LogFAQs > #882469944

I posted this March '15 and August '16 when it happened last time. Several people have PM'd me their successes and failures, with two people on here currently at the academy (as of last May).
If you have absolutely any questions about the process, I am more than happy to help out in this topic or via PM.

US only (including Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico).

The FAA is doing a 7 day off the street hiring for Air Traffic Controllers. You have to meet their experience requirement, and it's recommended you use the USAJOBS resume builder, but literally anyone can do it if you're younger than 31 years old and have ~4 years of college and/or work.
Basically you have to upload your resume, upload your transcripts, and then fill out the Biographical Questionnaire. You sign an NDA when you take the BQ, so I can't tell you what they ask. They stress that you remain honest instead of picking what you think they would want, but I will say that having worked with Air Traffic controllers for awhile now and being one myself, they are some of the most assertive and cocky motherfuckers you will ever meet.

If you pass the BQ (everyone finds out in a week or so), someone looks over your resume/transcript and either accepts you or rejects you (the only people who are rejected in this step will be people who didn't follow the directions - make sure you include a detail where they tell you even if you included it elsewhere... they're checking to see if you can follow directions).
The next step is to take the ATST and pass that. It's a very easy test. Once you pass that you have the medical, drug, background, etc. checks and the mental wellness quiz.

Eventually you'll be told your academy date, and then you ship off to OKC for training. You get told whether you're tower or center here (the two 'main' types of ATCs). Once you're there you take the classes, pass exams, etc. while being paid. Eventually the class ends and you get to pick which location you go to based on the order of grades.
Once you're at your facility you have a couple years of on-the-job training, but you'll basically be doing your career there unless you washout until you're in your 50s (mandatory retirement).

The downside is that you're in an incredibly stressful situation where people's lives and millions of dollars are at stake. ATCs have a high rate of suicide as well, but no one at my facility has killed themselves in the last couple of years. You also have to be talking to people throughout your shift. There is a lot of down time (sometimes I have 30 minute breaks every hour), but those times where shit hits the fan needs you to be on top of your game.
Another big downside is that you can't guarantee where you'll work, and you're sort of stuck at your facility for a year or so, so if you have a family or really like your state you have to sacrifice this.

Search up what level various airports near you are here: http://www.natcareloaded.com/index.php/map
This is important because the higher your facility level the higher in traffic you get, the more controllers you'd work with, and the more money you'd make. I'm an enroute guy, so I don't work near an airport. But the ~20 centers around the country are all near major cities so don't worry.
Oh yeah, the pay. It goes up each year to match inflation, but here is what you can expect: | That's without locality pay, which is an additional percentage of what you make (detailed on the first link). For example, I'm at a level 11 facility and just got to D3. CPC expected ~2018.
And the benefits page: https://www.faa.gov/jobs/working_here/benefits/

Here's the app if you're interested: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/473871400
Good luck!
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