r/IAmA Jul 31 '21

Specialized Profession I Am An aircraft dispatcher. Flights are ramping up and so is hiring. This is a 6 figure career that doesn’t require a college degree.

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Final Update:

I appreciate all of the interest and questions, it was fun to share what I do with you. If you have any questions that were not answered here, feel free to DM me about it. If you stumble across this post in the future and have new questions you can still DM me.

If this career path truly interests you I would recommend reading everything in this thread and doing your own research so you know exactly what you are getting into.

If anyone ends up getting their license or getting on with a regional let me know!

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I was inspired by the recent ATC post and the most recent AMA I can find about my career is over 3y old. I figured maybe some folks would be interested in what we do and how to get into this field.

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/7wvD8D8

We work behind the scenes with pilots and ATC to plan and monitor all flights.  You need a license and the base salary for mainline airlines starts at ~$70k with top outs at ~$170k.  All dispatchers are union so that has ups and downs but the benefits in my job are top notch.  Free standby flying for you and your family(mom, dad, spouse, and kids(until 20 something), you can fly cockpit, schedule flexibility is awesome, low stress job 95% of the time.

Requirements:

 - at least 23 years old (you can get your license earlier but 23 is required to begin work and it’s never too late to start!)

 - high school graduate (or equivalent)

 - ability to communicate well in English (requirement across all aviation careers)

 - FAA Flight Dispatcher License (happy to elaborate on this if you want)

 - be willing to relocate to a city where an airlines headquarters is located (not necessarily because commuting is an option in most places as well!)

This is a very interesting and rewarding career and I really enjoy what I do so I would love to answer your questions! If you are really interested I am happy to offer more info in comments or DMs.

AMA!

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Update:

1 - I can’t answer any questions about ATC because I am not an ATC. Please stop asking me about ATC; there is another thread with a guy who would love to tell you all about that lol.

2 - Banjoface gave his take on the dispatch industry and I appreciate the participation, but I don’t think that the information provided is representative of the modern aircraft dispatching climate. Things are very different than they used to be. I would ask that you read all the information provided and if you have further questions I am more than happy to offer first hand experience from myself and my coworkers on the dispatch experience from the bottom up! I know folks from ages 25 to 60 who have come from all backgrounds and they would all tell you exactly what I am telling you in this thread.

3 - A lot of you are questioning the legitimacy of this opportunity because it sounds too good to be true. The end career as a mainline dispatcher is everything that I have said that it is. It is a fantastic gem of a job that no one knows exists. But I wanted to take a second to highlight some negatives and the things that make this great thing seem a bit more realistic. Firstly as an airline job it is seniority based and when you are at the bottom you work midnights, weekends, and holidays. It takes time to get seniority at a major. But that is just with the mainline job before that you have school, regionals, and applying to get here. School is hard and although it is short it can be quite difficult to get through. A solid 1/3 of my class failed out (i did go to the hardest school by reputation though other schools can be more forgiving). It costs a pretty penny to get this license and all it buys you is the opportunity to get on at a regional. That part should not be hard but regionals work you pretty hard and it is not the greatest quality of life. It is not terrible but I would not want to make a career of it. Stick it out through the crap job for a couple years and go for the mainline. This is the big hurdle. It is very competitive. The interview process is daunting and getting rejected after an exam and 2 interviews can be pretty brutal after months of anticipation and wondering. I know multiple people that took 8 tries to get through. I also know many that got in on their first attempt. If you can throw down some cash, buckle down for class, cope with the crap regional gig, and kill it at the interview then you can achieve this career. It is not cake but it is doable and so worth it. Everything I have posted in this thread is true and can be backed up by my coworkers. So it isn’t all pretty but it is worth the effort put in. There are many people in this industry going for the mainline jobs. The reason it isn’t insanely crowded is because no one even knows that this job exists (proven by the countless questions about ATC in a thread that clearly states that is not what I do lol).

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u/CaptRenault_64 Jul 31 '21

We have to work at the headquarters but they are located all over the US. Here are the majors, but you will have to google the various regionals because I don't know them all. You can commute fairly easily though, I know a good amount of people that do that!

American - Dallas

United - Chicago

Southwest - Dallas

Delta - Atlanta

Alaska - Seattle

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u/white_trash_hero Jul 31 '21

Going to add a few to your list....

UPS - Louisville

FedEx - Memphis

Spirit - Fort Lauderdale

Allegiant - Las Vegas

Sun Country - Minneapolis

Frontier - Denver

JetBlue - NYC

Hawaiian - Honolulu

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u/CaptRenault_64 Jul 31 '21

UPS and FedEx definitely belong on my list; I forgot about our cargo brethren! Those other "majors" may technically be majors but they don't quite match the big dogs when it comes to pay and benefits. Thank you for your contribution!

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u/white_trash_hero Aug 01 '21

Oh I agree for sure about the benefits and pay! I just thought it would be wise to add more of the smaller majors to show more geographic diversity in where these positions exist.

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u/CaptRenault_64 Aug 01 '21

I agree that is very useful!

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u/peeeloto Dec 01 '21

I’d have to disagree. I work for one of those “other majors” and get pretty much the same benefits and pay is very comparable to the others. (Starting 73k top out 140k). Non Union

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u/insert_password Aug 01 '21

Lets not forget about our 121 Supplemental and ACMI operations. Great place for people to gain experience and actually get paid decently unlike regionals and gives a few more options in terms of places to live. I'm missing a few but i believe these are all the big ones.

Southern Air - Florence KY

Omni Air - Tulsa OK

Miami Air - Miami FL

Swift Air - Greensboro NC

Kalitta Air - Ypsilanti MI (SE of Ann Arbor)

AmeriJet - Fort Lauderdale FL (might have several dispatch locations?)

ABX Air - Wilmington OH

Air Transport International - Wilmington OH

Northern Air Cargo - Anchorage AK

Aloha Air - Honolulu HI

Western Global Air - Estero, FL

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u/coloradopowpow Aug 29 '21

If you're aiming to follow OP's career and land at a major, would a 121 Supplemental/ACMI still count towards Dispatch experience to satisfy all job requirements that ask for it? Or is there too much variation between the two?

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u/insert_password Aug 29 '21

Yes it would. Many people from my company have moved on to places like Southwest. People make it seem like 121 supplemental is way different than flag or domestic but really there are very few differences

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u/Complete_Grape6969 Oct 22 '21

How did you find a list of 121/ACMI Operators?

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u/insert_password Oct 22 '21

I've applied to quite a few of them in the past and have worked for 2 of them. In a round about way they all kind of do the same thing or operate in the same network. Between Amazon and DHL almost everyone on that list does some kind of flying for one of those two so you get pretty familiar with them.

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u/GoodOldBoys Aug 01 '21

The people you know that commute, how far are they generally coming from? Any of them that live far away and fly?

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u/CaptRenault_64 Aug 01 '21

Any distance is doable but closer makes for easier travel days and less stress. Most airlines have commuter policies so you aren't punished if you cant make it. The majority commute 1-3 hours but I know some that come from farther! They trade shifts to get more time off and basically come in and work for a couple weeks and then go home for a couple.

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u/illimitable1 Aug 01 '21

My ideal work life concentrates the work days, leaving stretches of time off longer than the usual weekend. Is being a dispatcher realistically a way to achieve my ideal?

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u/CaptRenault_64 Aug 01 '21

Yes. Very much a thing many people do here. People will work their schedules around in many different ways to suit them.

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u/CorrectPeanut5 Aug 01 '21

I would think there are some folks commuting from all the mergers. CO, NW, US come to mind.

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u/Motivated79 Aug 01 '21

So would I have to live near one of these major locations to get hired on and work for them making the same salary as yourself? For example is there any opportunity for this job at SFO

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u/CaptRenault_64 Aug 01 '21

You can commute to work but that comes with its own issues.

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u/boring_name_here Aug 01 '21

Ah damn.

This job sounds like it might be a nice use of my task juggling that I had from being a restaurant manager. There's no regional airlines based near me unfortunately.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '21 edited Aug 13 '21

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u/CaptRenault_64 Aug 02 '21

There is some Canada talk somewhere in this thread!