Hello all.

I have been offered a role in the National training course with NAV Canada (taking place in Montreal this October) for streaming in FSS, specifically AAS. The understanding is that it will be for an eventual placement after training (assuming it is passed) for on-the-job-training in the "Edmonton Air Region".

This region doesn't actually include Edmonton. It is basically one of 10-11 potential locations ranging from the "better" ones like Medicine Hat and Whitecourt (2 hrs outside of Edmonton) to literally middle-of-nowhere sites like Inuvik, NWT and Norman Wells, NWT. I would most likely get shift premiums for remote locations but would not be able to even think about a relocation bid until 2-3 yrs in, and that would still not provide any sort of guarantee that I would be senior enough to relocate.

The main issue is this: if I were 25 years old and single, not a problem. I'm 41, live in Hamilton with a nice house on the Hamilton mountain, and am married. (No kids though yet). My job is not that great, making about $55,000 / year, but both my wife (who works at the same job) and I work from home and have a pretty chill life. The company we work for does not leave us with a lot of confidence that it has a great multi-decade lifespan, although it has existed for 20 years, so I guess that's not nothing. (No pension as part of this job).

This would obviously be an incredible challenge in the good way, but also a complete upheaval and we would be saying good bye to our aging parents as well as many great friends we have had along the way. I do not have a post-secondary diploma but have gotten pretty far in life on wits (good early property investment; online poker playing; holding down a steady 40-hr a week job since 21), but I also am doubtful of my own employment prospects in anything approaching as good a company as NAV Canada.

So to summarize, on the "go for it" side: 1. A real company with a pension that treats its employees well and offers competitive rates; 2. A challenging role; 3. The chance to grab life with adventure. On the "negative" side: 1. My wife and I may be depressed in the middle of an arctic climate as we hit middle age; 2. We miss our family and friends with whom we have great relationships; 3. We have a lovely house that we would either have to get extremely creative to keep, or sell, and we have established memories of home here; 4. My wife's remote job would not have a presence outside of Ontario so she'd have to start over in a small town.

Any insight from either current or former NAV Canada employees would be great appreciated. Specifically: how did you find the job? Is the juice worth the squeeze? Is there ever a realistic likelihood of getting relocated back closer to home? Thank you.

Tower controller here.

It sounds like you really like Hamilton; from the house, to the friends, to being near your aging parents, etc. Lets say you pass the course and are indeed sent to the Edmonton FIR. If your goal is to get back to the Hamilton area, there is no guarantee that you'll be released from your first location in any reasonable timeframe that works for you. And, even if you do get released, the closest FSS (AAS) facilities are St. Catharines, then Sudbury and then Kingston.

So, best case: Even if you were able to pass the course, get sent to the Edmonton FIR and then and get released at the absolute minimum timeframe, that leaves St. Catharines (CYSN) as your only reasonable location to stay near to home, which is putting all if your eggs in one basket. I don't know anyone on the FSS side, but I imagine YSN would be very senior as people look to get out of the north. London has the FSS FIC, but I'm not sure if AAS people are able to cross-train to the FIC side of things.

Nav is also beginning to experiment with remote facility hubs, with the first one being built in Kingston. The goal is to have several sites operate remotely from one location, so there's the distinct possibility that YSN becomes a remote site and all of the FSS personnel would have to move to Kingston anyways, but that's a few years down the road.

Have you thought about asking to defer this course and wait until an Ontario-specific course is offered? That'll at least get you posted to somewhere in Ontario, but there's no guarantee that will come to fruition if you pass on this course.

I don't mean to sound like a downer, but what your life at Nav will look like for the next 1-5 years sounds directly at odds with what you enjoy about your current lifestyle (aside from the desire to switch careers). You and your spouse both have to be prepared for the very good chance that you'll end up out west/up north and not be able to make it back to Ontario for a very long time.

If you're willing to give that a shot, Nav is a great place to work. I have heard many stories of people being reluctant to being posted far away from home, only to end up choosing to spend their whole career there due to the new friends and activities that they never knew they'd enjoy once they got out of the big city.

Best of luck with your decision!

Thank you immensely for your response - it is exactly what I was looking for. I like your advice about inquiring about Ontario-specific courses, as well as your insight about the potential for Kingston remote location. This was exactly the non-rose-coloured response I was looking for. Again, thanks a bunch!

OP, if your wife works remote now, could she not continue to work remote if you were relocated? Or would the company not allow an employee to reside outside of ON?