Do you want to know about the job or about getting picked up by the FAA?
Two different sets of skills there.
I looked into the FAA route, but currently they aren't hiring Military controllers unless they've retired from the service AND with very few exceptions they require you to go thru the academy in OKC regardless of prior certifications or experience. (I've always thought this was wierd since almost all ATC certifications, requirements and initial training and testing comes from the same place: the FAA.) You also have to be very flexible in what part of the country you want to live and work in. Getting hired is alot like getting hired by the Postal Service: knowing the right person will get you alot farther than practical experience, certifications or education. Lastly, as Golfer noted, the salary range for most ATC jobs isn't as high as people think. To break 6 digits requires alot of seniority and being assigned to a very high-density facility.
The Department of Defense (DoD) is what I'm currently looking into. Decent GS jobs at alot of military facilities around the country. They have the same maximum age cutoff for initial hiring (31 I think) as the FAA, but it's easily waiverable.
There are also contract companies that supply ATC personnel here and there. I did my on the job training with a group like this at Butts AAF after I completed ATC school and was waiting on an assignment. (I already had a dream assignment lined up at Spangdahlem, but my orders got deleted soon after 911.) Thinking back , I was the only green suit in the place and I was completely out of the military loop for the time I was there. Those were the days.
Anyway, those guys had a very easy job at a very low-density facility and their salaries and compensation packages reflected it.
It IS possible to make some $$$ as a contract ATC if you're willing to take overseas assignments with (gasp) Halliburton, but without a Control Tower Operator (CTO) rating I wouldn't even waste time looking into that.
There are 3 basic ways to get your initial ATC education:
1. Military
2. FAA Academy (hired by FAA)
3. A couple of universities have ATC programs and can arrange for a proctor to administer the initial CTO exam. I Googled this one to help you out, but I'm not posting the links because alot of crap came back from "technical institutes". As far as I know, there is only one University out there that has a real solid (IE marketable to employers) program and I can't remember which. I heard some guys talking about it not long ago so I can ask if you'd like.
As far as suicide rates are concerned, I don't know the real statistics but I've never seen anyone do a swan dive off a tower catwalk. I've met some really, really sharp people in this job and the good ones stay a few moves ahead of making a decision that will get them seriously stressed out.
