Originally Posted by
djrogs03
While I know this is a huge commitment (10 years). I'm tired of being stuck at my employer making subpar wages, and no upgrade in sight.
So, just how far off
is "no upgrade in sight"?
If you want to join the military, then make sure you're doing it for the right reasons -- not because you're bored in your current job and want an adventure. You might get a lot more adventure than you signed up for.
Originally Posted by
El Guapo
You'd be insane to go AD vs ANG/Res. You can decide which airframe in which city. Go AD and you might find yourself at a desk with a joystick.
This is incredibly short-sighted advice. Over the course of a career, there is just as high of a chance that an ANG or Reserve unit will change airframes. I know literally dozens of guys who started their flying careers in the ANG/Res in one airframe and are on their 2nd or 3rd different aircraft (sometimes with the same unit, sometimes not).
I'm sure the guys who worked at the dozen or so ANG units who, since the 2005 BRAC, have traded in their aero-planes for UAVs didn't think it could happen to them, either.
Just like there are no guarantees on the active duty side, there are none in the ANG, either.
Right now UAS/RPVs are being assigned to about 5% of UPT graduates. There are a lot of other things that have a 5% chance of happening in UPT, too...so the "you might be flying a desk with a joystick" boogey-man is a pretty narrow-minded reason to avoid going on active duty.
If a dude wants to keep his seniority number while on mil leave and go find an ANG or Reserve job, that is probably a good plan...but don't do it because you think it's going to guarantee you a particular airframe (or, more specifically, NOT a particular airframe in the case of a UAS/RPV) for the long term.