possibility of becoming a 'training failure' which 1/2 of my class fell victim to. this is the biggest downside...you could end up wasting a lot of time and money if you fail to make it through the first year of training. The worst part for me was the fact that I heard that due to the amount of failures in my class, they decided to change the training program to ensure more people made it through to actual, relevant, live traffic training.
people make a good deal of money, yet are often whining about not making more. most of the whining I overheard came from people making over 90K a year.
The abnormal schedule, for example, 3-11pm, 2-10pm, 8-4pm, 6-2pm followed by a night shift the same day of 10pm-6am really messes people up. I saw walking zombies every day. I have met people who had to work this schedule well into their 40s. think about it, you are gone 2 evenings a week, one overnight, and basically the best way to deal with the overnight is to not sleep all day when you get home at the crack of dawn so if you think about that, does the money justify what type of life you will have?
there is a rift between the Union members and non-union types. a lot of trash-talking behind people's backs, and it all seems very high-school.
not a con, but a final warning. I would not count on basic intelligence to carry you through to CPC (certified professional controller) Most if not all people who make it through have sacrificed a lot of personal time studying their ass off to make it, and sometimes that's not enough. if you really want it, it will consume you for a good 2-3 years until you are fully checked out....that is, if you make it thru training. my advice, have a back up plan.
