The stability of a government job is unmatched. As an FAA ATC, you are still involved with aviation. Airline jobs are one disaster away from a long furlough and even if you make it to retirement, there is no pension. If we go to war with North Korea for instance, the airline game will change dramatically. For the worse...Think hard about it. It's easy to become a major airline pilot, it's very hard getting what you currently have. Like I said, I regret every day not taking the FAA job. I would have retired in another 10 years with a full government pension and 10 years is not a long time. Still would have been age 50 at retirement with 20 years service with The FAA. If I still had the itch to fly, I would have had 15 years to do 121 but it would have been more for fun than relying on a paycheck. As we get older, the flying career becomes more difficult physically. Just know what you are getting into because you don't want to quit ATC just to go back to a regional and hate life.