Okay, I'll try to give you all a little insight on an ATC job. The following are *MY* impressions and experiences only, take them for what that's worth. I was a college CFII with around 1300 hrs when I got hired back in '79......
First, being a pilot does NOT necessarily give you a big leg up in training. Yes, you'll be more familiar with the terminology and procedures we use, but the "job skills" between a pilot and controller are different. When I went through initial training, the washout rate for pilots and former military controllers was almost as high as for secretaries and accountants. Some pilots (people) would do extremely well with just two or three airplanes, but just be unable to juggle and prioritize ten-fifteen balls at the same time. Doesn't mean you're a bad pilot or person, just a lousy juggler. Some people have a difficult time analysing a situation and making a good decision very quickly. Given one minute, they'd do just fine. There just isn't that much time, and you can't second guess yourself very much while on position. A controller doesn't always get it right, but you have to be very confident and decisive. Suprisingly, many people aren't when the fur flies. Again, doesn't mean you're a bad person or unsafe in another career. I'd kinda prefer that my surgeon think a bit longer than five seconds in fact
Military ATC is NOT necessarily like civilian. I've met some very fine military controllers who had a good and varied backround. I've also met some who had, how shall I put this, the same three days experience 300 times in a row if you get my drift. They might not be bad controllers, but we really don't know until they get a few hundred different experiences thrown at them.
There IS stress in the job. But stress is dfferent things to different people. Some people just thrive on stress. I think you'll find many controllers at the busiest facilities are like that. If they didn't, they wouldn't last long. Lots of divorces, but the drinking has gone WAY down from 20-30 years ago. We get random testing just like airline crews, plus the average age is getting up there, like 45 ish. Besides, alcohol interferes with my Diabetes medication........
Many people would think that bad weather is stressful, but in my own case, I LOVE 500 and 2. Just so long as there's not much convective activity. I have more fun vectoring a bunch of pros to parallel ILSs than just about anything else. Pros are predictable and easy to serve. On the other hand, Thunderstorms mean nothing's predictable. The wind may change 180 degrees and 30 kts in two minutes. Three pilots will deviate east around a cell, and the next will insist on going NW. Three will report light-moderate, and the next severe turbulence. Just as soon as you get a plan in place, you have to change it. That's stress.
Also, a holiday weekend with good weather can be a real bear because every flying farmer and his brother Earl are out there and you know the frequency is going to be just barely manageable. People stepping on each other's transmissions and read-backs, lousy scratchy radios, sorry transponders, sight-seers, gliders, jumpers, banner tows, cops, traffic reporters, surveys, photographers, students, flight tests, and Mom and Pop taking the kids to Grandma's, you name it. It get's VERY frustrating at times. It's like flying the most poorly maintained aircraft you ever saw. You have no idea what's gonna break next, and how you're gonna troubleshoot the problem. Just keep the greasy side down and try to keep the airspeed around Va. That radio frequency is to a controller what the control column is to a pilot. When you hear a frequency become nearly unmanageable, that's a BAD sign. Everyone's just along for the ride. If you hear a controller get curt at such times, please try to excuse him/her. It's like wrestling the wheel away from a goofy passenger.
That's my perspective as a terminal controller. I generally like my job, and won't complain about the pay and benefits. 70% of the time, I'm probably over paid, 25% of the time, I'm paid what I'm worth, and 5% of the time, I ought to get about three times what I'm paid, so it evens out, just like lots of other jobs......
