

Without a doubt this interview and article may have directly led to the public release of the information of the early shoves and terminations, but it’s just nice having someone openly stand up for us