Out of My Hat

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Monday, 3 October 2011

What I Like About ... Work

Posted on 10:47 by Unknown
In the past I have written about negativity and how it drains me of positive energy.  I have mentioned that I sometimes go to great lengths to avoid negative people so that I can stay positive.  Recently, I've read that some of my Facebook friends have started deleting friends that regularly post negative comments or statuses.

To counter some of the negatives that I encounter on a daily basis, I've decided to write a series of What I Like About ... posts. I'll cover a number of things like work, home, family, friends, church, community, etc.  I invite your to share your likes in the comments section as they relate to the topic of the day.  Please keep in mind, this is an exercise in emphasizing the positive so negative comments won't be posted here and will be deleted from Facebook.

What I Like About ...
Work:

I like my job.  I've had to work for a living before (lumber yard, aluminum factory, retail sales, insurance sales). This is enjoyable enough that it's almost like not working.  For those that don't know me well, I am an air traffic controller and a proud member of the National Air Traffic Controller's Association (NATCA), the union representing controllers and many other aviation related government employees. I work in an up/down facility which means that some days I work in the tower and some days I work in the radar room. Most days, if given the choice, I'd prefer to be in the radar room. However, the tower is generally a good day, too.  There aren't too many jobs that you can get into trouble from NOT staring out of the windows! It's a little over-simplified to say that I get paid to look out the windows and watch the airplanes take off and land, but I do kind of get paid to watch airplanes take off and land.

Getting used to working with a bunch of ATCers is a bit of a trick. We all have extreme egos and believe that our way of doing things is the best way. If I thought that somebody else had a better way, I'd do it that way. While there are certainly stronger players and weaker players, as a whole the US air traffic control system is a sort of dream team. From coast to coast, we guide you safely to your destination -- day after day, every day. There isn't a way to describe the feeling you have after working a busy session.  Sometimes you're helping somebody else; sometimes you're the one being helped. The goal is to get you to your destination in a safe and expeditious manner -- every time.

At a time when government employees are being looked at as a liability instead of an asset, it can be difficult to keep a positive attitude and keep doing the job that we do at the level that we've always done it.  The flying public is fortunate that we take such immense pride in our work that we cannot do less than our best each and every time that we plug in to a position.

It's true -- I get paid well to do my job. But then, you really don't want the lowest bidder to take over a system that should be more about safety than about profit, do you?

ATC is a good gig. Like most careers, it's not for everybody.  The schedule can be difficult on family events and normal activities--we're open 24/7. I've worked a few holidays and missed out on things that other parents didn't have to worry about missing.  It's all a part of the package.

I've been told that I have a very important job. I usually respond that my mechanic has an important job. If I can't get to work, I can't do my job.  It's just my way to keep things in perspective.

In spite of the frustrations that go along with working for the government (and the cover your butt and pass the buck style of management that is the FAA), I feel blessed to have been given the opportunities that this career has afforded me.  Through serving on two different national standing committees with NATCA, I have met controllers and made friends from across the country. We (controllers) are passionate about our jobs, our families, our union, our playtime, ...pretty much everything we do.

For the past 19 years, 8 months and 27 days, it's been a fun career.

John<><
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in ATC, personal stuff, What I Like About ... | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Livin' the Good Life
    I have a pretty good   great life. You probably have a pretty good life, too; maybe even a great life. However, I have found that I can ta...
  • Lent: Week 1
    One week into Lent and I am 7lbs lighter. Yeah, it's kind of like throwing a deck chair off of the Titanic but it's a start. The giv...
  • How Much Faith Do You Have?
    When it comes to our religious beliefs (or the religious beliefs of others), there is always that immeasurable element of faith. Sometimes w...
  • Final Lenten Report for 2012
    It's late on the night of Easter. It was a good day. This morning I was in Joplin at Forest Park Baptist Church for their kids' ser...
  • Tell Your Story
    Last Sunday, I once again issued the challenge to tell somebody that needs to know Jesus as Savior that God loves them and Jesus died for th...
  • Bureaucratic Nonsense
    Yesterday morning I was driving home after working the midnight shift and listening to the local NPR station.  They ran this story on the ...
  • Where Am I Going? And What Am I Doing in This Handbasket?
    I am so ashamed. I've sunk to an all time low...and for what? Food, that's what. I was enticed by a co-worker's announcement t...
  • Cheat Daze
    It's been 17 days since I started my latest weight loss quest.  I was at 261.4 pounds (how did lbs. get to be the abbreviation for for p...
  • What I Like About ... Work
    In the past I have written about negativity and how it drains me of positive energy.  I have mentioned that I sometimes go to great lengths ...
  • Keep Looking Up
    I hope that God blesses you with clear skies tonight. It isn't too often that we get to see a total eclipse of the moon.  At just after ...

Categories

  • apologetics (5)
  • ATC (14)
  • books (2)
  • camp (3)
  • Christmas (38)
  • conference (2)
  • family (6)
  • Favorite Bible Stories (25)
  • food (3)
  • fun stuff (55)
  • Getting started (12)
  • health (3)
  • insight (20)
  • magic (27)
  • message (114)
  • missions (7)
  • personal stuff (205)
  • politics (62)
  • rant (178)
  • religion (107)
  • sports (6)
  • survey (6)
  • trivia (20)
  • video (44)
  • What I Like About ... (24)
  • writing (20)

Blog Archive

  • ►  2013 (89)
    • ►  August (11)
    • ►  July (12)
    • ►  June (18)
    • ►  May (1)
    • ►  April (5)
    • ►  March (12)
    • ►  February (7)
    • ►  January (23)
  • ►  2012 (158)
    • ►  December (33)
    • ►  November (30)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (6)
    • ►  August (10)
    • ►  July (22)
    • ►  June (1)
    • ►  May (2)
    • ►  April (10)
    • ►  March (14)
    • ►  February (16)
    • ►  January (8)
  • ▼  2011 (89)
    • ►  December (3)
    • ►  November (6)
    • ▼  October (11)
      • The Celebration is Coming
      • Better Than a World Series Win
      • Yes! I'm a Fan!
      • Amazing Grace
      • A Great Night in Galena MO
      • Crusade
      • A Tribute to the Parents of Steve Jobs
      • Spanning the Globe
      • What I Like About ... Chris
      • What I Like About ... Work
      • The Week Ahead
    • ►  September (8)
    • ►  August (14)
    • ►  July (12)
    • ►  June (13)
    • ►  May (10)
    • ►  April (2)
    • ►  March (8)
    • ►  February (1)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ►  2010 (94)
    • ►  December (17)
    • ►  November (3)
    • ►  October (3)
    • ►  September (11)
    • ►  August (14)
    • ►  July (10)
    • ►  June (5)
    • ►  May (8)
    • ►  April (6)
    • ►  March (2)
    • ►  February (3)
    • ►  January (12)
  • ►  2009 (70)
    • ►  December (13)
    • ►  November (10)
    • ►  October (6)
    • ►  September (10)
    • ►  August (15)
    • ►  July (12)
    • ►  June (4)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile