Am Anfang...

The idea for this journal popped into my head just yesterday as I was packing. It occured to me that I've read journals from people who are going through the Oklahoma City academy, or are going through another one of the many stepping stones to becoming an air traffic controller with the FAA. However, I've never seen a journal (or a blog, if you care to call it that) written by someone just starting out in the world of ATC. Someone at the very beginning, staring upwards at the long and slow climb ahead.

Which is precisely what I'm going to do.

Okay, well, not quite. I kinda lied. I'm not really at the very beginning. Someone at the very beginning would have zero aviation experience, and would be heading off to a CTI (collegiate training initiative) school to start from scratch. Me? I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science from ERAU Prescott, along with CFI/CFII/MEI certificates. I'm not exactly a stranger to aviation. Well, in terms of being a pilot, that is. I still have to go through the CTI training just like anyone else just starting out, but with a bit of a shortcut.

Fortunately, I found a CTI school that would take my previous experience and allow me to bypass many of the requirements. Instead of having to go through a four-semester program like someone without previous experience/education, my CTI training will take a single semester.

So wait, I said I was packing right? Yep, tomorrow's the big day. Tomorrow I ship off to the LA Basin (Walnut, CA) to attend Mt. San Antonio College to knock out their CTI program in four short months. So, while I'm not going to be able to give a complete "ab initio" journal, I'm quite certain that nobody would keep tabs of this journal for 2 years of CTI school.

Anyways, I'll try to keep this as up to date as possible to give anyone interested my own perspective on this whole process. As always, I do encourage people to leave comments.

Until then,

Brent