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Tom J

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Tom J
Good evening. One of my kids is going to be taking classes at a local college in their Air Traffic Managment/Control program. Next term starts in January, but I'm wondering if any of the controllers on here might have some suggestions for reading/prep he can do before classes start. I'm thinking he can use the next couple months productively to prepare for the program, particularly since so few are accepted during FAA hiring windows.

Thanks
 
Show up first day of class with the entire 7110.65 memorized.

Seriously though, a CTI grad should have no problem getting a job for awhile. The FAA is as short controllers as the airlines pilots.

I’m sure @Seanaldinho can give some good gouge.
 
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I was going to throw the P/C glossary at him for memorization, didn't know about that order.......:biggrin:. Thanks for paging Sean.
 
ATC is something I really wish I could've done post-military retirement. I feel I might have been a good fit in that career path given the problem-solving/stress aspect of the job.
 
Velocity173 said:
Show up first day of class with the entire 7110.65 memorized.

Seriously though, a CTI grad should have no problem getting a job for awhile. The FAA is as short controllers as the airlines pilots.

I’m sure @Seanaldinho can give some good gouge.
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Is he a teacher at one of those schools?
 
luvflyin said:
Is he a teacher at one of those schools?
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No but I know he knows a lot on how those CTI programs work. Basically the big picture and just what to know first day of school. In all honesty though it’s a college. They’re supposed to teach you everything.
 
Velocity173 said:
No but I know he knows a lot on how those CTI programs work. Basically the big picture and just what to know first day of school. In all honesty though it’s a college. They’re supposed to teach you everything.
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Yeah. He’s contributed before that shows a deep layer of knowledge about stuff like this. He didn’t say what he does other than he is not a controller but is in ‘industry.’ I thought maybe this might have been it.
 
luvflyin said:
Yeah. He’s contributed before that shows a deep layer of knowledge about stuff like this. He didn’t say what he does other than he is not a controller but is in ‘industry.’ I thought maybe this might have been it.
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I remember at Memphis they gave us this big book that gave a complete overview of the ATC system. Had to study it and pass a test the first day of school. Anyway, maybe there’s some sort of prep book out there like that for these CTI programs.
 
Be on time, which means 5 min BEFORE class begins.
Pay attention.
Do the work.
Ask questions if you don't understand or something not clear - it's MY life on the line!
 
Tom J said:
Good evening. One of my kids is going to be taking classes at a local college in their Air Traffic Managment/Control program. Next term starts in January, but I'm wondering if any of the controllers on here might have some suggestions for reading/prep he can do before classes start. I'm thinking he can use the next couple months productively to prepare for the program, particularly since so few are accepted during FAA hiring windows.

Thanks
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I wouldn’t get to wrapped up in a lot of rote memorization quite yet. Check this forum out. There are current students in CTI classes that hang out in there. Check back in here for punchlines.:goofy:

pointsixtyfive.com

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There was an old dos program that can be made to work with windows. I think it's called Tracon. It had the Los Angeles sector in it. If he can find that and work 60 airplanes in 60 minutes into the 5 airports, it'll be a piece of cake. I had 3 college buddies that used that when they were going through controller school.
 
luvflyin said:
I wouldn’t get to wrapped up in a lot of rote memorization quite yet. Check this forum out. There are current students in CTI classes that hang out in there. Check back in here for punchlines.:goofy:

pointsixtyfive.com

Forum list

The Air Traffic Controller Resource. ATC forums dedicated to sharing information and building an online community.
pointsixtyfive.com pointsixtyfive.com
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Thanks, I'll pass that link to him.
 
Mikey52 said:
There was an old dos program that can be made to work with windows. I think it's called Tracon. It had the Los Angeles sector in it. If he can find that and work 60 airplanes in 60 minutes into the 5 airports, it'll be a piece of cake. I had 3 college buddies that used that when they were going through controller school.
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Thanks, I'll have him look for that. Not sure he'll catch it all, just getting exposed to the material now, classes start in January.
 
Another thing he could do is call his local tower / TRACON and get a tour. The pilot program was called “Operation Raincheck” but you don’t need to be a pilot to get a tour. Post 9/11 they’re a bit more restrictive so generally you can’t show unannounced but just call the admin people and schedule it. A lot can be learned from plugging in and listening and I’m sure they’ll have at least one former CTI controller that could give him advice.
 
Good thought on the tower tour. We have a couple towered airports near us that aren't super busy, may be easy to get a tour. I'd have to see where Potomac TRACON is in relation, see if it's worth the drive.
 
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