My current employer had some people leave for oil companies when oil prices were really booming in 2008 or so. They got hired as pipeline controllers which does have some similarities in that it is an "operational control" type of environment. Some people did really well in that field, are still in it and making serious $$$ with good bennies and lots of days off, and others...discovered it was not for them. I have also heard that Greyhound has an "SOC-like" facility that they like to hire people with aircraft dispatcher licenses to work in. I also have some former co-workers that went to work for one of the flight planning software companies (Jeppesen, Sabre, etc.) and then moved on to other areas within that company. So there are a few options. Also, all the FAA PDI employees worked as dispatchers at some point. And finally, I know some dispatchers (mostly ex-military ones) who have managed to get on as civilian employees for the Air Force, acting as flight managers. So, there are definitely a few different paths you can take to a successful career that don't involve working for an airline.
