Originally Posted by JMT21
I'm gonna look pretty seriously into doing this. I'll talk to a couple freinds here who are in the guard (not pilots) and go pay the recruiter a visit. I'm years out from any regional, but I guess it won't hurt to poke around. What I meant was, if I were not to get a pilot slot, would it be worth it join anyways (say aircraft mechanic, ATC-if they even handle that, or something along those lines)?
The guard/reserves are a useful source of life experience, educational benefits and supplemental income.
The part-aspect of the guard/reserves works well with most aviation jobs, especially airlines, due to schedule flexibility.
However, if you can get ANY fixed wing military pilot slot, that is the fastest track to success in the airline business, period.
Helos in the guard/reserve would be good also, because you still get the military trained ticket punched, and you can advance your civilian fixed-wing career while serving part-time. Active duty helos would suck cuz you're stuck for 10 years with no good way to advance your fixed-wing career.