Hi,
I am making this post to learn more about dispatching as a career. More specifically:
- The day to day and week to week;
- Schedule;
- Salary and benefits;
- Overall QOL;
- Advancement opportunities (maybe most important?);
- Stability;
- Who to try and work for (and how to get there) and who to try and avoid;
- Etc.
I'm seeing lots about how this is a great opportunity in the US, and wanting to learn more about it in Canada.
I really missing working in operations and actively problem solving.
Thanks for your time.
Dispatcher/operations as a career?
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Dispatcher/operations as a career?
Last edited by elk1 on Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
172DDriver
- Rank 1
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:58 pm
Re: Dispatcher/operations as a career?
Hey,
Currently working as a dispatcher at a smaller 705.
Day to day depends on whats flying and how much they are flying so every day is different. This becomes even more true with different weather and operational impacts and restrictions.
Most dispatch jobs are shift work, mainly 12 hour shifts with a 4 on 3 or 4 off depending. This makes it pretty easy to see family and do things on your days off but when on shift don't expect to be doing much other than working and sleeping.
I work at an entry level dispatch company so they pay is not the best, taking home around 50k a year after OT. I have full benefits, for myself and wife and kids if I had them.
QOL is good, could be better and could be worse. I enjoy the time off and working 12 hour shifts allows for a lot of time off so I am able to go on vacation or go see a concert without loss of wages for the most part. Unfortunately, disptacting is a 365-day-a-year job so you can expect to work holidays and miss some important events. With seniority you can start to get that time off but in the beginning you are at the bottom of the totem pole.
The advancement you can see yourself getting into a managerial role with a company or a training role which usually comes with a bump of pay and looks better if you wanted to move over to big red or another company.
Stability is about the same as any aviation job, if the world is doing fine then you'll be doing fine. The world has gone to shit, depending on your seniority you could be the first to go or get lucky and be able to hold onto your job.
End goal you want to find a company that you'd want to work for that fits your lifestyle, a good schedule for you and a wage that you can live off of. If that means big red, find someone who works there and get a reference from them. Most companies will hire off the streets, especially smaller companies, then you can take that experience to a bigger company.
Like any job there are great days and there are terrible days that never end. I really enjoy my job but again there are days when I am ready to leave but that is the same with any job. Get the exams done, they can be a bit challenging for a guy off the street since a lot of it is ATP material but it can be done.
Good luck!
Currently working as a dispatcher at a smaller 705.
Day to day depends on whats flying and how much they are flying so every day is different. This becomes even more true with different weather and operational impacts and restrictions.
Most dispatch jobs are shift work, mainly 12 hour shifts with a 4 on 3 or 4 off depending. This makes it pretty easy to see family and do things on your days off but when on shift don't expect to be doing much other than working and sleeping.
I work at an entry level dispatch company so they pay is not the best, taking home around 50k a year after OT. I have full benefits, for myself and wife and kids if I had them.
QOL is good, could be better and could be worse. I enjoy the time off and working 12 hour shifts allows for a lot of time off so I am able to go on vacation or go see a concert without loss of wages for the most part. Unfortunately, disptacting is a 365-day-a-year job so you can expect to work holidays and miss some important events. With seniority you can start to get that time off but in the beginning you are at the bottom of the totem pole.
The advancement you can see yourself getting into a managerial role with a company or a training role which usually comes with a bump of pay and looks better if you wanted to move over to big red or another company.
Stability is about the same as any aviation job, if the world is doing fine then you'll be doing fine. The world has gone to shit, depending on your seniority you could be the first to go or get lucky and be able to hold onto your job.
End goal you want to find a company that you'd want to work for that fits your lifestyle, a good schedule for you and a wage that you can live off of. If that means big red, find someone who works there and get a reference from them. Most companies will hire off the streets, especially smaller companies, then you can take that experience to a bigger company.
Like any job there are great days and there are terrible days that never end. I really enjoy my job but again there are days when I am ready to leave but that is the same with any job. Get the exams done, they can be a bit challenging for a guy off the street since a lot of it is ATP material but it can be done.
Good luck!
Re: Dispatcher/operations as a career?
Hello
I worked in Dispach before going flying with the same regional airline. Besides what 172driver said I would add that you should consider whether you want to move or stay put. Each airline has its Dispatch in different cities. If you don't want to move I would start by checking to see if there is one in your town (that's assuming you live in a big city) and what their requirements are. Just look at the career page on the airline's website.
At some point, the minimum requirements were to have the flight Dispatch exams completed, but everybody is hurting for people now, so they may hire you without them and give you a timeframe to complete them. It has been done before, I don't know if it is being done now.
You can get more information on the Transport Canada website and there are some online courses you can buy to help you study. This is the link for Transport https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/public ... s-tp-12513
Good luck!
I worked in Dispach before going flying with the same regional airline. Besides what 172driver said I would add that you should consider whether you want to move or stay put. Each airline has its Dispatch in different cities. If you don't want to move I would start by checking to see if there is one in your town (that's assuming you live in a big city) and what their requirements are. Just look at the career page on the airline's website.
At some point, the minimum requirements were to have the flight Dispatch exams completed, but everybody is hurting for people now, so they may hire you without them and give you a timeframe to complete them. It has been done before, I don't know if it is being done now.
You can get more information on the Transport Canada website and there are some online courses you can buy to help you study. This is the link for Transport https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/public ... s-tp-12513
Good luck!
