Sadly the opportunities to fly in the ATC nowadays are a very pale shadow of their former selves.
It worked well for me; Gliding Course at 662 GS, RAF Edzell in 1957, Flying Scholarship at Perth in 1958 (Tiger Moth - 30 Hours - PPL) which lead to South Cerney in 1960 and 18 years as a pilot in the RAF (never did a ground tour).
Then 30-odd years in commercial aviation.
I reckon the money spent on me produced a decent return.