Blippy
The impression I get is that Enroute is mainly about long-term
planning, you are keeping aircraft separated and making sure they stay separated, even some time down the line when aircraft on different tracks might be converging. You are also looking out for the controller in the next sector, making sure that he/she has half a chance of maintaining the separation of the aircraft you have fired at him/her.
Tower seems to be a more dynamic position, where you are
reacting to constantly changing conditions on the ground and in the air. You also have the 'room with the view'.
I applied in Oct08 when AsA were only offering Enroute, but I did check the 'Interested in Tower' box on the application.
When I received the offer, it was either start Tower in Jan or wait untill March or even June for an Enroute position.
A lot can happen in 6 months and I thought I'd be crazy to pass up the opportunity (I have an interest in aircraft anyway and it seemed the obvious choice).
We, in the Tower course, seem to have landed on our feet, as Tower courses aren't offered that often, and Ab-Initio positions are even rarer.
I think the general banter in the classroom sums up a lot of the differences within the positions.
We call the Enroute guys 'Battery Hens' and they remind us to send them regular postcards from Karratha.
(Not sure who's come out on top....
)
Check out this link:
http://www.pprune.org/atc-issues/396...r-enroute.html
P.S. There are 4 Tower and 12 Enroute people in the current course.