Hey now......stop the press!!! I just heard FAA Administrator Marion Blakey say on CSPAN that the only requirement to work as a controller is a high school diploma and the ability to pass the test.
Nevermind the fact that the FAA's primary method for hiring controllers is the collegiate training initiative which specifically requires a college degree. And nevermind the littany of psychological, medical, credit, employment, and criminal background checks that are also required.
That was the main thing I had a beef with when I watched it yesterday at 3. I just shook my head and started saying "NO.... NO... WTF are you talking about, what was the last time they did off the street hiring other then the Fairs last summer". For the most part I liked the callers questions. Other than that jackass from Alabama. He said the controller that called from California needs to be happy with his pay. He wasn't complaining, he wanted her to stop changing the top pay numbers. It's been like 6 different figures now. We need to get the Alabama guy some facility tours!
There was one controller that I think just killed it with his few questions. I think it was the controller from Louisiana. The other guy (from Georgia whose Dad worked in a Center) that caught something I posted about two days ago involving giving the ARTCC Areas a rating. He read it word verbatim off the contract proposal. I would like to praise him for bringing that up on live air, since pay will be even less because of the drop in facility rating. The last thing I wanted to say was about someone that brought up Truck Drivers can make in the range of 50k. Yea and they don't have to pay for an Associates/ BA Degree. All they have to dish out for is CDL training, and maybe the truck company pays for that. Anyway, what I have been trying to say over the past few days in the forum. Is there are alot of jobs out there that can make much more than or equal to this new pay scale, without 1. Politics 2. Paying student loans and 3. Waiting up to a year to three years to be in Process just to go to OKC!
*Rant Over*
BTW, Matt shes a politician. She gets paid to lie, after all thats what that $162,100 paycheck is for. If only politicans would get up on a show and say "Unfortunately, I have been lying about an issue lately and I need to tell you the truth" haha, if that happened. The Federal Government would have had their "Going out of Business" sale long ago.