25 years old, college grad, considering applying to military aviation

droz88 · September 18, 2013

Nobody is going to accurately describe to you what it's like to be in the Army. It's something you're going to have to take a leap of faith into.

Yes I have been treated poorly and disrespectfully. That's what happens when you're the new guy. If you're a good dude you will quickly be brought into the fold and that will go away. From then on you will begin to build your experience and your reputation and will soon become looked at as an expert and professional. Just realize that it doesn't happen overnight.

It's a good job and there will be many things you enjoy about it. There will be many things you don't. There are so many variables it's impossible to tell you what kind of experience you are going to have. I have loved mine and have absolutely no regrets.

Understood SBuzzkill!

Feeling like I'm on the brink of making a decision here, just one final question. What is day to day life like once all of your flight training is done and you are assigned to a base? What do Army WO Pilots do if there are no missions to fly? Is it at times similar to a 40 hour per week, 9-5 civilian job where you show up at base and get lunch at noon and your home by 3-4pm? Do you get weekends off? Besides the financial concern, the main other concern I have is how much freedom and personal time you have when you are not doing army duties. I have also been passively working on side projects (websites), and would like to know how much most warrant officer pilots sacrafice in terms of personal time.

Edited September 18, 2013 by droz88

Velocity173 · September 18, 2013

Understood SBuzzkill!

Feeling like I'm on the brink of making a decision here, just one final question. What is day to day life like once all of your flight training is done and you are assigned to a base? What do Army WO Pilots do if there are no missions to fly? Is it at times similar to a 40 hour per week, 9-5 civilian job where you show up at base and get lunch at noon and your home by 3-4pm? Do you get weekends off? Besides the financial concern, the main other concern I have is how much freedom and personal time you have when you are not doing army duties. I have also been passively working on side projects (websites), and would like to know how much most warrant officer pilots sacrafice in terms of personal time.

Go to the Active Duty Pilot thread. There are a few examples given on your day to day duties.

StarXJ · September 21, 2013

Here's my two cents... I'm a CW3 and don't think there are many kinds of civilian flying that are nearly as fun or cool as the missions you have the oppurtunity to do in the military (C'mon our aircraft have guns, missiles and rockets!) Follow YOUR dreams! You can use the military's tuition assitance to pay for your masters while you're in, or use the post 9-11 GI Bill to pay for any education if you decide to get out (including more flight ratings if you decide to fly airliners- sometimes boring is desirable). Eiether way, try it out, it's only 6 years requirement that goes by fast and now, while you're not married with children, is the time to do it. I would suggest saving some cash though; because it won't be until you make CW3 and get a nice flight pay raise (about 6-7 years from WO1) that you'll see over 80K salary again (unless you get assigned to Hawaii)... I can also tell you as a single guy in my 20's, I can get out and use the GI Bill to pay for an education in another field and make more $$. BUT sitting in offices, the medical field, a law firms, etc, just do not seem as cool and fun as getting paid to fly these amazing machines. Good luck!

droz88 · September 21, 2013

I'm deciding against the national guard for a few reasons.

1. You have enlist with a unit first, wait for an opening, and then submit your packet. This could take years! If you don't get picked up you could be stuck feeling bitter and having to do an MOS you're not thrilled with.

2. My specialty in healthcare requires board certification. I have to work with a certain amount of patients per year in order to stay certified. Even if I were picked up by a national guard unit fairly quickly, WOFT takes over 1 year to complete and I would lose my certification. Furthermore, I don't think any hospital would allow me to disappear for a year and then come back and resume my job at my convenience. This job also requires the taking of call over some weekends. I'm not clear on how scheduling your flights work in the national guard, but I'd imagine it would be a huge pain to, month after month, have to schedule flights with the guard and call availability with civilian employer. In short, I don't think the NG would be incompatible with this particular civilian job.

I am also not planning on working as an employee my whole life. I've been making small strides toward working for myself for a while now so ultimately I don not plan on working at the civilian job long term anyway.

I've decided to put my WOFT application together and go active duty in the army. All of the posting in this thread were considered when making the decision. It was a very close 50/50 decision to join or to fly civilian. The deciding factor was my own happiness. I think I will be happier as an army pilot and will be happy later in life that I had the courage do follow my heart. After thinking about it more, I realized that I actually want to do more than just fly. Although the current work I do is rewarding in itself, a lot of the sense of reward comes from "extra" sources such as working alongside other talented people, or being trusted with so much responsibility by the team. The army I believe will also provide a similar encompassing experience. The camaraderie with other soldiers I think will benefit me as well, as my reserved personality makes it hard to make friends and I do not have much contact with family either. So my current life right now outside of work is unfulfilling since I am by myself most of the time. Might be a "grass is greener" mentality, but it sure feels like I would "fit" in the army and hope that other things in my life would fall into place as a result of going down this path. My reasons for joining are to serve, to fly, and for the priceless experience.

Why not the other branches? Why not fixed wing? Well, the army guarantees you something (a pilot slot), as long as you hold up your end of the deal by passing the training. Fixed wing is cool too, but sitting in a seat thousands of feet up high for most of the flight is a lot different than flying tree top level in a helo. Helicopters are also just plain badass and so much more versatile than fixed wing! But, if you want to try fixed wing, there is a considerable chance that you can do that in the army if you can get selected for once of those fixed wing slot! Navy helo flying seems a lot different (less intense?) than army helo flying, and being a warrant officer seems like a better way to spend the days for me than being a commissioned officer. For all these reason, the choice is a no brainer. Go Army!

Edited September 22, 2013 by droz88

Justine · September 22, 2013

You can always fly fixed wing after ierw

UnitedWeStand111 · September 23, 2013

From what I hear you will spend plenty of time sitting in an office getting really good at excel and flying maybe 1-2x per week as a warrant these days. Someone said flying is maybe 10% of the job, the rest is consumed by additional duties and other non-flying tasks as you are an officer first and aviator second. May not be as exciting as the picture in your mind. I'm a civilian so take this with a grain of salt, just don't want you to be dissapointed.