My best friend is ATC and he has 9 years left before he can leave with a pension. If he could walk right now he would. The quality of life is really starting to get to him. Factor in the divorce he is paying for and the responsibilities as a father and he's locked in because of pay. If you were to leave right now, and go full throttle on the flying side, it might be 5 years until you can expect to earn what you make with out OT. But the big difference will be your quality of life. No more forced overtime and many more days actively at home with your loved ones (even as a commuter). It might hurt in the short term getting back to that point, but in the long term you may out earn vs having stayed ATC. But even if you didn't, the quality of life would likely be tremendous.