MPN11:-
It's not an instant transition from Mil to Civ ATC, with totally different rules and practical aspects
I would say that much the same applies for pilots. However, I tread warily into this debate as some of the flak flying around on the PVR thread was against those who, like me, left the RAF many years ago. Some things don't change though. I remember the culture shock of entering civvie street. You were on your own, sink or swim. Yet by contrast some ex-military pilots seemed to find it difficult to mould themselves into the concept of crew co-operation and information exchange that civil airlines demand.
I was called to MOD for interview having applied for a PVR. I had a dread that I would emerge from it on some punishment ground tour "pour encourager les autres". It turned out to be my ex boss, now a P2 Groupie dealing with Wg Cdrs and above. He wanted to know if I (a mere JO) was under some cloud or other. "No Sir, but I have come to realise that whereas your first love is the Air Force, mine is flying. I have come to the point where they are now incompatible". To cut this rambling story short, he said he'd see that my PVR went through. I only tell it because he was an example of why it was so hard to tear myself away from the RAF. He and his ilk do not, cannot, exist in civilian life.
If all this might seem as a cautionary tale against taking the plunge, it is not. It is merely to make sure you know what it is you are plunging into. I went for short haul flying in the independent sector (bucket and spade brigade mainly). It wasn't so well paid as the long haul state owned sector (as it was then) but much more fun. I don't regret PVR'ing, and I'm glad of my choice of civilian employer.
Money is important, but job satisfaction is more so in my view, so get as much up to date info about the outside world as possible. Seniority is everything, so you don't want to waste it flitting from job to job where you are the proverbial square peg.
Just my thoughts. I'll shuffle off now in my bedroom slippers back to the fireside...