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ANG Recruiter said “you have to be 24yo”?
TLDR; Recruiter only cared about my age and not athleticism and degree/current career. He just told me no – I wont be able to be a pilot at 30. Did not ask anything about me. He just told me go to enlisted and get benefits.
Just went to an ANG recruiter in Atlanta, GA to see if they had another angle of information. Upon arriving the guy asked me what I wanted to do. He asked what my age was and I told him 30. From then on, he proceeded to tell me I’m too old and that 24 is the cut off for pretty much everyone when becoming a pilot. He never asked about me and my current state of being and try to help me find a solution. Mind you, I am a fit person. I can run (I just did a marathon a few months ago), I can run a 5k in 21 minutes, I can do many push ups (I did 94 in one go several months ago), I can hold a plank for several minutes, I am a sr. software engineer, and I’m currently studying for a private pilot license and starting flight training in March. He just kept telling me I probably won’t pass the AFOQT and that I should probably just go enlisted and get the benefits. I partly feel a bit discouraged by this, and another part of me wants to fight for this and go see a different recruiter and see what they say. I want to become a military pilot. I would think my athleticism and degree/career would mean more than my age. Has anyone experience something similar?
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3 Replies
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Stop talking to recruiters, period. Your physical attributes are not what commanders/decision makers are concerned about. You have to convince them that you can be focused, moldable, meldable and be willing to put in the 12 hrs per day for 5-6 days a week to learn what it takes to master the employment of the weapons system. Chop, chop… you’re not getting any younger!
Cheers,
Snip
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I agree with Snip. The Recruiters are concerned about quotas and dont’ spend a lot of time trying to really getting to know the applicant.
Yes, 30 is on the older side, but not impossible! Realistically, though, if Fighters are your goal, your age could be a challenge. If you are looking to fly Mobility aircraft, I think that might be more realistic.
Let me know if you would like to chat sometime.
D.J.
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I am just going to echo the whole “be weary of recruiters” theme here. When I started this whole process I was almost talked into enlisting because a recruiter told me that would be the easiest way to get a pilot slot and I wouldn’t even go to basic before I was picked up for UPT. Needless to say I caught him with his pants around his ankles in multiple lies…
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