Thanks in advance for everyone's help!
So I am an 18 y/old high school senior from the UND part of the world. Because of my geographical position and the fact that i qualify for in-state tuition means that i will almost certainly be attending UND.
I have always wanted to become a pilot. I am currently almost done with my PPL, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. But last night I got to thinking, and I wondered if perhaps I should become a controller instead? The pros of being a controller as far as I know are a better schedule/qol (being home every night) and better pay. But i feel that if I did not become a pilot that I might regret it.
If there are any controllers out there, what is the job like? (pay, qol, etc)? What is the viability of being a controller and CFI'ing on the side? thanks for your help.

 

I flew with a guy that was in your boat 35 years ago. He knew if he wanted to have a family and stay married he needed to do the atc route. He did that and retired at 55. He had an ATP and got a job flying with a 135 operator. He has a great retirement and know is a captain on a biz jet. Makes well over 100k with both. He can do it as long as he wants because there is no retirement age in 135. I envy his decisions. It was a smart move for him.
But when I was your age I never thought about all the years I would be **** poor. Working crazy long hours. Being in debt. Living in a crash pad. all for the chance of making it some day... Never mind the fact that when and if you get married and would want to have kids you will be gone over half of there lives. It's truly a sacrifice and some people can deal with it and some can't.
The good part about it is that you are young and am thinking about your options now and not ten years down the road. Good luck

 

ATC hands down

in off-duty time, get your tickets and go co-owner on an airplane, and have FUN flying. Use your ATC job to make connections at local field(s), volunteer with CAP, AOPA, pancake breakfasts, be "the go-to ATC answer guy" and you will be doing pilot service work in no-time, off-duty, if you wish. Retire at age 50 and get a full time flying job.

 

9GT:

Pursue your passion or whatever will make you happy. However, DO NOT go into debt trying to get an education. Murphy's law applies here because crap happens, or life happens. There's nearly $1 trillion dollars in student loan debt with 75% of it in default. Don't become one of those people. It ruins lives and families.

Please know that there's no fast track to becoming an airline pilot. The military takes 10 years or more of active duty service assuming you get fixed wing rated. The guard or reserve military pilots can complete training and gain the required hours in a couple of years depending on the unit type. Going civilian is a toss up. I know people who were hired by DAL with minimal regional flying and I have friends stuck there with over 8 years and 7-8000 hours in their logbooks.

If you and your parents can afford $200,000 worth of Embry Riddle type training, I'd consider it. If you can go guard reserve, I'd consider it.

Yes the hiring boom has started. However, those already typed and working in the industry are going to be at the front of the major airline hiring wave. Being on the tail end of that will not be good quality of life.

I don't know anything about being a controller except that it's not the type of work I'd like to do, even though it provides some quality of life benefits (limited travel and less hazards). However, over the years of military service I've come to hate the federal government and the incompetence that comes with it; remember the government shutdown? Our country's financial problems are just beginning and we're going to see a lot more government problems in the future.

Do you like computers or electronics? ;-)

 

+1, military has a lot of opportunities.

 

I would also go military. In today's economic climate, etc, having a steady salary, health benefits, etc is something very valuable. See the world, etc. Not a bad deal