Think carefully about what you "want" out of the USAF. If all you want to do is fly, then definitely go Guard or Reserves. You may not make as much money as on AD, but you also won't have to deal with crappy additional duties which take you out of the cockpit, i.e. training shop, scheduling, mobility, flt CC writing OPR's, CC's exec, tactics, etc. I'm writing this from a "heavy" perspective, I can't speak to the fighters, but I'll tell you that even among younger guys, flying ends up being an additional duty; i.e. a few flights a month, unless you deploy. When you deploy, you fly your a** off. And depending on which airframe you're in, you can expect to be overseas a lot. I think fighters are on AEF cycles, but AMC aircraft are not for the most part. That means lots of 4 months on, 4 off type cycles; just things to think about.

If you can get a TR slot in a guard or reserve unit, then your sole purpose in life will be flying... unless you "volunteer" to farm yourself out to do additional duties.

Bottom line: as previously mentioned, you really need to think about what you want from the Air Force? I listed a bunch of negatives from a career "pilot" perspective. But on a positive note, they do take care of you and your family; you get great benefits; and work with some great people. Just remember though, on AD, you're an Officer first, pilot second... If that doesn't interest you and you really just want to focus on flying, then go Guard or Reserves. That's my $0.02 anyway.