My future

Listen to your uncle. Go to ATC school while you're still young.

 

WOW!
My biggest regret in life was not entering the Navy to become an ATC... I'm an aeronautics buff, hence my user name and want to someday get a ppl- helicopter. Fwiw you only have until you you are 31 years old to be an ATC so don't spend too much time thinking it over

Listen to your Uncle as truck driving can wait..If you can't afford the huge college fees consider the Navy and their 5 year program..

 

As was @TruckerVinny; I was in the IT world / aka: telecommunications, in the 80's, and made probably almost TWICE what I'm making now. Granted, the hours were long, the work was often gratuitous, and I was oncall every other weekend. . . when the IT/telecom world was basically obliterated, or severely RIF'd, I went back into trucking. I had my own refuse route when I was a teen, and loved the overall driving.
I have been doing this CDL thing for near 20 years, and still am. It's a part of me now. Would I go back to ICG in CMH if they still existed? Probably not. But you couldn't've told me that years ago.
If you have a chance to go into ATC and you are physically and mentally and academically qualified; I'd do that first. I have a fear of heights, so it's nothing I'd have ever considered, personally... in my younger days.
Trucking, however, is a great thing to fall back on, but it may take you many years before you just 'fall into it' like second nature....the first few years are highly stressful.
Good luck in your endeavours, no matter. Be safe.

 

Do what you feel you would be happier with. Trucking has its awesome moments and it's terrible moments. Having a family and doing otr is very stressful, but being single there is lots of money and adventures to be had

Good luck follow ur heart

 

^^^^ well said. VERY. Post of the day. Week. . . . Month~!

 

Air Traffic Control is not a secure job. There is less of a need for them now do to GPS Systems. We no longer have to from VOR to VOR. Free Flight is the future. I have the Garmin 1000 system in my Aztec. When I fly in IFR conditions, the controllers are not giving me any commands that I wouldn't have made without them. Towers are closing in many places. I do flights under the hood and the smaller towers thank you for giving them something to do.

Every job has its good points and bad points. Do what makes you happy and the money will follow you.

 

Go in JFK where air traffic control have to land 5-7 airplanes at the same time , and tell them that GPS and autopilot ,will gonna take care of it . LOL!

 

I don't know what air traffic controllers make but it would have to be some serious money for me to lock myself in a room and deal with those stress levels on a daily basis.

I may not he as old and wise as your uncle but I have lived long enough to know that doing something you don't enjoy will make you unhappy. Even if it pays really well you will just spend that money on stuff in the hopes that it will fulfill you.

Here's a hint...it won't.

 

Also OP do not forget in ATC you will be RESPONSIBLE FOR thousands of PEOPLE lives . And IF you will screw up , damage will be way more severe than stupid 50K load of lettuce...

 

LMAO, that lady is absolutely adorable. Anyways, I have a question for the people with an aviation background. I have a cousin with a wealthy father and he put him through school at Embry Riddle.

Cousin earned virtually every pilot certification there is. After leaving school he found a flying job making $30 an hour but the problem was that he got only five or six hours a week. He ended up living in his car due to not being able to afford rent and the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on flight school went to waste. I hope for the OP's sake that the demand for ATCs is much greater than it is for pilots?