Well, it's been a little over 6 months since I received my TOL. After my interview in November 2010, the FAA immediately sent me a huge package of paperwork to fill out and a list of appointments to make. I finished all of my paper work very quickly. Most of it was for the background check and requests for all of my military records to be sent to them. I also went through a flight physical where they checked my overall health (just like what I went through annually in the Navy). I was also required to take the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory). It's a 500+ question test to weed out any personality disorders. It's not fun, but I followed everything i read and answered the questions honestly without putting too much thought into them.
All of that was finished in January 2011, but it took a very long time before I received word that my clearances were good to go. I've read that prior military controllers take longer because they have to review all of my records. However, a month ago, they informed me that there was a hold up and I needed to provide some more information for my medical clearance. Part of it was related to some back pain issues and I also had to provide a bunch of paperwork related to a "Minor in Possession of Alcohol" charge I received 12 years ago when I was 19. About a week after I sent that in, I received a phone call to schedule a class date.
So, after months of waiting, my clearances are finished and I now have an FAA Academy Date of August 8th, 2011! Technically, this is still tentative until my FOL (Firm Offer Letter) arrives later this week. After I receive the FOL, I will begin making arrangements for my temporary move to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. Because I have prior ATC experience, I get to skip the basics class in OKC. The facility I'm headed to, Binghamton, NY is considered an up/down which means it has a tower and radar just like we had at Whidbey Island. Based on this, my first trip to the academy will be two months of tower training. After successful completion of my classes, I'll head straight to Binghamton to train in the tower. Eventually I'll head back to OKC for radar training and then back to Binghamton again.
Someone posted some questions about pay at the Academy. If you're really interested about the FAA pay scales and how they work, I highly recommend becoming an "Elite Member" on StuckMic.com. From what I've found, I will be making "Academy Graduate" or AG pay while i'm in OKC. This is a step above those without military control experience as prior military controllers make a little more starting out. AG pay will be equivalent to approximately $40k per year. I believe other trainees without experience make the equivalent of $22k per year. On top of that, I will also receive about $90 a day in per diem pay to cover the cost of housing and food. I'll also get some travel pay for my expenses to/from the Academy. The VA (Veteran's Affairs) will also pay me the OJT (on the job training) rate until I'm fully qualified at my facility or until my GI Bill runs out. OJT pay is a little more than $1000 a month for the first 6 months and then steps down gradually beyond that. The OJT pay I receive while in OKC won't actually be paid to me until I arrive in Binghamton and will be a lump sum of back-pay.
I'll fill you all in on my experiences in planning for the academy as I learn more. I've done quite a bit of research already and have a good idea of where I want to stay. A lot of this comes down to personal preference as to how much money you want pocket versus how comfortable you want to be. Until then, thanks for reading and all of your support.
Before I go, I can't say enough good things about StuckMic.com because that's where almost all of my information comes from. There are some great people over there that provide me with priceless information. Thanks especially to Rosstafari.
