Originally Posted by
SmilinJack
Hello all,
I'm fixing to start a career in flying. I am unsure whether or not flying for the military is a good idea at this point whether its Airforce,Marines,Navy or ANG. I grew up wanting to be a fighter pilot, it has always been a lifelong goal of mine. I was heavily influenced by my grandfather who flew F-9's in the Navy during Korea. I am about to graduate college with a 3.5 gpa, I have around 300 hours with a CFI, II, and MEI, and no pinkslips or anything like that. I don't think I will have a problem with flight training if I get accepted, Im just not sure if its a good idea considering the pilot shortage that is fixing to start up with the airlines.
I guess what I am asking is, what the best course of action would be. My instructor is ex-airforce and tells me that going ANG up in Wyoming would be his first choice. I am extremely afraid of getting in and getting stuck on a UAV or something of that nature, and missing out on the hiring boom.
Any advise would be greatly appreciated
Thanks, Joe
Joe, there's a lot of good advice on this thread and a lot of different opinions... I'll give you mine.
1) You have yet to graduate from college and only think you know what you want. I know lots of pilots who joined the military to fly as a means to an airline job or avoiding the infantry during the Vietnam era draft who wound up making the military a career. I just joined as an exciting way to serve my country for a few years and no intention of being career military or an airline pilot. Almost three decades later, I'm retired from the reserves (after over a decade of AD [Active Duty]) and an airline captain. Life doesn't go the way you planned.
2) I'll go against the consensus here and suggest you look at AD service. There are lots of pitfalls (stifling bureaucracy, absurd regulations, long hours, careerist senior officers, to name a few) but you'll make decent money, get the best training in the world and be surrounded by the finest people you'll ever work with. The experience is character building if nothing else. Admittedly, the ANG/AFR offer most of the advantages of AD with few of the disadvantages, but don't dismiss AD out of hand. As far as going straight civilian, I wouldn't trade my mil time for a decade of seniority.
I was on the DC-10 flying with a 40ish captain who was only a few years older than me when we flew over a low level route I used to fly well below the trees at well over 400 knots. I finished my musing with the statement it probably wasn't very smart. He countered with how he would have loved to have traded careers with me.
3) If you go to the reserves it's best to live near both your military and civilian job. Frequently that's impossible, but at least live near one of your jobs. I've never seen anyone commute to both jobs for any length of time and have never heard of anyone doing it while holding a family together.
4) Just 'cause you've got a whopping 300 plus hours and some ratings, don't assume military flight school will be a snap, no matter what your ex-AF IP tells you. I've seen pilots with better quals wash out. To put it into perspective, for me, having a Marine DI scream at you and work you to exhaustion for a few months was a walk in the park compared to the rigors and stress of flight school.
Also, don't fall into the fighters or nothing mindset. Some of your selection will be determined by skill and some by luck beyond your control. Heavy drivers do some cool stuff and while helos might take longer to get the airline job, that's probably some of the most challenging flying available.
Just some food for thought, Joe. Good luck with your career... no matter where it takes you.