Overtime and pay

exactly, and considering the situation that current controllers are in...i understand why they are a little (insert sarcastic tag) disgruntled
 
I know all jobs have their struggles/idiosyncrasies/crappy parts, but this job is like no other. You WILL age prematurely, it is a fact. Your life span will be shorter than others...another documented fact.

How do you think ATC compares to airline pilot in the above aspects? I'm not looking for a "my job sucks more than yours" contest, I am honestly curious because that is my job right now (regional airline pilot, with interview coming up for ATC) and I'm trying to pick from the lesser of the two evils. I'm pretty sure I aged about 6 years during the 14 months I've been here, but ATC might be worse, I guess? :confused:
 
Well, we all need to practice building thinker skin when we hit OJT.

Queeno probably has more experience in ATC than I do in life (I'm only 23), so whatever he says, I would keep in mind 'respect your elders'

That's about what everyone said that I talked to when I went on a facility tour this past weekend. You've either got to be a type A personality or at least be able to put up with them on a consistent basis.

Honestly, I don't know if I would consider this job if you're trying to rule between it and another job as a "lesser of two evils". Every job has its share of BS and workplace conflict that is going to be a pain in the ass at times, there's just no way around that. If you've got two choices between career paths, I'd look at it in terms of what the benefit of one versus the other would be instead. If your outlook on either is based around which one appears to have the least number of headaches today, you probably need to re-evaluate your selection criteria. Things WILL change, so you've got to be there because you like the work, because that's the only thing that will keep your head above the BS.

One of my biggest reasons for pursuing this job is because it isn't your typical 9-5 office job. I've gotten bored sitting behind a desk and dealing with the same junk day in and day out. The prospect of very good pay is certainly an incentive, but that's not my only reason for pursuing this. When I visited a local tower/TRACON facility last weekend I noticed one thing about everyone there, they all appeared to ENJOY what they were doing. That spoke volumes to me and gave me that extra assurance that this is what I want to do with my career.
 
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