I am going to graduate next year at age 23 with my bachelors

>>34343510
You'll die over the skies of Syria to a Russian rust bucket held together with duct tape and bailing wire. But at least there will be one fewer lobbyist in the future.

>>34343542
As long as that means I can take a shitty syrian drone with me and get the first air-to-air kill for the air force in a decade

>>34343510
You're never going to be a pilot, just stop while you're ahead

>>34343581
i'll have a 4 year degree and they want pilots so you're full of shit. The only thing that matters is aptitude so if i test high enough I can get fighter, but heavy lift or rotors are good too.

>>34343581
why are you being mean to me over the internet pls respond

Consider the ANG and AFR too. if you aren't too autistic you might be able to get a slot with them. Find out where the closest ANG/AFR squadrons are to where you want to settle down and apply there first. I've heard that OTS heavily favors prior enlisted so you may get shafted.

>>34345022
i've heard the opposite that OTS doesn't give a fuck about enlisted b/c they are looking for competent officers not grunts. by the time I graduate i will have worked a professional job at as a designer in an engineering firm for 5 years alongside my degree and 3.5 gpa. From literally all of the literature i've read online, i've got a fair enough shot.

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>>34345358
>not grunts
Air Force aren't grunts. But its widely known that AIr Force enlisted are an embarrassment when compared to the other actual military service's enlisted

>>34345371
>AIr Force enlisted are an embarrassment when compared to the other actual military service's enlisted

explain

either way, i've read pretty consistently that being enlisted prior to app for OTS/OCS does pretty much nothing, and might even work against you b/c you don't have an opportunity to distinguish yourself or accomplish much.

i am pretty nervous about stacking up against air force academy guys but i hear USAF has lots of planes to fill so i'm not *too* worried

>>34345358
How old will you be?

>>34345515
23/24 when I apply.

>>34345461
I've heard different

Lurk here
>http://www.flyingsquadron.com/forums/forum/7-air-national-guard-air-force-reserves/

>>34343510
It won't be held against you, but it doesn't help either. The air force evaluates a number of criteria including your grades and any extra curriculars you may have done. You need to have stellar references of course and some kind of track record that demonstrates leadership. I have a family member that flies, he went to a state school and got an engineering degree, but participated in AROTC and spent all of his summer money getting private pilot's license so he was already able to hand the prop trainers they start you in. Ideally you would have been in AROTC at your university. You should have a better grade if you can get it. The study required for your aircraft will be intense. If you wash out from flight training at some point and have no skills that they need then you'll be let go. I'm not sure if they relegate you to something else or separate you.

>>34345618
the AROTC ship sailed unfortunately since I really only realized I could *trigger warning* pursue the dream *end trigger warning* a couple months ago, and i've been professionally employed since i even started college (started at the engineering firm as a summer intern). so 40+ hour weeks with four classes every semester.

that's good input though, thanks. I might try to get a pilots license next summer. I've also heard that OTS doesn't care much about prior flight experience either since barring the trainer ships you mentioned a bush plane doesn't really transfer much over.

What if I have an aerospace degree, does that help me?

>>34345713
you get points on your AFOQT for having flight hours, up to 40+

>>34343510
Every guy that's PQ at the AFA and wants a pilot slot gets a pilot slot.
A lot of people that do AFROTC that are PQ and want pilot slots get pilot slots.
A very small number of people that are PQ and want pilot slots get pilot slots out of OTS.
That's not to say getting an OTS pilot slot is impossible, but it's certainly less likely and you have to accept the fact that you probably won't get one. I have a lot of friends that got in through OTS, but they concede that they were lucky to get pilot slots.
Once you're at UPT you'll be just another face in the mess of faces; the only guys that have an advantage are the ones that flew gliders at the Academy for hundreds of free hours of stick time, guys that were regional airline pilots, guys that used to be navs or other aircrew, and guys that had older siblings go through in the last decade. If you're not retarded you can do fine, though you can't expect to drop a fighter as each class of 25-30 typically only gets 1-3 of them.

The AF is only "desperate" for pilots in the sense that several airframes are undermanned according to their manning documents, and the AF hasn't gotten around to rewriting those documents to require a lower pilot:tail ratio which has been the solution to a number of manning shortages in the past. UPT has been operating at ~100% capacity for the better part of a decade so it's not like they're suddenly handing out slots like laptops on Oprah. Furthermore, a common assignment rotation for AMC aircraft (which own the lion's share of UPT drops) works out to something like primary aircraft -> UPT IP -> ????(staff job?) -> 10 year commitment is up and the pilot leaves because they haven't flown their primary aircraft in 6 years and it's cheaper to just train a new UPT student to put the gear up and down than it is to send a Major through requal to get them back in the jet. This is why the Air Force has a manning problem, and there has been no sign of movement to change it.

Good luck!

>>34343510
I'm in the exact same boat as you OP, I'm going to be volunteering at the RAF Cadets (British youth pilot kinda thing) which will help me out a lot

>>34343510
Better have your PPL is all I have to say.

>Don't have 20/20 correctable
live the dream for both of us anon

>>34343510
>I am going to graduate next year at age 23 with my bachelors degree (criminal justice & poly sci) with a fairly ok GPA (3.5)

There are better qualified people than you with a higher GAPs in STEM degrees trying for it. If you wanted to be a pilot, you should have gone STEM.

If you still want to be a pilot, go army aviation. It's your best shot

>>34343643

They want -qualified- pilots with STEM degrees, dummy. Someone with a 3.0 in EE is going to get picked over you.

>>34343510
You should be fine. Consider the reserves or air national guard, they may offer the flying you want without a lot of the cons of active duty. You pick your base, and with that base you also have choice in airframe.

Before you choose, get as informed as possible. There's a wealth of knowledge elsewhere online. I would familiarize yourself with baseops dot net and bogidope once you find yourself more serious about building a competitive application.

Hope this helps, anon.

>>34350597
>They want -qualified- pilots with STEM degrees, dummy. Someone with a 3.0 in EE is going to get picked over you.
Actually not true. USAF OTS boards only give a shit about GPA unless you're trying to be a developmental engineer or something. I was one of five people with an engineering degree in my pilot training class of 25. However, 4/5 of us who had engineering degrees went fighters. Didn't have to do with our degree title helping us but I think the intelligence helps for getting fighters, however there's tons of guys with history degrees who are fighter pilots too so don't let your degree define what you can do in pilot training.

3.5 though is kinda low for getting into OTS with a fighter slot.

>>34350635
Reserves or Guard is a great way to get an almost guaranteed slot in fighters. As long as you get top 1/2 in T-6s you're going to that guard/reserve unit to fly fighters (as long as you don't fail IFF or the FTU, which is still high threat.) If I knew about the guard/reserve route earlier on in life I probably would've tried that.

>>34350654
>if I knew about the guard/reserve route earlier on in life I probably would've tried that

The fact that this same statement was given to me from an AD pilot as an answer I asked at an AFROTC career day briefing is exactly why I decided to discontinue my AFROTC involvement.

It is unbelievable how many times I've seen active duty officers echo that sentiment.

>>34343510

Should have gotten an engineering degree.

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>>34343510
>criminal justice and political science
>Wants to be a pilot

Fucking christ anon, enjoy your wasted degree, it qualifies you to be a prison guard. MAYBE.

>>34350597
You are full of shit.

They don't give a fuck what your degree is in, only what your grades are.

Source: AFROTC fag

>>34343510
>is gonna work against me compared to the guys that went to the air force academy,

The military academies create a bias against anyone that doesn't attend them, so while you can succeed as an officer without getting a commission from the academies, the higher up you go, the more bias you are likely to encounter for promotion and duty assignments.

Regardless, talk to a recruiter and see if you can't get a flight package of some kind. Fly anything. Won't be but a generation or two before the drones take over anyway, so there's no point being picky.

>>34350597
>They want -qualified- pilots with STEM degrees

Nope, they just want people with high GPA's

t.AFROTC fag too.

>>34351264
All we need is one serious connflict and they'll push the drones on through.

What sucks is the end of military pilot jobs is goinf to murder civil and commercial aviation.

>>34353061
>civil and commercial aviation.

They'll be drones in 100 years as well.

As it stands now, most modern birds pretty much fly themselves, and it won't be long until the pilot will become redundant.