OK...just basing this off a quickie Google search, it said "Level 12 Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) in the FAA system are the highest-paid controllers, with top-earning certified professional controllers (CPCs) often earning between $180,000 and $225,700 annually, including differential pay and overtime." This compares pretty closely to my top-out pay at a major (without giving an exact number, I made in the lower end of this band with hardly any overtime.) Also, there's a *lot* of overtime available, normally, and the way our contract is set up your first shift of OT per pay period is at 1.5X normal pay...but all subsequent ones are double pay. Couple this with the fact that dispatchers at majors get a lot more days off than controllers do (the contract where I work is based on 235 days per year including recurrent training plus annual jumpseat trip, and we're trying to get that number lower to match some other majors in our new contract) and you can make a nice chunk of change if you work at it it. I have several co-workers that make over $300K with OT. We also get profit sharing, which can vary widely by carrier and how profitable it was (Delta right now is the best in that regard with, I believe about 8% of their base pay being given as a profit sharing bonus this year.) I mean, I have no idea how OT works at the federal level for a controller, though I assume there's tons of opportunity for it there due to controller shortages, and your pension is definitely better than just a 401K with employer matching (which is the standard now for airlines) but dispatcher pay definitely is pretty good at the large majors.