Hmmmmmmmm, interesting... On this side of the pond we have had folks in the management ranks (the ones with a whole one or two years experience as controllers) describe us as the lower skill set, or only entry level positions. <sigh> Oh well, I guess that in other professions, those who practice law if they don't aspire to be judges are only the lower skill set. Same with doctors who decide that they enjoy doing general practice and not go into a specialty or heaven forbid hospital management.
I look as being a controller is a position to aspire to. Be a GOOD controller within your unit and then aspire to be a GREAT trainer to ensure that the knowledge you have get to get handed down to the new folks starting out. Doing anything outside of the control room is something that does indeed need to get done, but it is a secondary SUPPORT role to aviation and air traffic control. One thing that we point out here. During the strike that took place in 81, we emptied all of the staff offices in the facilities and the regional offices. Granted, we didn't come up with new letters of aggreement or routings etc... But everything ran just fine in the ops room with no one in the offices... Try that the other way around????
regards