Anybody in the military or military knowledge

Originally Posted by Skeeter

The other was a Columbia MBA. USNA 2001. EA-6B Driver.

My I ask who your Prowler buddy is, that's my community? I might know him.

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Honestly with a degree on psych your not prime to be a air force pilot or an army fixed wing pilot. Thoes people come form the academy gennerally, however if you go see an army recruiter you can go apply to be a helocopter pilot ( warrent officer). Not much of a desk job there. I have been active for the past 14 years, and I wish I would have went that route.

Originally Posted by prowlerflyer

My I ask who your Prowler buddy is, that's my community? I might know him.

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Marine?

Originally Posted by vilseck21

Honestly with a degree on psych your not prime to be a air force pilot or an army fixed wing pilot. Thoes people come form the academy gennerally, however if you go see an army recruiter you can go apply to be a helocopter pilot ( warrent officer). Not much of a desk job there. I have been active for the past 14 years, and I wish I would have went that route.

This fawking guy....

So I've read through the thread a few times now and everyone has made very insightful remarks. There is too much to comment on individually, but I will say that I've definitely gone off and googled many routes and have done a lot of reading. With that said, I figure I will lay out a few more circumstances and what I'll be facing / looking at in the next year of my life.

I'll graduate with a bachelors in Psych. I'll owe my school roughly 32-38k in loans that will BEGIN to be collected 6 months after I graduate. So, with that, I am looking to begin signing up, talking to recruiters, taking officer qualifying exams as soon as possible because whatever route I end up going, I want to be shipping out by this time next year. (summer shortly after I graduate) This is because I'm not interested in finding a civilian job to try to start paying the loans back. (I can be honest when I say I'm very interested in military loan repayment assistance. It is just an added bonus that what I want to do as a career wants to help me pay for school.

I'm not much closer to making a final decision just yet, and this is because there are many factors going into it. Questions like: Will I be able to leave during the next summer? Will I even be accepted into a program? (Officer programs) Will it be a job that I would want to do for x amount of years? (Taking people's advice here on not to just settle on whatever is out there)

I actually just got an email from a Navy recruiter I introduced myself to last week, he wants me to go take a stab at the Navy ASTB test. We'll see about that. Thanks very much guys for the replies, I'm going to reread the thread over again and again.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

I'll graduate with a bachelors in Psych. I'll owe my school roughly 32-38k in loans that will BEGIN to be collected 6 months after I graduate. So, with that, I am looking to begin signing up, talking to recruiters, taking officer qualifying exams as soon as possible because whatever route I end up going, I want to be shipping out by this time next year. (summer shortly after I graduate) This is because I'm not interested in finding a civilian job to try to start paying the loans back. (I can be honest when I say I'm very interested in military loan repayment assistance. It is just an added bonus that what I want to do as a career wants to help me pay for school.

I'm not much closer to making a final decision just yet, and this is because there are many factors going into it. Questions like: Will I be able to leave during the next summer?


Yes. When you get your physical completed and you pick your job as an enlisted man, have 3,5 jobs in mind that you would like to do. I am sure you will get one of them.

When you go to pick your job in the Army, they will give you numerous jobs to pick from. They will also list the number of vacancies for each job, ship dates and any freebies that go with it, like student loan repayment, cash bonus and the minimum length of obligation.

Every branch has a Delayed Entry Program. You can enlist and ship as much as 12 months out. But no longer. If you want to leave next summer you have plenty of time. In other words...if you want to leave next July, you must wait until this July to join. If you want to ship next June 15, you must wait until June 16 to enlist. Understand ? If you decide to go the enlisted route, tell them you want to leave in May after you graduate.


If you want to be in the Infantry or drive a tank. No problem. You can ship any day of the week. Classes start 2, 3 times a week. If you want to be an air traffic controller or an aviation mechanic, you will be limited. There are not as many ATC's as there are Infantrymen. So, there will not be as many classes. They may only have 1 class a month starting for ATC operators. Does this make sense ? I am only trying to throw out a few hypothetical examples to help explain the process.

Ditto for Officer Candidate School.

If you want to fly helicopters, they do not have loan repayment plans for officers. If getting the loans repaid is important, I would suggest going enlisted in the field you might be interested. In other words, if you want to fly helicopters, get a job in aviation such as mechanic, ATC, aviation administration etc.....and put in a packet after 2 years or so. Make sure you like the lifestyle first.

Fair warning....many of the jobs require longer commitments than others. ATC operators and Military Police are 5.5 and 6 year commitments. Infantry is 2,3,4,5,6 years. Make sure you want what you are signing up for. And only sign up for the minimum term. You can always reenlist later. You might not like it. The military is not for everyone.

If you want aviation, you will need a secret clearance where they send investigators to interview the references you list. Make sure you list good reliable ones. Not the ones that are going to brag about how drunk you get or how much weed you smoke. If you are smoking anything that is not sold at 7-11, stop it now. If you have a DUI, domestic violence, weapons charge, excessive number of speeding tickets, all these can prevent you from getting approved.


Will I even be accepted into a program? (Officer programs) Will it be a job that I would want to do for x amount of years? (Taking people's advice here on not to just settle on whatever is out there)

What is more important to you now ? Becoming an officer or getting your loans repaid ? If you owe 35k, then you will owe about 400 a month in loan payments. If you are in the military, then you can get them deferred for up to 3 years. 35k is a lot of money, but you will be making more than 400 a month more as an officer than an enlisted man....plus more responsibility and respect.

However, if you are enlisted, then your loans will be repaid in 3 years at no expense to you. And the monkey will be off your back. Something to think about.



I actually just got an email from a Navy recruiter I introduced myself to last week, he wants me to go take a stab at the Navy ASTB test. We'll see about that. Thanks very much guys for the replies, I'm going to reread the thread over again and again.

Does your college have an ROTC ? Drop by and speak with them. Tell them
you want to take the ASVAB test and see if they can set you up without going thru a recruiter. The test is good for two years.

However, the ASTB won't hurt either

Good luck though !.

Originally Posted by snikwad

good luck. Keep us posted.

+1

Originally Posted by M3_POWER

Marine?



This fawking guy....

???

^ I think he's alluding to the fact that you can't spell for ****. Keep us posted OP, and good luck with whatever you choose.

Originally Posted by prowlerflyer

My I ask who your Prowler buddy is, that's my community? I might know him.

Sent from my DROIDX using Bimmer App

First name starts with a B. Just graduated with his MBA. Did his summer Associate at Deutsche Bank.

Hey guys, just another thought added to the mix. How many of you entered the service with a significant other? What approach did you take with that? How'd it work out? Tell me about your situations.

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

I actually just got an email from a Navy recruiter I introduced myself to last week, he wants me to go take a stab at the Navy ASTB test. We'll see about that. Thanks very much guys for the replies, I'm going to reread the thread over again and again.

Make sure to study like hell for the ASTB. If you don't get at least 7's and 8's, you're not getting Aviation... may get NFO.

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

Hey guys, just another thought added to the mix. How many of you entered the service with a significant other? What approach did you take with that? How'd it work out? Tell me about your situations.

I didn't enter the AF with Mrs. Swish (I came in about 8 years before her), but we are both on active duty if you have questions on how all that works. I know when I came in, the AF was offering a buddy program (I think other services offered it also). Do you have any specific questions?

4 years in the USAF. Worked in IT as enlisted. Enjoyed it, for a while. Got done left , haven't looked back.

I was in 20 years ago, but at that time, if you didnt have a full pilots license before you enlisted with a degree your chances of flying anything were nearly zero.

BUT,,, with a psych degree the air force has some interesting intel jobs. AWACS crews and the Drone program.

If you do Civil Air patrol and get your pilots license your rank transfers to the Air force.(If the stars line up....)

Also make very sure what terms are in the contract you sign. They don't just have one..

In many cases they can reassign you to whatever they want if you wash out of school... Make sure you have an exit plan cause "Stuff" happens.

Best job in the air force is Boomer (Operates the boom on the refueling planes.) Your on flight status, and you get left alone and you get some fun travel.

Air National guard gets more flight time than regulars usually.

Forward Air control is one option if you think EOD sounds fun..... (Some wry humor, do some research)

Border Patrol also has openings..

Cheers
Dave

Originally Posted by Swish

I didn't enter the AF with Mrs. Swish (I came in about 8 years before her), but we are both on active duty if you have questions on how all that works. I know when I came in, the AF was offering a buddy program (I think other services offered it also). Do you have any specific questions?

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any specific questions as far as this goes, but I'm simply trying to compare different atmospheres of the services apart from the hard facts and job titles. Just curious about what the lifestyle is like.

Originally Posted by dwtaylorpdx

4 years in the USAF. Worked in IT as enlisted. Enjoyed it, for a while. Got done left , haven't looked back.

I was in 20 years ago, but at that time, if you didnt have a full pilots license before you enlisted with a degree your chances of flying anything were nearly zero.

BUT,,, with a psych degree the air force has some interesting intel jobs. AWACS crews and the Drone program.

If you do Civil Air patrol and get your pilots license your rank transfers to the Air force.(If the stars line up....)

Also make very sure what terms are in the contract you sign. They don't just have one..

In many cases they can reassign you to whatever they want if you wash out of school... Make sure you have an exit plan cause "Stuff" happens.

Best job in the air force is Boomer (Operates the boom on the refueling planes.) Your on flight status, and you get left alone and you get some fun travel.

Air National guard gets more flight time than regulars usually.

Forward Air control is one option if you think EOD sounds fun..... (Some wry humor, do some research)

Border Patrol also has openings..

Cheers
Dave

Thank you for the great reply. I'm only on my phone at the moment, when I get home I'll look into more of what you're discussing.

Originally Posted by bostonsc4

Thanks for the reply. I don't have any specific questions as far as this goes, but I'm simply trying to compare different atmospheres of the services apart from the hard facts and job titles. Just curious about what the lifestyle is like.

The military tries to station you at the same installation (or area) as your spouse as much as possible (this is called join spouse). There are a lot of factors involved in making this happen such as job needs at a particular base, specific job you and your spouse do, what both of your ranks are, etc... The less rank you have, and the more common of a job you have, the easier it is to stay together. Pay is pretty good when you and your spouse are both on active duty because "most" of your entitlements are given to you as a separate entity. Right now me and Mrs. Swish maintain 2 separate households, so its expensive for us. We are apart by choice (for now), and I was in the zone to make E-8, so we could have been apart even longer (plus she's going to an area to with no base for me, to be an AF Recruiter, so we would have been apart anyway, but I opted to retire with 20 years completed). If you and your S/O are both on active duty, it's actually not a bad deal!

Edit: The military doesn't recognize "girlfriends" or "fiances", you MUST be married to be considered for the above mentioned entitlements. If you have any questions, don't hesitate.

Swish, when and where did you say shes going to school?
I fly to Sheppard tomorrow, they changed it a while back, its no longer lackland for the prelim course.

Originally Posted by vilseck21

???

I would say 75% of aviators earn a degree not related to aviation. My buddy got his degree in advertising, and another in theater LOL.....

I would say the spread for slots are 50% academy, and the other 50% split between OCS and ROTC.

Originally Posted by snikwad

Swish, when and where did you say shes going to school?
I fly to Sheppard tomorrow, they changed it a while back, its no longer lackland for the prelim course.

Oh man, she's going to be at Lackland (Sept 11 thru Oct 30). Im going to Goodfellow tomorrow ... Only for a week tho