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  • AD – Career Advice

    Posted by penguin on October 22, 2023 at 3:52 pm

    Hello,

    I am currently prompted to attend OCS for the USCG at the beginning of this upcoming year with a 3-yr Active-Duty Commitment upon commissioning. I joined with the aspiration to be an aviator and a commissioned Officer and set myself up for a career with the airlines after my 10-yr service commitment.

    I recently learned about the ANG/Reserve and thought it was an amazing way to fly both in a military and commercial capacity. Upon completion of my 3-yr commitment I will be 28 years old.

    My question now is should I continue pursuing flight school with the USCG or take the next three years to become a competitive applicant for an ANG/Reserve Unit?

    Husky replied 1 year ago 5 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • Svester

    Member
    October 22, 2023 at 8:08 pm
    20 BogiPoints

    Don’t have any useful advice for you unfortunately but I am also very interested in the USCG vs ANG so I’m curious to see what others have to say.

  • Unknown Member

    Deleted User
    October 23, 2023 at 6:19 am

    penguin, svester, it seems like a question you can answer yourselves.

    everyone on this forum is going to stress how the ANG is far better than AD and they’re not wrong.

    The ANG has many benefits like allowing you to choose where and what to fly before going to Pilot training, and like you said, working commercial simultaneously.

    it all depends on what you want. do some searching about the ANG and compare it with the coast guard. see which option best suits your aspirations.

  • penguin

    Member
    October 23, 2023 at 9:13 am
    15 BogiPoints

    yahoo,

    I am hoping someone who has had a similar path would speak on it. I suppose I am also concerned about the timing since I will be upper-20’s when my ADSC is completed.

    • Husky

      Member
      October 26, 2023 at 5:37 pm
      18920 BogiPoints

      @penguin

      Dude my timeline was pretty similar. I was AD (USAF) until I was 32 and then switched to Guard/Airlines.

      I enjoyed (most) of my AD time. It was an adventure where I got to really focus on flying Air Force Jets.

      Historically you needed about 10 years of flying to be competitive for a major airline. It’s crazytown right now; folks are getting hired at mins. But just keep in mind that the mid-30s is the usual age for starting the majors.

      • Kellymitch

        Member
        October 26, 2023 at 10:53 pm
        5 BogiPoints

        Nice

  • penguin

    Member
    October 29, 2023 at 3:16 pm
    15 BogiPoints

    Husky,

    Thanks. The idea of doing both at the same time is very nice but I think for right now I am going to just focus on getting flight school with the Coast Guard, get my experience and see where my life is later on. Upon completion of flight school, it’s an 8-year ADSC. Considering how fast the aviation industry changes it might not be the same in 10 years, but at least I would have achieved my original goal with the USCG.

    • Husky

      Member
      October 29, 2023 at 4:08 pm
      18920 BogiPoints

      Sounds awesome! Consider your track direction. I think the coast guard rotary wing could be some of the most fun and rewarding flying out there. However the fixed wing flying will be more marketable when you get out.

      A very personal decision. Happy to give you my 2cents via DM.

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