Air Force Question

[habib89]

I am thinking about joining the Air Force or maybe even Navy. I wanted to talk to people that were not recruiters, cause I know recruiters would tell you pretty much anything they think you want to hear. I may soon be a victim of this bad economy and be laid off by my company, and i really want some job security for me and my family. more than that, I think it would be a great experience, and my wife is on board as well. i'm really concerned about how my kids would adjust if i'm away for long periods of time or if we had to move frequently

Anyway, I have a degree in mechanical engineering. what kind of jobs can you get in either the AF or Navy? I also am married with 3 children. What is life like for them? are these the right branches for me to be looking into because of my degree, or should i also look into the army? how long are the stints that you are away from your family? since i have a degree, i can go straight into OTS correct? if so, hard is it? being away from my family for 12 weeks would be my hell. not the screaming or the pushups or whatever. anyway, thanks for your comments!

oh, if you are to answer, could you tell me maybe how you're qualified, ie: if you're in the military with children or no children or are a military wife/husband that isn't in or are even a dependant of military parents. Thanks again!

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Navy - 4 years - not married - no kids during my contract with the Navy - Avionics Technician

You seem like a very centered man, so I would recommend going Air Force. With the Navy, you're going to be deployed for 6 months out of the year on board a ship (possibly). As far as what you'll be doing in the Air Force, you'll probably become an officer with your degree. Which means better housing for you and your family.

12 weeks away from the family would be hell, but it will be well worth it. Do you have a good family base (Parents, grandparents, good friends, etc) that can help your wife out with the daily chores around the house? It would make her life a little more bearable.

My uncle was an Air Force Lt. Col with over 20 years of service. He had four kids and all four of them are respectable citizens. It will be a bit hard for them to adjust to, but kids are more accepting to change than most adults are.

 

[biggestmuff]

If you have a 4 year degree, don't talk to a recruiter. They'll try and sign you up enlisted. You need to speak to an OCS liaison.

 

[shortylickens]

I am not getting into this again. Do a search in Off Topic. I've already stated my opinion a dozen times on the subject. And usually when I do I end up in a tiresome debate with some fool.

 

[Sea Moose]

Your american right? Become a marine those guys are hardcore!

Nah you have wifey and mouths to feed, if your a brain you should get into r&d or somthing

 

[dammitgibs]

Since you have a degree I would obviously say get a commission. wantscheck.com is an excellent resource if you want to be a pilot.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Were I in your shoes, Air Force would be my first choice. As an AF brat (dad was career AF), I can say that in looking back, I wouldn't trade my years growing up for a more traditional 'stay in one place' upbringing. I got to see and do things because of it that I might never have experienced without it. As far as being away from your family - that is going to be variable based upon your job. In the peace-time AF (at least when my dad was in) about the longest you would be expected to be away is a year if you did an unaccompanied tour in some place like the Far East. In 20+ years, my dad never had to do one of those, think the longest he was ever gone at once was a month or two TDY.

You definitely want to go take the AFOQT, as that would be your inroads into OTS. As far as family goes, if it is economically feasible your family could rent a place in Montgomery so you could see them on weekends when you don't have duty. There is plenty to do there, and I turned out OK after a year in school there.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Below is based on experience from 25+ years ago:

Economically it will be tough the first 4 years or so.
O1 & O2 earn about 1/2 the pay of an defense engineer in the outside world.
As an O3, w/ benefits, you are comparable.

When I was in; initially 2 of our children were eligible for the reduce lunch programs.
You have to tighten your belts - especially if you are used to the outside world degree income before going in.

With children; do not expect them to accept you as enlisted.

My initial training location was in Medina (Lackland). Family arrived after the second month. Put them up in transient quarters. Had they been there earlier, it would not have made much of a difference - no real free time.

If you have a place where they can stay at while in training that is cheap/no cost (family) do so. You will receive the pay of an E5 while in training - the family may be allowed access to military facilities.

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
If you have a 4 year degree, don't talk to a recruiter. They'll try and sign you up enlisted. You need to speak to an OCS liaison.

This. And if you do enlist, expect small $$$ for several years.

Even as an officer you will be spending significant time away while assigned to a vessel. Only a very few assignments have mostly shore to shore rotations.

On a positive side, officers have shorter tour lengths and you will be able to move more often.


Go airforce if looking for a more stable environment.

 

[habib89]

Thanks for all the comments! we wouldn't mind moving out of the area we're in now. our family is here, but my wife and i have discussed relocation for private sector jobs, so the same would be true for any military job. She has family in the military (dad, aunt and uncle ex-navy and cousins currently army) so she's always pictured herself in the military in one capacity or the other. I definitely would not want to enlist. i have no problems with enlisted soldiers; they are what make the wheels turn. but i don't think that's what i want, especially after spending so much time getting my degree, i feel i should use it somehow. i don't want to fly either. i'd love to be a pilot, but again, i don't think that is what my life is about anymore.

I so far have talked to someone in the navy. sounded like an admin of some sort. asked me a few pre-screening questions and said that someone will be contacting me for officer positions. from what i've heard though, it seems like the Navy is more of a "young man's game" in the sense that they move around a lot more and have longer assignments away from home. maybe that isn't for me.

I was looking at the pay chart and yeah, i'd make about half of what i make now. it'd be difficult, but i think doable. the housing and subsistance allowances would definitely help out some. what's the deal with those? would i get that as soon as i finished OTS, or would those be given to me while in OTS?

Common Courtesy: you said i'd get paid at E-5 level during training? this counts for OTS, or do you just mean post-OTS training? What happens after OTS? will i get stationed somewhere for more training? is that when you recommend my family move to where i am?

like i said, the moving part would be hard, but doable. the being away from my family part. that's the part i'm not sure i'm strong enough for. my wife's cousin, she's in the army and recently came back from an assignment in iraq. she's now on 3 years of shore duty (not sure if that's the right term) meaning she'll be stationed at her base, with her husband and daughter.

Thanks again, and if there are anymore comments, please feel free to post. thanks!

 

[drinkmorejava]

No reason for you to enlist. Just search for jobs through the DOD. All very secure, and with an engineering degree you would definitely be paid more as a civilian. You might have to relocate, but you would be a permanent employee unless you decided to switch bases.

There are dozens and dozens of research bases to look at. I'll be at Edwards when I graduate next year.

usajobs.gov

 

[habib89]

I've looked into those too, and if I did get one of those jobs, I'd probably take it over a military position. I don't plan to do this military thing for at least 6 months. That said, I think being in the military would help me out immensely in getting one of those DOD jobs and if not, career military would be just as good. it's really something i'm seriously considering about at this point and i want to get some more information before i make the leap.

edit: and it's not just about the pay. yes, money is nice, but it's more about stability. i need to make sure i have a job that makes enough money so i can support my family. i thought the job i had now was the one i would retire at. and now that they're having mass layoffs, i have to rethink this whole private industry thing especially since the economy is in the tank right now. maybe i do 4 years in the military, realize i dont' like it, and find a job in the private sector again when the economy is better. i really don't know what's going to happen at this point.

 

[habib89]

no more advise or comments?

 

[destrekor]

Well, I cannot offer much guidance as to what life will be like or anything, because I've still got a year left of school before I get my commission in the Army, and then advanced training from there.

That, and I don't know much about Air Force training. All of the branches offer great positions for mechanical engineering, and the officer side is definitely the route to go for someone in your position.

But I'd say for military, officers are less hands on and more management of personnel/equipment. That is likely true for all branches. But regardless, there would be time away from home for initial training, as you'd probably have to go to the Air Force's version of Basic Training as enlisted before getting a slot for whatever the Air Force calls their Officer Candidate School. And then the training for whatever career branch you are going to/assigned. Once you get to your regular duty station, you get the opportunity to either live on base, for cheaper, or off. Likely the Air Force offers subsidies/allowances for housing and other things, so that helps for living off base. The first years as an officer, while the pay isn't bad, supporting a family would make money very tight unless the spouse has good money coming in as well.

I thoroughly support anyone going into any branch of service for any job, but for someone in your position, I'd definitely agree with the suggestion of DoD jobs, or any government agency for that matter. Federal careers have nice benefits, and with such a degree, military service is not required. They put priority for prior service, to some extent, but not enough to push away the chance of landing a job. You can go to any government agency website and submit a resume, and even view what positions they have immediate/upcoming vacancies for. Definitely check out that route, as it would provide a far more stable home, and likely salary, for your family. And there are positions for such a degree all over the country, not just located in D.C./Maryland/Virginia. Contractors are all over the place, at every military post, and many states have agencies. Federal jobs aren't at all hard to come by, so in your position I'd start applying for those first.

 

[nakedfrog]

It can be tough for the kids depending on how often you get new assignments, although that may be lessened a bit now that you can use the internet to stay in touch with friends. DoD schools are usually pretty decent.

 

[paulney]

Whatever you do, do not go for gall bladder surgery at Travis AFB.

 

[habib89]

My children are still very young (1,3,6) so they dont' even use the internet. i think they'd miss their grandparents and cousins the most

I'm definitely applying for the DoD jobs. every agency everywhere. basically anything that i'm even closely qualified for, i'm applying. i'd most definitely take one of those over a military job. the pro's of the military are stability and good benefits, cons of course would be extended periods of time away from family. thing is if i'm away for 3 months and home for 1 year, then i'm totally ok with that. it's difficult, but for job security, i'll do it.

another huge factor is will i be happy with the kind of work i'd be doing in the military? i always picture working in some top secret military base coming up with the shiny new gizmo for secret agent man. obviously i watch too much tv. but really what kind of jobs are available for engineers? i see a lot of HVAC stuff, which i hate. is there any of that research and development kind of stuff available? is that more of a civilian thing?

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: habib89
another huge factor is will i be happy with the kind of work i'd be doing in the military? i always picture working in some top secret military base coming up with the shiny new gizmo for secret agent man. obviously i watch too much tv. but really what kind of jobs are available for engineers? i see a lot of HVAC stuff, which i hate. is there any of that research and development kind of stuff available? is that more of a civilian thing?

This will likely depend entirely on where you end up and how things are run there.

 

[habib89]

I'm talking to someone now via their "live chat" function on the website. he said deployments are usually 6 months with 18 months back at your home base. does anyone have experience and can speak to this?

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, there's also 1-2 year remote assignments, depending on your field, and those don't count as deployments.

 

[lupi]

which service.

 

[EagleKeeper]

During my active duty tours, I worked with a couple of MEs.

Neither did any deployments; only TDYs.

USN officers may get deployed depending on their speciality and the service needs.
The USAF will have less officer deployments that do not allow the family.
Most deployments for officers are flying or intelligence slots.

 

[habib89]

so i talked to a navy recruiter today. he said with my degree i should try for nukes on either a sub or a ship. anyone know anything about that? he said 6 months at sea, 18 months on shore. how true is that?

when i was chatting with the air force recruiter, he told me that it'd be 2011 before i would get into OTS. he said all the spots are taken up until then. does that sound right, or should i talk to someone else?

 

[Chaotic42]

I believe that going nuke is a six-year commitment.

 

[habib89]

i'm ok making a 6 year commitment. i'm thinking that if i join, i'll probably be career. i mean i'm turning 30, so to retire at 50 would be pretty nice. the nukes program sounded pretty tempting. not much moving around, but 6 month stints are very long. has anyone had experience in a sub? my wife is wary of it. obviously it's my decision since i'm the one going in, but she made a good point. being trapped in a sardine can, under water, not being able to see the sun for 6 months? doesn't sound too fun