Advice on career change
I just turned 31 and am an attorney. I have the opportunity to fly in the Navy, as I have an ISEL qualified packet (3.9 GPA in law school and undergrad, ASTB of 65 9/9/8), but I also have a family now: wife, an 18 month old, and another one due in February. All advice is that Air Force AD is a significantly better family life than the Navy, so I'm considering not submitting the Navy packet and attempting to land an OTS slot AD (also interested in Guard/Reserve -- I'm fine to fly heavies). I haven't taken the AFOQT or TBAS, but I believe I can do very well on them given my ASTB scores. Also, I am just now getting started on flight hours (I have one discovery flight under my belt, and have a lesson scheduled for this weekend).
Are the chances of an Air Force slot via OTS slim? Should I just take the bird in the hand?
wyattrnelson@outlook.com - great question, and a tough answer. It really depends on how much you want to fly gray jets, and start this next chapter. Although I agree USAF AD quality of life is better, the difference might not be worth losing both options. The safe answer (if your goal is to fly for the military), would be to find out the latest possible time you can agree to Navy OTS and then get your AF tests done and application in ASAP and hope for an AF spot before your Navy NLT date. Unfortunately at age 31, you don’t have a lot of time before you could be outside the window for both options. Hope this helps, let the coaches know if you have any follow up Q’s!
Cheers,
Twinkie
Great advice. Like Twinkie said, you need to soul search and decide what the ultimate goal is. Do you want to fly tactical airplanes for the military (Navy or Air Force) or are you going to target a specific service? Another massive consideration for you is the time/effort/focus required now to make the ANG route happen.
Lets say option A gives you a solid chance to fly for the Navy (and you've done the hard work...just waiting for the process to happen). Things will get busy and time consuming once flight school starts and your family adjusts to the military way of life.
Option B is knocking out all of the requirements in order to be eligible for an ANG/AFRC UPT slot (and be selected before your 33rd birthday). You'll be working hard to maximize scores, competitiveness, and getting your name out there NOW.
Here's my point to the "bird in hand" question: The chaos and upheaval of your normal routine will begin ASAP if you're going to pursue the ANG route given your starting point. It's definitely doable if you can commit to the process! If you chose the Navy route, the change happens a little later down the road. Being a military pilot will always require sacrifice, but it's totally worth it in the end regardless of the route you end up taking!
I wish you the best of luck and happy to help along the way!
wyattrnelson@outlook.com A quick pile-on with some additional data that may help make an informed call. Both services have "deployable" and "non-deployable" assignments. Navy has shore and sea commands, the USAF has things like training commands. Family life seems to be most disrupted by absence, so deployments absolutely are part of the calculus. In the current environment, both service deployment cycles are unpredictable; so about even. As you look at the "why" behind your decision, don't forget that the natural end of flying cool jets is to take them to war. And for family life, BOTH services are pretty heavily involved in that game.
Hey Wyatt,
I’m going to be upfront about my biases: former E-2 Naval Flight Officer via OCS, one carrier deployment, current ANG KC-46. Married, 3 kids.
If you’re worried about family, avoid Navy, go USAF AD but preferably USAF ANG/AD. The fine print about Navy OCS is that unlike Air Force OTS where you have a no joke flight physical complete and certified to fly, Navy OCS doesn’t do that. So if you get in (and those are some of the highest scores I’ve seen, you’ll get in) and anything is somehow remotely disqualifying for Naval Aviation, you’ll be faced with the choice of waiting months while they process you out if you want to fly elsewhere or have to sign a contract to be a SWO or whatever else they have available at that moment.
Additionally, and again biased here, carrier deployments are rougher on families then standard USAF ones. It’s not just a deployment, it’s a full on work up cycle where you and your strike group go underway at various points prior to being certified to deploy. Essentially, mini-one month deployments before you go on an actual one.
Now, in the grand scheme of things none of this is bad per se. But in the sense that you are worried about your family, and you aren’t against flying heavies…studying, acing AFOQT/TBAS, getting your civilian ratings as fast as you responsibly can, Air Force OTS while also applying to every ANG/Reserve squadron you can…I believe this is what will be best based on what you are saying.
Please feel free to DM me and even if you end up wanting to go Navy happy to look over your application. But as someone who has done both, USAF is the way to go.
