Hey there,
I'm currently an 18 year old instrument rated private pilot with over 100 hours of flight experience and looking to make a serious career out of flying. I have always wanted to become a military pilot, but I also want to get into civilian aviation (preferably corporate). From what I hear, ANG/AFR seems to have the best gigs around. I have also been intrigued by the idea of a USCG aviation career. I would love to fly rescue missions and the prospect of becoming a USCG aviator intrigues me, but I don't really know much about the lifestyle, competitiveness, length/location of deployments, etc, so I'd love to hear from some Coast Guard flyers if there are any here. I've been on baseops.net and read a lot about ANG/AFR aviation, but I've read very little about USCG aviation. I am 100% committed to this and will do whatever it takes to serve and to fly. It seems I have a few options at this point.
A) Enlist in an ANG/AFR unit, graduate college in 5-6 years, and hope to pick up a pilot slot from the unit I enlisted in.*
*I've talked to both an ANG pilot and an Army officer. Both have strongly advised me against enlisting, but I'd like to hear your opinions.
B) Graduate in 4 years, focus on grades, community service, building my resume, possibly a double major, making myself competitive for the guard, etc.
C) Showing my dedication by working hard, busting it out and graduating in 3 years with (hopefully) good grades.
D) Graduating in 4 years while working my ass off to pay for more ratings (Multi/comm/CFI/etc).
E) Something else?
For someone my age and in my shoes, what would be the best route to pursue a steady military flying job and how can I get started as early as I can?