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Olivia Rubelt at her workplace
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The start of working life is exciting, exhausting - and often completely different than planned. In the series "My first year on the job", young professionals tell how they experienced this time. This time: Olivia Rubelt, 22, air traffic controller in Langen near Frankfurt am Main.
»At school I thought the next step would definitely be university – after all, my average was 1.2.
But I began to have doubts about the Abitur.
I've already had offers from several universities, including law and financial mathematics.
But I was struggling with whether I really wanted to spend the next few years in the lecture hall.
I was afraid of getting lost in the crowd.
So I googled for unusual apprenticeships.
The DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung was displayed to me high up.
Without thinking too much, I applied online to train as an air traffic controller.
My dad thought I would later walk around the tarmac with the paddles glowing.
Today he knows: As an air traffic controller, I don't necessarily work at the airport, but also in the control centers distributed throughout Germany.
From there, I coordinate with the planes by radio who is allowed to fly where and warn the pilots of dangers.
Month-long selection process
During the application phase, I had to pass many tests, such as my ability to react and my ability to multitask.
Once we heard letters spoken through headphones for an hour, at the same time a lamp flashed in front of us.
If it blinked twice or a sound ended in 'E', like 'B' and 'G', we had to push a button.
The applicant next to me fell asleep - I don't think he made it.
Finally there was a medical check and psychological talks.
It wasn't until I received my training contract two months later that I knew in which department I would later be assigned.
Air traffic controllers are specially trained for an airspace and work in the control center or airport tower.
You can state a preference, but DFS decides based on need.
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Roughly one can say: The controllers in the tower take care of take-offs and landings at their airport, whoever is responsible for the upper airspace communicates primarily with aircraft at cruising altitude.
I got a training position for the lower airspace, i.e. everything that flies in between.
We have parachute jumps or flight schools at our altitude, and the Air Force also flies practice missions in our area.
You can't choose where you work either.
I would actually have liked to stay with my family in North Rhine-Westphalia, but was accepted for Hesse.
I can't just switch later either, because the training is designed for a specific location and its airspace.
training for an indefinite period
I was continuously at the DFS Academy for 15 months, where I learned the theory, from aviation English to the physics of cloud formation.
I also had several flight hours in the simulator to get to know the other side as well.
Then you go to ›on-the-job training‹, or OJT for short.
We trainees had a team of about ten mentors, one of whom always trained us directly.
This is important because after only a few weeks of simulation, we are working directly in live flight operations.
At first your knees tremble.
During my studies I would have been dependent on myself, here I was looked after 1:1.
There is no prescribed end of the training period - the decision lies with the mentors.
You can be in the OJT for twelve months or three and a half years.
Together with the time in the academy, the training can last up to five years.
In the OJT, however, you already receive a training allowance of around 4000 euros gross per month.
Since the end of my training in May 2021, I have been responsible for a sector between Münster and Siegerland - although I work in Hesse, I happen to have an eye on my home airspace over NRW.
All planes flying in the lower airspace use my frequency.
This means that I am responsible for ensuring that their paths do not cross and that they are warned of dangers in good time.
We always work in teams of two, both see the same picture.
One person radios with the planes, the other with the surrounding sectors.
Since the airspace has to be monitored day and night, air traffic controllers work in shifts, each shift usually lasting eight hours.
Because we have to be vigilant, we should take a break at least every two hours.
In the meantime, other colleagues will take over.
We also have longer 'off-turns': After a three to five day shift, we usually have three to four days off.
I can't make any mistakes.
So I try not to think that at any given moment hundreds of lives depend on my attention.
There are always situations that stick in your memory, for example recently an airplane with defective hydraulics.
But I try not to take work home with me and to distract myself after work.
Financially independent at the start of your career
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Depending on the location, you can assume a starting salary of 100,000 euros.
Income also depends on traffic and shift surcharges.
I earned about 126,000 euros last year - with an apprenticeship!
I invest part of my income in real estate, and I also travel a lot.
My boyfriend is currently living in Barcelona, on my days off I visit him and we go out for tapas.
After graduating from high school, many people think that studying is the only way to a good and secure life.
I've learned that's not true.
I still enrolled in law alongside work – just for fun.
I don't need to feel any pressure to finish quickly.«
Have you just started your career yourself and would like to tell us about it? Then write to us at SPIEGEL-Start@spiegel.de.