If you have the opportunity, go full time reserve/guard. It truely is having your cake and eating it too. You get to fly, you get great pay and benefits and for the most part, avoid the painful deployments that active duty guys endure. I'm mostly speaking of Navy active duty vs FTS.

SELRES isn't a bad gig either but it is a lot of work doing both that and the airline, something most FTS don't understand. Regardless of your branch of service, there are a lot of Navy reserve pilot positions out there, both FTS and SELRES. Our squadron has people from every branch of service.

Trying to time the hiring wave is like trying to time the bottom of the stock market, good luck.