All,

I'm a "retired" 121 pilot (I only stuck with it for about 2 1/2 years) and recent law school grad working at a mid-sized civil litigation firm. I'm going to be practicing predominantly in civil litigation with an emphasis on aviation related matters. As such, I want to keep my hand in aviation as much as possible and was thinking about attempting to get hooked up with a guard or reserve unit nearby.

Does anyone think that this is a possibility? I'll be 28 in October - will this be an issue? I'd appreciate any insight.

Thanks

 

How would flying for the military make you a better civil aviation lawyer?

Military and civilian flying is similar, but they have different rules and authorities.

Stick with what you know. Go rent a Cessna to keep current and read up on the FAR/AIM. If you want, I'll even send you my copies of my union's magazine, Airline Pilot. You'll love it, trust me.

 

Dude, come on.

If I practiced for 2 1/2 years I wouldn't say I was a "retired" lawyer. IF it came up at a party and it might get me laid I would say that I used to practice law. And then I would say that I finally got a conscious and changed careers.

But that doesn't matter because all I really have to say is that I fly planes for a living and the women get wet.

Seriously, though - where are you? Do some research on your own about who flies what near you. And be ready for about million guys who have already figured out what a good deal it is and to be in front of you.

Guard units look for guys who live nearby, love the job, and are good guys. When you say "hooked up" what are you talking about? Because as an unknown guy showing up and saying "Cool! Airplanes!" you can expect a big bag of nothing. And that is most likely for any enlisted position, including maintenance. If you are thinking about actually sitting up front and flying airplanes, then you are double plus undead.

Not only do you not know which units are around you, but you obviously don't know anyone in those units who could steer you in the right direction.

Stick with law and the civilian side of flying.

And yes, I realize this does sound harsh. But you need to realize right away that getting a job (especially a flying job) with a guard or reserve unit is not something that comes easily or should be taken lightly. People focus their entire lives on getting those slots - it is not something that you should be considering for resume padding.

 

My unit had 3 doctors 2 lawyers and a few engineers(all pilots).That is what makes the guard great. However, the question is what your schedule will allow. If you apply and get selected, (depending on the unit, you will be one of about 100 qualified apps) you will need to take about 2 years of military leave from your law firm for officer's school, flight school and RTU. Then, depending on your unit, you will need more time off back at home for seasoning or becoming mission ready. Normal commitment will be at least 5-6 days a month (minimum) with deployments every year. If you are willing to make the commitment, units do well with diverse players. However, they don't care that you have a huge law suit that conflicts with their rotation in the desert. Our "downtown" guys were some of the best participants!
Good luck

 

The new "operational" reserve makes any job outside the traditional Airline Job with its strong USSERA tradition and Protection an impossibility.

All the Non Airline guys with the exception of one are looking to or have bailed from my unit. 90 days orders every year are fine when another line pilot can just take your trips, but if your an engineer or lawyer working on a big project or case its pretty much impossible to tell your boss that you'll be gone for 3 months. The first time he might feel all patriotic and say sure no problem we'll cover for you, but the second and third? Forget it. We are even having a hard time hanging on to Flight Docs. After one activation with another staring them in the face, they are gone.

 

I better call the four remaining and tell them they had better quit because what they are doing is impossible. Maybe the "operational" guard is different.

 

I'm also interested in the potential for careers outside the traditional airline gig while in the Guard. I would really like to go back to school and get a Master's degree as a Physician Assistant sometime after all of my training and unit fam is complete. The PA program takes two years and it's apparently pretty intensive, but both of the folks in charge are former military and say the guard is fine as long as you can manage the workload and do your AT during a scheduled break. In terms of deployments, obviously you just go and that's that.
Anyway I know it would be difficult, but there's a big difference between difficult and impossible. I'm not really opposed to flying for the airlines, but I would also like to explore other career options. I've done a lot of research on PA's and I think it would be a career that would pay well and (depending on where you work) offer the flexibility required of a career with the Guard. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

As an active duty FTU instructor, I carried a full-time course load while earning my MBA at U of AZ. Granted, classes were at night, but same syllabus, professors, and course load as the daytime students. I'm now considering law school/ANG or AFRES TR. I know of 2 KC-135 ANG/AFRES TR pilots who balanced school, flying, and family. Both didn't do as much flying as they (or their Sq) wanted, but both "made it work." Those squadrons also told me that they are open to hiring a pilot attending law school.

Make sure your school and squadron are within a doable distance (>100 miles?).

 

I'm sorry, but I'm with hourshore on this one. 9-5 jobs are becoming increasingly unworkable on the new AFRES. Guard, who knows, I've never really dug into the full dynamics of the local bro network Guard unit, but the AFRES is functionally AD Lite these days. I've done my fair share of bumming/troughing and can tell you there was no way I could maintain my mil participation and keep a civilian job with a 9-5 schedule. No way. To those who make it work, great. I like to not work twice as hard to get to the same place as my civilian peers AND still be penalized at my job for serving my country. Defeats the purpose of defending it in the first place. I digress.

It;s becoming increasingly difficult to get all the beans and flying done on just a weekend schedule, and for those who commute FROM their 9-5 job? forget it. There's no way. Civ employers wipe their rear with USERRA, and honestly I kinda understand. They can't afford you. I certainly did not appreciate being constantly threatened about my civilian job participation while serving my country, on my own time and dime no less. "we support your service, outside the hours of M-F 9-5 of course" doesn't sound very patriotic to me. THAT is the reality on the street though, outside the organically pre-positioned and compatible schedule of an airline job. It is what it is. I'd go back to troughing, or worse, go active duty, before I entertain getting *****ed out everyday between two employers that have no compatibility with each other. This ain't a PA officer job, you can't kill your beans one saturday/sunday pair a month and be good to go....Try swiging the Tuesday night schedule on an engineer schedule, out of town on top of it. To each their own, forget that. That seems almost as painful to me as the thought of resting my career on an arbitrary date of hire and lateral-career-lacking seniority system job..oh wait, wrong forum...