Bratback - there's no harm at all in asking a pilot if there's time. You just reminded me of an example where time was lacking years ago. I was working tower (ah, the heady days when I could look out of a window!) and a SF34 had just departed. As they passed the upwind end of the runway at about 300', they called "mayday, compressor failure".
I can almost guarantee that somebody, somewhere, likely in a centre or tower near you, would be thinking "what's a compressor?" Knowing that it's a big spinny bit in the engine which, if it fails can lead to a punctured fuselage and tanks and possibly a fire, I offered them a visual circuit, either direction and immediate landing clearance. The funny (after the event) thing was that it wasn't actuallya compressor failure at all. It was a compressor stall which makes a loud bang and certainly is enough to make it worth having an engineer look at the engine, but with much less serious consequences.
There was a case of a C150 pilot many moons ago calling mayday for a "power unit failure" while over water. The ATCO sat scratching his *ss for a second or five before realising that meant an engine failure.....
I'm not for a minute advocating seeing this profession as a pastime. I AM advocating having enough interest to read the odd professional journal, talk to pilots when you get the chance, take fam flights and simply be interested enough to want to be a better ATCO. Besides, the more interested you are, the more you'll enjoy it! Enjoying your job is nothing to be ashamed of!