Don't Believe all you hear about civvy prospects for OpsOs. I have just left the service albeit as a FOM and it is no exaggeration for me to say that my knowledge and experience far surpassed most if not all Flt Ops officers I encountered, as is the case, I believe, with most FOMs.
However, Civil Aviation is a very difficult thing to get into at a reasonable level at first and although you may have all the right technical ticks in the box, the one thing you won't have is commercial experience - sadly a significant handicap. There will always be stories about individuals winning good jobs but these are more the exception than the rule and usually have been embellished somewhat, also don't think that the equation of senior postition=high salary, because in civil aviation it doesn't. My knowledge of recently retired FOMs and Flt Ops Officers is a somewhat different experience.
My advice to you is steer well away from Flt Ops, as OpsO has inferred the branch has a long way to go, many peeps are shagged off with the crap employment prospects, there is virtually no career planning, guidance et al. Also they are pretty much despised by many of the SNCOs for being operational biffs with zero credibility and for stealing their jobs.
I am aware that my final paragraph may seem somewhat contentious but hey, there you have it.
