Thread: Good Idea?
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Old 01-21-2010 | 11:55 AM
  #16  
CaptFuzz
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If your goal is to become a commercial pilot, you may want to reconsider the commitment and time involved in the direction you are considering. You're looking at 1 year at OhioState, then 4 years at the academy, one and a half to 2 years before finishing undergraduate pilot training and getting your wings, then a 10 year commitment to the Air Force following that. That means you'd be putting off your goal for at least 17 years. There's also the very real possibility that you wouldn't get a pilot slot. Then you'd have a 5 year active duty commitment after the Academy (for 10 years total) and considerably longer if you end up becoming a navigator, air battle manager, or the new rating of UAS pilot.

You should also consider that the military sees you as an officer first, then a pilot, and they pretty much own your life. You will be doing what they need you to do (with only some consideration of what you might like assuming they happen to need someone to do what you would like to do at the moment when you're available to do it) and putting up with a lot of BS in the process.

There's also the issue that your purpose in life will be to go help end the lives of others. That tends to get glossed over with a lot of patriotic jingoism (or a lot of talk of the rare humanitarian mission you might do), but it is a reality that should at least give you some pause if you still have some sense of your humanity.

If you really want to become a commercial pilot, I would suggest looking into a aviation college or taking flight lessons while attending a traditional school. The civilian route is also full of difficulties, but you don't have to put your goals off for nearly two decades and can retain some control over the direction of your life instead of handing the reins over to an organization that doesn’t have too much consideration for your desires.
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