I can't believe I'm hearing some of this tripe
Some points that you should bear in mind if you come into the world of Air Traffic Control, be it Aerodrome, Approach or Area :
1) You are damn lucky to have a job in this day and age. If you are moaning about money then you will soon be very very unpopular with all the support people that work around you in ATC. If you want to earn millions then bugger off and be a banker or a lawyer or something
2) If some of you come to out to the Airports side with an "I never asked to be here attitude" then you will very soon find out that you won't be there for very long...... and you will also find yourself out of a job. The days of re-assigning people to different units are long gone. Very few people get a second chance!!
3) Just because you have passed the selection and been offered a place doesn't mean that you are all of a sudden an "aviation specialist" and gives you the right to blather about things you know nothing about. One visit to LACC or EGLL does not make you an expert!!
4) If you are coming into this job purely for monetary reasons then think again. The majority of people who pass the courses and make good, productive controllers are the people who have a genuine interest in aviation and the business in which they are providing a service. I stand by everything that Pedro (Bern) has posted and he is completely correct. We WILL weed you out one way or another!
5) If you think this is bad then wait until you get options for postings for those of you that actually manage to get through CATCC. If you think you are joining NATS, passing the course and getting free rein as to where you go then think on. The number of people who get posted to the unit of their choice is very very small at the moment. If you end up somewhere you don't want to be and you make with the attitude then this will be very quickly picked up by your OJTIs and your Head Of Training and I can tell you for free that we do not put up with trainees who give us sh1t. Not with millions of pounds worth of jets and lots of lives screaming about around us!
6) For those of you who get in, aren't really bothered about whether you end up Area, Approach or Aerodrome, and you aren't bothered which unit you end up, then welcome to NATS. You are the people who will find that this is the most rewarding, demanding, exciting, fun, interesting, unusual, surprising career that you can possibly embark on
Its going to be a lot of hard work for you, but take it from me and all the other people who work operationally at whatever unit, it is totally 100% worth it!!