Hi Grizzled,
Thanks for such a long reply- apologies if my initial post seemed negative- it wasn't meant to be! The topic title was utterly tonque in cheek.
For someone who in reality knows very very little about ATCO work (as in what ATCOs actually think of day to day work, as opposed to what recruitment consultants say), i have found it very hard to get a handle on what makes ATCOs tick and whether i would fit into the workplace and enjoy the work- no one wants to spend 3 years training only to find that the job is made so difficult by senoir managers that its not enjoyable- neither does anyone want to be stuck in the arse end of nowhere because they never asked where thebest places to work are!
It reassuring to hear that there is at some point the chance of following what you enjoy- being at the very earliest poitn of the recruitment process all us potential employees hear is that you don't get any influene in where you end up, or even in which role you end up. It starts to get slightly off putting, so i thought i would ask some questions!
Its also nice to know that most ATCOs will stay as ATCOs as long as possible- this means that the job is interesting and people stay as long as possible- as everyone i have ever spoken to/met who is an ATCO seems highly literate and well educated, its nice to hear that they aren't getting bored after a few years and disappearing.
FWIW the job sounds absolutely brilliant, but i wanted to try and get an idea of some of the more negative aspects of the job early on so i don't enter the profession with false impressions of the work.
Often dealing with office politics is harder than doing the job itself!
Cheers
Jim