Monday, February 17, 2014

FAA: 'No experience necessary' for air-traffic control



FAA: 'No experience necessary' for air-traffic control
Job openings list requirements for critical positions
No experience? No problem. You, too, can be an air traffic controller, guiding hundreds or thousands of flights from airport to airport across the country.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the position offers an “exciting, challenging and rewarding aviation career.”

Qualifications are to be a U.S. citizen, be able to start training no later than your 31st birthday, pass medical, security and pre-employment tests, and have either a Bachelor’s degree or three years of progressive work experience.

And be able to speak English “clearly enough to be understood over communications equipment.”

But not necessarily any experience.

In fact, the agency specifically addresses that concern, stating, “Members of the general public can apply for FAA air traffic control specialist positions through specific job vacancies announced on USAJOBS that do not require previous air traffic control experience.”

Forbes’ aviation transportation contributor John Goglia has reported that the FAA is set to hire some 10,000 controllers over the next decade, with a front-loaded 6,000 needed in just five years.

The positions would be in one of the 315 FAA offices around the nation.

He reported that trainees in 2012 started at $17,803 with salaries jumping to $37,070 after training. However, that was just the tip of the iceberg. He reported the median air traffic controller salary was $122,530 with a small percentage taking in more than $171,340. Only about 10 percent were below $64,930.

The actual pay depends on “career path, facility location, facility complexity, job performance, training and certifications.”

The FAA explains, “Every day of the year, and especially on holidays, more than 15,000 federal controllers at 315 FAA air traffic facilities are on the job, guiding more than 87,000 flights every day across our national airspace system.

“Do you have what it takes to help us control the skies?”

Tanita Gaither at Cleveland’s “19 Action News” said earlier job postings used to ask for those with military or prior aviation experience.

Goglia said under the FAA hiring plan, the Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan 2013-2022, the jobs are open in locations ranging from its national Command Center to airport towers that do not even have radar.

“Of particular important to interested applicants, the FAA is opening its hiring to the general public,” he reported. “This is not always the case as sometimes the FAA recruits exclusively from the military or students who have completed an FAA-approved air traffic course of study at the collegiate level.

“This year the FAA will be opening a general recruiting announcement seeking applicants from the general public who have no air traffic control experience,” he said.

The goal? “More depth and diversity” among controllers, he reports.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Federal Aviation Agency was the predecessor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Note: Najeeb Halaby was a director at the Federal Aviation Agency, and her daughter is Queen Noor.
Queen Noor is Najeeb Halaby’s daughter, the Jordan queen dowager, a director at Refugees International, and a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Refugees International, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Center for American Progress.
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and was a supporter for the Center for American Progress.
Walter Isaacson is the president & CEO for the Aspen Institute (think tank), and was the chairman & CEO for CNN.
Aleksandra Johnson was the producer for CNN, the director of public affairs for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and is the chief of staff for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
James S. Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Christopher P. Lu was a litigation associate at Sidley Austin LLP, the White House cabinet secretary for the Barack Obama administration, is the deputy secretary nominee for the U.S. Department of Labor, and married to Kathryn B. Thomson.
Kathryn B. Thomson is married to Christopher P. Lu, the chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and Ray H. LaHood’s counselor.
Ray H. LaHood’s counselor was Kathryn B. Thomson, the secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Barack Obama administration, and is a senior policy adviser for DLA Piper.
Tom Daschle is a senior policy adviser at DLA Piper, a director at the Center for American Progress, married to Linda H. Daschle, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Linda H. Daschle is married to Tom Daschle, was the deputy administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the senior public policy adviser for Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell was the lobby firm for American Airlines.
Robert L. Crandall is the management advisory committee member for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and was the chairman for the AMR Corporation.
AMR Corporation is the parent company for American Airlines.
Ann McLaughlin Korologos is a director at the AMR Corporation, was the chairman for the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism, and the chair emeritus for the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Queen Noor is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Jordan queen dowager, a director at Refugees International, and Najeeb Halaby’s daughter.
Najeeb Halaby was Queen Noor’s mother, and a director at the Federal Aviation Agency.  
Federal Aviation Agency was the predecessor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Frederic V. Malek is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the founder & board member for the American Action Network.
Hispanic Leadership Network is an offshoot of the American Action Network.
Melquiades Martinez is an advisory committee member for the Hispanic Leadership Network, was a board member for the American Action Network, and a partner at DLA Piper.
Ray H. LaHood is a senior policy adviser for DLA Piper, Kathryn B. Thomson was his counselor, and the secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Barack Obama administration.
Tom Daschle is a senior policy adviser at DLA Piper, a director at the Center for American Progress, married to Linda H. Daschle, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Linda H. Daschle is married to Tom Daschle, was the deputy administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the senior public policy adviser for Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell.
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell was the lobby firm for American Airlines.

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