js081285

I am sure this has been covered here, but I am curious what I need to do to start the application process for a UPT slot for a unit? I am graduating in August and am currently a Multi/Comm pilot. I haven't taken the AFOQT or BAT yet, as I am waiting to get school out of the way first. Do I just email every unit my resume etc.? or do I first need to contact the unit and get to know them? With the way the airline industry is right now, I am planning on just getting a normal business job when I graduate and then try to get on with a unit. Just wondering what the best way to go about it from start to finish to try and get a slot? Also, i realize it is extremely competitive right now, but I would kick myself if I didn't give it a shot. Also, if it helps, my GPA is 3.2 and I have about 300 tt right now. Thanks so much for your help.

UAL T38 Phlyer

It is difficult at most units to get hired "off the street," as they say....but not impossible.

An e-mail alone won't cut it. You're trying to sell them on you...that takes personal contact. At the least, contact the Operations Officer or Commander and talk to them by phone. If there is potential for hires off the street, they will encourage you to come by for their next Unit Training Assembly, or UTA.

Proximity is a key selling point. If you live in FL but are contacting a unit in AK, they will dismiss you as a guy desparate to get hired. But if you live within a 1-hour driving radius, they will see your participation as much more viable and reasonable. The Guard and Reserve want you to stay for 20 years, not quit when you get tired of the commute.

Most units have a plethora of qualified guys applying that are leaving the active services. Many times, they are getting the cream of the crop--guys who already fly their type of plane, Instructors in them, and/or Weapon School graduates. A guy who is already qualified doesn't cost them any training money, and there is no risk--they already know he can do it. A new-hire may "wash out" of pilot training (we see a higher percentage of student problems in Guard and Reserve students than the student population as a whole at my base).

BUT, some bases, in out of the way locations, are chronically short of pilots. These are the places where you would have the highest chance of getting hired.

It is tough in the military, too, these days. Fuel is eating the services up, the Air Force is spending (foolishly, I would argue) lots of money on systems they don't need, and to balance the budget, they are cutting a lot of cockpits out of the loop. Same for the Navy and USMC. Still, a Federal job is the most secure one can be (financially) these days.

Until you fly your first combat mission, and wonder "What the hell am I doing here?? Oh yeah, all that money they paid me...."

Good luck. As I stated on another post here, being an Air Force pilot was the smartest thing I ever did.