And you can't be telling me that ATC and engineering are half as fulfilling as flying
I can't speak for ATC, but my career in engineering has been every bit as fulfilling as my career in flying and I would hate to give it up any more than I would my flying.
Delivering a really well flown flight, or teaching somebody to fly a new aeroplane, is fantastic.
Solving the problem of why something failed on an aeroplane, certifying a new piece of kit, or seeing something that you designed built and flying, is every bit as satisfying as a good flight.
I'm not a maintenance engineer (well I am, but not to the standards of many of the people you'll find on Pprune), but I certainly know maintainers who get a similar level of satisfaction from delivering a serviceable aeroplane on time against a lot of adversity, or finding ways to incorporate a difficult modification.
G
(Chartered Engineer with PhD, Commercial Pilot with instructor and test pilot qualifications)