leaving ATC career to go back to piloting?
 

I was 121 pilot before and then 135 pilot since. I was 32 when I left, married with little job prospects, but got my second choice job and never looked back. I was in about as long as you.


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Wow, what is it today ? 1997 ? Everything is peaches and cream, majors hiring, oil is cheap, airlines buying airplanes.

then BOOM, recession, financial crisis, etc. layoffs, etc

Keep the 100K+ ATC job, build up your leave till you are fat on use or loose, attend airshows and volunteer at AOPA workshops via your ATC background, and enjoy that side of aviation.

Fly when you WANT to, not HAVE to.

Good Luck

Thanks for the feedback all, it's good to hear some opinions and keep it in perspective. I know some people would dream of an ATC career also, yet I still find myself day dreaming of experiencing new places and getting paid to sit in the islands (all my experience is 135 not 121). The FAA pay and benefits are great, yet I see the career as so limiting in experiencing the places and people of the world like charter flying can offer. Maybe it's because I'm still young, 27, but I don't see myself wanting kids or worried about traveling...I don't see that will change for me, yet still, what if it does? Has anyone been through this personal transformation later in life with wanting to settle down?

Get back in the air dude. Life is too ****in short to be miserable every day. If you hate going to work, can you even imagine doing it day in day out for 25 years? ..... One life dude, follow your heart.

Yeah, about 90% of men have been through this "transformation". Further, you do realize, you make more than enough money to travel, right? You don't need a 135 job to take a vacation.

Wanna be happy?

Stop chasing a job for your happiness. You won't find it there. Instead...

Here is your password: Gratitude

Focus daily on the things you are grateful for having/experiencing/doing, not the things you don't/aren't. Realize the grass always LOOKS greener on the other side of things, but that's an illusion, and nothing worth having comes free.

The real secret to happiness is being happy with what you have today, right now, not falling for the marketing, gotta-have-it-get-your's-too propaganda all around us for what you don't have. Jealousy & envy (of anything) will keep you wallowing in misery. Keeping up with the Jones is for suckers and fake, plastic people. It's what "they" want you to do. Which means it's a pretty bad idea.

Fact: it is impossible to feel down/depressed when you are experiencing authentic gratitude. And you can choose to experience that anytime you want by simply asking "what am I grateful for? If I lost it today, what would I miss?".

Happiness and fulfillment is an awareness born from a mind-set and attitude...not a destination, a job, or a thing.

^^^^ THIS^^^^^^

If you must leave the great job you already have, at least do yourself this favor- Stay at least 3-5 years. That way you will:

- Be vested in the retirement system
- Can be rehired if you want to come back
- Gain valuable experience

It would be really silly to leave after only trying it out for less than a year.

Don't chase your own tail!

You're right. Something I've been working towards my entire life and still struggle with.

It seems you miss the challenge, fun and excitement of flying. Well, no one's stopping you from building on your experience. Get some tailwheel training, a seaplane rating, do an aerobatics course. I think you'll find that those will be very satisfying and will help you adjust to your new career, esp. since you have experience on both sides of the mic.

One of the happiest and nicest guys I know is a controller who owns/flies a Yak 52 several days/week and is a popular DJ around town. He is constantly showing up at the field with a new, beautiful girl to take along for a flight. High-paying gov't job, radial trainer he can do acro in, solid social life, young, good health....he's got it all.