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by 3NM » Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:25 am
Hi all,
It wiill take about slightly more than a year to get your first rating. You have your primary ATC course, (forgive me if I get the duration wrong, its been quite a while) which is about 13 weeks, then you have a few weeks of attachment at the various places, changi tower, Air traffic control centre, seletar tower... Then the next course be it procedural area nonn radar or the Aerodrome course, thats about 16 weeks.. After that comes 4-6 months of On The Job Training... I say 4-6 months as the faster you progress, you faster you get rated as a controller.
As a general guide, with the traffic density that we face these days, 5-6 months is the norm, as we need to be relatively sure you can handle the traffic. All in all, slightly more than a year. That said, everything is dependent on you going for your courses on time.
As a PATCO, you get 3% allowance, once you've passed and get your first rating, you move up to a level 1, you get $100 rating allowance and 12% on top of your salary. I dont know whats the entry level salary range, so I cant give you a gauge. Say you're getting $2K ( I don't think its that low but using this figure for ease of calculation) Add $100, plus 12%.. That would be $2.35K
I can understand first time job seekers comparing the starting salary and seeing how much their peers are getting and saying, hey, I'm gettting far less than what they are. You got to understand, you only start getting decent money after your second rating, that is Radar control. Which would come after your 4-5 year of service, and that alone take about 1.5 years including On the Job training. So you would be in your 6 to 7th year of service when you obtain your rating. 2 ratings, thus $200, plus 16% on top of your monthly pay.
I dont think you get $100K after 7 years, I mentioned 8-9 years I believe.
2 years does make a difference, believe me, with bonuses and extras thrown in. You also get your merit increment every year, so you're not really stagnant, tthat is until you hit your max ceiling. Being degree holders, we tend to hit it faster than our poly counterparts.
I have talk plenty about the money part, but its not all about that. You will fiind that if you're not interested in the job, you're going to get disillusioned relatively fast, as with any job. The amount of free time is great. As a fresh Grad, you guys wont see it but look down the road a few years, you will appreciate the days off you get. No homework, when your peers are working late and bring home stuff to complete. Sure you may be earning slightly less, but in terms of a work/outside life balance, that is a great job to be in. Sure we work weekends, but not every weekend. The best part is off days on weekdays. The banks are less crowded, you take your time to do whatever errands you need to. Sipping coffee while watching the world rushes by is a very nice feeling. Hope this helps.
Cheers!