"FlynEarful" asked:
Is any one or has anyone been in ATC school?
If so where did you go and how was it?

If you're asking where, I'm assuming you're not talking about the FAA
Academy in OKC.

I'm currently at a CTI school - Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA (just
outside of LA). It's a small program--only 3 teachers outside of the
private pilot ground school classes--but it's getting popular now and the
other required classes fill up quick. It's community college, so you only
need to earn an A.S. degree to complete the program and be eligible for hire
(this means you only have to take 10 classes to graduate if you already have
a bachelor's degree). Plus, being community college, it's dirt cheap if
you're a California resident: only about $50/class with fees added in.

The classes are kind of easy if you're already a pilot. In addition to
private pilot GS (which you can waive if you have a PPL), they require
classes in navigation, safety and human factors, FARs, Wx, Computer
Information Systems, instrument ground school, aircraft recognition, ATC
environment (teaches you the actual work they do), and team skills building.

You can learn more about it at http://aeronautics.mtsac.edu/

Also what is the starting pay for a new towere or center controller?
How does the salary increase over time?

The pay depends on what kind of facility you work at, how much traffic that
facility handles, and where that facility is located. Controllers at
airports near rapidly rising terrain get paid more than those at airports in
relatively flat areas. I heard that controllers at Brackett (KPOC), a Class
D, get paid more than those at Ontario (KONT), a Class C, for that reason.
SoCal TRACON pays way more than LA Center. And then you have to add in
locality pay--working in an area with a high standard of living means the
FAA will pay you more to be there.

You can find out more about the wage scale at
http://www.airtrafficcafe.com/atc_jobs.shtml

Hope that helps!

-Sonja