I've applied for IFR controller, and am curious what I can expect my salary to be upon completion of training.
I understand that there is monthly salary, as well as a cost of living stipend based on location?

If you get through training and get licensed as an IFR controller, your initial salary will be ATC-6, Year 1 which equals $127,594. On top of that, there is the ATC premium, which you can think of as your "cost of living" stipend. In YYZ for example, it's $44,756.

Therefore, upon qualification, your base salary will be $172,350. Add on the abundant O/T available, shift, evening and weekend premiums, holiday pay, etc and it shouldn't be that hard to reach $200,000 in your first year on the job.

Not bad for a job that only requires a high school education!

Thats incredible... I really hope that I can pass the selection and training! Is there a list of the other FIR premiums?

I believe you can answer all your questions about conditions by reading the collective agreement, published here:
https://negotech.service.canada.ca/eng/ ... 15909a.pdf

Note, this is the previous one. The new one CATCA just signed isn't published yet.

Incredible, thanks!

nutlord wrote: ↑Sun Aug 06, 2023 9:51 pm Thats incredible... I really hope that I can pass the selection and training! Is there a list of the other FIR premiums?

Each unit has its own premium and I'm just familiar with YYZ as I'm in the YYZ FIR. I don't have a list of the other FIR premiums handy. I do know YYZ has the highest premium, but the other FIR premiums wouldn't be far behind that. I would think the IFR premiums for the other IFR units would be in the $30,000-$44,000 range and then be ATC-6 (year 1) at $137,594.

Actually, let me do a slight correction to the previous post.

YYZ has the highest yes but the other units are quite a bit less.

For example;
YYZ is level 15 = $44,756
YVR, YEG, and YUL are level 12 = $27,491
The rest are level 11 = $23,369

These are amounts only for the IFR ACC's, all control towers have their own level which, in some cases, are the same (ie, YYZ Tower and YVR tower are the same as their ACC's.

Its also important to note that these premiums have nothing to do with cost of living but rather how busy each unit is. Also, with the new contract just signed, the above figures are already out of date by 5%.

Here I thought controllers would be jealous of pilots being up there flying, when in reality, they are laughing to the bank while the pilots must pay their 50-100k flight school on a 40k FO salary after years of minimum wage instructing.

wordstwice wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 1:06 pm Its also important to note that these premiums have nothing to do with cost of living but rather how busy each unit is. Also, with the new contract just signed, the above figures are already out of date by 5%.

I took the numbers I posted right from the CATCA PowerPoint presentation that shows the new scales.

Also, it can be a little misleading regarding the unit classification and premium based solely on "busy" an airport is. For example:
- Sault Ste Marie had over 60,000 movements per year and is ATC-1 with a premium of 2
- Ste Honore Tower had 89,000 movements and is an ATC-2 with a premium of 2
- St. John's Tower only had 36,000 movements and is an ATC-2 and a premium of 3

So, St. John's Tower works the fewest airplanes out of those 3 towers but makes the most money.

There are quite a few more variables that go into the unit classification than just busy. Complexity I'm fairly sure is ranked higher than how busy it is. It's a weirdly complicated algorithm.

Me262 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:11 pm Here I thought controllers would be jealous of pilots being up there flying, when in reality, they are laughing to the bank while the pilots must pay their 50-100k flight school on a 40k FO salary after years of minimum wage instructing.

From what I hear you would be correct for the Americans.

nrgxlr8tr wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 10:19 am

Me262 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:11 pm Here I thought controllers would be jealous of pilots being up there flying, when in reality, they are laughing to the bank while the pilots must pay their 50-100k flight school on a 40k FO salary after years of minimum wage instructing.

From what I hear you would be correct for the Americans.

Heard FO's there start at 80-90k USD

As an IFR controller you can easily, and I mean easily break 300k(400k is doable with maximum seniority and supervisor pay) yearly. That's not even close to maxing out on overtime either. The quoted salaries on the Nav Canada website are so low I don't know any controller who makes anything near those numbers. I am talking for IFR and the 4 major towers (YUL,YVR,YYZ,YYC) only. Not so familiar with the smaller units.

Braun wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 2:38 pm I am talking for IFR and the 4 major towers (YUL,YVR,YYZ,YYC) only. Not so familiar with the smaller units.

A newly certified controller at a lowly ATC-1, Premium 1 tower would be $97,585 under the new contract. Add in shift, weekend and evening premiums, and that's probably closer to $105,000 per year in your first year.

Of course, add in some O/T, 1.5 X working on holidays, etc and it wouldn't be hard to get over $110,000 in your first year at a small tower.

Braun wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 2:38 pm As an IFR controller you can easily, and I mean easily break 300k(400k is doable with maximum seniority and supervisor pay) yearly. That's not even close to maxing out on overtime either. The quoted salaries on the Nav Canada website are so low I don't know any controller who makes anything near those numbers. I am talking for IFR and the 4 major towers (YUL,YVR,YYZ,YYC) only. Not so familiar with the smaller units.

Wow, the idea of making 300k/year within a couple of years of entry into a career is incredibly appealing. You're making me reconsider my desire to become a commercial pilot and instead pursue IFR controller with flying as a hobby instead.

apply now, you might get an answer in 6 months

nrgxlr8tr wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:05 pm apply now, you might get an answer in 6 months

Is the application really that long? At that rate, it would take multiple years to finish the testing. Is it sped up for "more promising" candidates, or is it the same timeline for everyone, regardless of if they barely pass or absolutely rock the testing?

Its typical for the process to take 1 year or more from the date of initial application to receiving an offer. Lots of people post their timeline on this forum, it might give you an idea of what to expect.

nutlord wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 2:52 pm

nrgxlr8tr wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:05 pm apply now, you might get an answer in 6 months

Is the application really that long? At that rate, it would take multiple years to finish the testing. Is it sped up for "more promising" candidates, or is it the same timeline for everyone, regardless of if they barely pass or absolutely rock the testing?

6 months is practically lightspeed at nav my friend

I applied, got through FEAST and was dinged after the final interview. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that I am currently a pilot.

nutlord wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 2:52 pm

nrgxlr8tr wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:05 pm apply now, you might get an answer in 6 months

Is the application really that long? At that rate, it would take multiple years to finish the testing. Is it sped up for "more promising" candidates, or is it the same timeline for everyone, regardless of if they barely pass or absolutely rock the testing?

What happens is they “wait” until enough ppl apply at each location before running the in person tests (FEAST). that takes a few months, but once they host it its usually pretty fast to go from there to the interview to then a final answer/offer