Just because FD says that he finds the act of controlling to be a boring proposition doesn't mean that he holds us all in contempt.
I can certainly empathise with FD when he says that there are no goals to being an ATCO.
Currently I work about 50% in the tower wearing a headset, and 50% in the Ops office, so I have experience of both.
While ATC does have goals, for the ATCO they are very short term and transient - For this 1.5hr session of Air Departures, I must launch the a/c as fast as I can without losing separation - There, that's my goal for the next hour and a half, then I get a break and come back and do another position with a different, albeit similar goal.
In the office, I have longer term goals, from some that last a few hours, going up to days, weeks, months and even years. Having to contribute to meetings, development work, projects, using persuasion, negotiation, and all those other 'soft skills' to achieve your goals, especially when your own goals come into conflict with those of others is actually very challenging and rewarding.
As an ATCO I can see that some (most?) ATCOs would find office work boring. As an office worker, I can see that some (most?) office workers would find being an ATCO boring.
All I can draw from the last few posts is that NATS seems to have the right people in the right jobs!
