Great post there, sums it up nicely from a pilots point of view.
From an ATC'er:
I got my PPL first, joined the 'dark side' as support staff, plugged away on the CPL & Instructor Rating (you can do that while shift working). The opportunity came up to 'convert' to ATC so I took it. Later completed my ME-CIR. Lots of workmates during that time were doing their licences because the shift work allowed it. Quite a few are airline flying now. They were single minded about becoming a pilot much like the fellow above.
ATC is a great career, even more so than when I started, there are more opportunities to do something different within or take your skills overseas if you wish. You can certainly fly part time if you find the right gig. You'll need approval from ASA to do it but you'll get the approval so long as it doesn't interfere with your day gig. Some rated ATC's left when they scored airline jobs (not many).
You can stream straight into Tower or En-route, en-route will see you in either Melbourne or Brisbane. I think there are tentative plans for one centre only. Tower will take you to heaps of different locations, some remote. I know the philosophy has changed in the Tower stream to moving people around to broaden their experience.
I love the flying but when it came to working as a pilot, it took the fun out of it, my perspective only. I still 'work' as a pilot (part time), I've found the right gig though
Good luck!