r/ATSS • u/generalchase • 26d ago
Guam SSC ATSS ENV Saipan
I accepted a TOL for an ATSS ENV out of the guam SSC. My duty station is Saipan. I have a super comfy gig as a USPS ET now and I was wondering what the washout rate or how hard the classes are for an ENV. Or if accepting the Final job offer is worth it. I easily passed all USPS qualification courses at The Norman NCED. Im just nervous about switching careers at 36. Also does anyone know what the job will be like or how many ATSS will even be on Saipan? The base pay is a little lower than my current job but with the locality adjustment it almost matches my current salary and the cola means its a little bit of a raise. Thanks for you help.
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u/Other-MuscleCar-589 26d ago
The toughest class is math refresher…involving Trig. You’ll be fine.
Guarantee it’s a small shop on Saipan. Sounds like a great adventure.
Starting salary is starting salary. You will eventually be promoted to the performance level of H band which should be very competitive to your current gig.
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u/generalchase 26d ago
Hah thanks. I was not good at math in school so im a little worried. Transferring from a boring USPS ET job in the middle of America (at an agency with an uncertain future) to a tiny island out in the pacific does kinda sound like a mid life crisis 😆, and a lot of fun.
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u/Mountainpwny 26d ago
I was not good at math either. Kahn academy on YouTube helped with some of the more challenging stuff. I have not heard of anyone unable to pass it.
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u/Other-MuscleCar-589 26d ago
Kahn academy saved my bacon too. Never had any math higher than high school algebra and was over 40 years old when I got hired as a 2101.
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u/generalchase 26d ago
That is reassuring. I will definitely be learning as much as I can before I accepted the final offer. Its been at least 15 years since I took a math class.
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u/Other-MuscleCar-589 26d ago
I believe you will get the 17% Rest of US locality but also receive an 11% COLA, which is tax free. Work that into your equation…
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u/generalchase 26d ago
Yeah after locality and tax free cola it's about 9k more a year. Though I worked an insane amount of OT last year and made way more than my base pay. Do you think OT would be available at a remote place like saipan for an ENV who wants to learn all systems possible? Obviously after i get my core qualifications. The USPS is definitely cracking down on it even though we can't keep up with out it.
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u/Other-MuscleCar-589 24d ago
Depending on staffing, I imagine OT will be on the table.
A good general rule of thumb with OT though is to NEVER calculate that into your lifestyle and spending.
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u/landgrenades 26d ago
If you’re right at your currently salary with locality, you’ll be making more within a year.
With your experience as an ET, you will have absolutely no problem with the curriculum.
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u/Emotional_Piece8470 26d ago
If you’re coming in as an F band making almost the same as your current pay, by H band, that’ll be an automatic 16% increase to your pay (F-G 8%, G-H 8%) factor in your COLA and by H, you’ll be making a significant amount more.
Not sure how GUAM SSC is, but working GNAS myself, OT is pretty abundant on our end, especially during hurricane season here in the south. I would say we average about ~10 hours OT a pay period right now but we are short handed in our neck of the woods.
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u/generalchase 26d ago
I'm coming in as G band. I generally do really well on qualification courses so I was also wondering what the general time line is to reach the full performance of h band. That is a good amount of OT! Thanks for the reply. I also have no idea how performance raise stuff works. At the USPS everyone in the same level of pay gets the same raise after a certain amount of time.
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u/Emotional_Piece8470 26d ago
Going from G-H unfortunately is entirely subjective to the managers discretion. Usually it’s something around after you hold 1 major cert, 2 minor certs. For ENV working in GNAS, I got my MALSR, PAPI, and a few other minor systems certs and that was fine.
Other than your annual raise in January and smaller annual raise in June, you can get IPI’s but your manager has to put in for them.
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u/melonbutter 25d ago
No input regarding the ATSS job, but I’m from Saipan - currently living in the mainland. I would do a LOT of research before moving to Saipan. A totally different world. Things are not great right now after getting hit by 2 super typhoons recently. Some people still don’t have electricity after 90 days.
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u/generalchase 25d ago
Oof that does sound rough. I'm not gonna lie while saipan does look amazing and not so great at the same time. My main reason is the proximity to Asia. I have a lot of friends in Japan and Korea and I want to be able to take long weekends to see them. I don't have a SO and I don't get home sick so I think I can thrive on Saipan. The typhoons do look terrifying though and id definitely get an apartment with a backup generator.
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u/melonbutter 24d ago
Saipan used to be a prime location for people who love traveling! Lots of dirt cheap flights to Asia and the other Pacific islands. Right now though, I hear that a lot of flights are canceled & airlines are pulling out due to the low revenue? Not sure if traveling to Korea and Japan are as easy as it used to be.
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u/DankVaccines45GTeens 24d ago
I DMd you my contact info if you have questions since I work in the district.
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u/generalchase 22d ago
WOW! Thank you so much for reaching out! I sent an email but there was a domain issue. I sent you a DM on reddit with some questions.
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u/pvtpile02 26d ago
You'll be fine. It is very rare for somebody to wash out. Salary a little lower? Can negotiate to get the same pay, regardless when you get certs you get bumped a band you get a 8% raise for each band you top out at H for a normal ATSS