Originally Posted by
Tweetdrvr
You are already in the National Guard. Have you considered the military route to flying as either rotary wing in the ARNG or cross to blue and go ANG, if you meet the military flight physical requirements?
You could use the GI Bill to pay for your degree, and finish college with no debt. Be a good soldier, keep your nose clean, and you could easily find yourself with a flight slot. I would only pay for Private/Instrument out of pocket to make yourself competitive against the other candidates.
And seek opportunities for leadership positions to get over your shyness.
This X 1 million
You need to try every military angle you can until you exhaust it. I say this because you are so young and time is on your side here(what I'd give to be 19 and looking to get into this game).
I'm not super familiar with how the Army Warrant Officer program works starting as enlisted in the NG/reserves but you should look heavily into that if it interests you.
Start working on A degree right now if your benefits allow. A 4 year degree will make you competitive for Navy, USMC or AF OCS.
If its fixed wing you are after, you want to stay away from Army obviously and Id give the slight edge to AF vs Navy/USMC. About half of Naval Aviators fly helos, its not quite that bad on the AF side from what I understand. I come from the Navy side of things but almost died from a freak medical issue while in primary flight school and now out and completely lost.
Take the opportunity to be trained by uncle Sam if at all available to you unless you are already wealthy.
Downsides:
-You will NOT build hours like crazy in the military
-With some exceptions if you are really good and really lucky, you will NOT likely fly exactly what you want to fly
-You may never touch fixed wing
-You are an officer first and pilot second
Positives:
-PAY!!!
-BENEFITS!!!
-RESPECT!!!
^^^
Those 3 right there should be enough to make anybody with an understanding of what this industry has become a happy camper. You will be payed and valued for what you do. You will make far better money under far better conditions than slaving away at a regional. Not to mention you basically won't pay for housing, per diems on deployments, etc, etc.
-Airlines generally still value .mil hours very highly despite relatively low pay in general (IMO)
-You will see and do cool stuff and when you do fly, it will be more fun with somewhat less BS
-You will end up loving whatever you end up flying no matter what you think
The downsides do sort of suck and can be show stoppers for some who just want to fly, fly, fly. Flip side, if you want some of the best training in the world, skills that are valued in the civilian aviation world and MORE than a living wage while doing it, the military is for you. Worst case scenario you do your 7 year commitment from winging and have the GI bill behind you for anything else you want to do (or for further building of your pilot resume), a decent amount of money saved up if you have played your cards right. Veterans preference on alot of things and still flying hours that are respected and valued by many. Its a win win despite some of the downsides.
I got dropped due to a freak medical issue stemming from my wisdom teeth being extracted at flight school, almost died and required heart surgery. I'd give anything to be sitting back at Day 0 of OCS, getting screamed at by DI's or in my truck moving all my stuff to Pensacola giddy with anticipation of what was to follow. I'm a little biased/emotional on the topic but nonetheless am sure its the ONLY good way into this career.