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Thanx for all of your advice guys, I already made up my mind that im going, the hard part is just telling my parents. Im already in shape, i run 4 miles every 3 days, and im hitting the gym everyday to prepare for the training.
whatever you do.... Do not believe a word your recruiter says.
They get commision for you joining.... They are in it for the money....
They will say whatever they think will convince you to join.
Best advice I can give has already been said..... Take the ASVAB and decide for yourself. DO NOT let your recruiter tell you whats best for you. They are, for the most part, in it to get the biggest commision from your signature.
Do whats best for you in the long run....
Thanx for all of your advice guys, I already made up my mind that im going, the hard part is just telling my parents. Im already in shape, i run 4 miles every 3 days, and im hitting the gym everyday to prepare for the training.
You will not regret joining the Air Force. Just pick a career field that you really want to learn and advance in, dont just take something because it is there. Being in the service will open a ton of doors for you down the road, you can then use the GI Bill for college, etc...I see a ton of doors closed every day because i do not have prior service. I work for the government, but it is hard to advance without having served before.
Join, enjoy it, try and get an assignment somewhere in Europe, see the world, come home and really get to work when you get out.
Join the Air Force. Being government property isn't all that bad either. GI bill for college and purchasing a home is a cool deal.
Depending on your field should you join, you can end up getting a good civilian job that prefers ex-military.
Got a cousin who did 8 years (?) working on engines and now has a kick-butt job with Lokcheed-martin making about 75k. They picked him over the guys that had traditional vocational training. Why? his service.
FYI
What does your career or major choice have to do with ing up your first two years.
Last time I checked in your first two years you were mostly taking all of your basics...
There are some real ignorant s here.
The Air Force will not brainwash you. If you get brainwashed from the Air Force's joke of a basic, you have some serious problems. Air Force BMT was like summer camp to me, it was actually quite fun.
My time in the Air Force was the best years of my life. I was like you, I was doing ty at college so I talked to recruiters. I actually finished the majority of my degree while on active duty, so you aren't exactly putting your life on hold. I'm using the GI Bill now to finish school, and TBH the GI Bill nowadays is amazing. Full tuition paid, book stipend, and housing allowance paid every month you're in school. I actually make money off from it. The pay isn't great, but its usually the morons who don't know how to budget that complain about being broke all the time. The military will pay most of your essential living expenses so you have no excuse to save money. Quality of life in the AF all depends on your job and base, some bases have amazing dorms and base housing, while others haven't been renovated since the start of the cold war.
There are cons, though. For one, the Air Force is not exactly hurting for recruits so you need to kick ass on the ASVAB and hope you don't have any physical defects (color vision, depth perception, etc) or you're going to get stuck with a ty job. And while there are some awesome jobs in the Air Force that will make you big time $$ when you get out, there are some complete jobs that will suck when you're in and do nothing for you when you are out. Do everything you can to get a guaranteed job (NOT a guaranteed ap ude area!!) -before- you go to basic. If you don't like the job they gave you, tell them to off because its just not worth it.
The whole "brainwashing" thing doesn't really happen. The closest the military comes to brainwashing people, as some morons here put it, is some of the more hardcore special operations crap. The Air Force as a branch operates more like a business, TBH. Unless you get some kind of combat ops job (which there are not many in the AF), you'll likely often forget you're in the military at times.
Good luck. I worked in recruiting while I was on AD for a short while (note--I was -not- a recruiter) so if you have any questions feel free to PM me.
One of the first things he mentioned was that college wasn't for him, and getting put on a path you don't want only makes it harder to focus or take pride whatever you encounter on that path - college being one of them in this case. It's true, not everyone is cut out for learning in a normal classroom setting.
Funny how some of you are critical of joining the armed forces yet no mention of throwing the best years of your life away by getting married…If I had it to do over again I would have joined the Air Force or Navy…Instead I got married young & worked two jobs for the next twenty years trying to appease a wife who’s only goal was keeping up with the Jones’s….Every day it was why cant I have a new car, we need a patio, the TV is outdated, I want to go to Hawaii, what kind of geek plays with electric trains, how big a loser do you have to be to still ride the same bicycle you rode in high school...
A screaming drill sergeant or a contentious woman….I would take the drill sergeant any day…
+1
Money is much better this way., imho
Officer makes more money but they are also hard wired to be bags. I thank God every day that I didn't stay in school and go officer. I made less money but man, I was so much more happier as an Airmen than as a re Lieutenant.
And if you want to travel A LOT, pick a career that has to deal with the aircraft. You'll be guaranteed to get some awesome TDYs. I forget who said it earlier about being Air Force and stationed overseas means you'll be stuck there...that's a load of crap. While I was stationed in Japan, I got to see India, Iceland, Thailand, the Philippines, etc, along with other trips to the states. And if you get stationed in Europe..well, you got it set then.
If you do well on your ASVAB and pass all the stupid duck walk crap, you're set. Like the dude who's cousin worked engines said, pick a good job. Engines, sheet metal, NDI(especially NDI), maybe even Fuels if you wanna deal with all that...those all get good jobs on the outside in addition to lots of traveling.
X2 -- Well said
Just finish talking to the recruiter, he said the Air Force is really full right now so the time for process is really long, but im still going to do it, im taking the test in 2 weeks, i did a practice test and it was the easiest thing ever, i scored really high, but im not taking any chances, im still going to study for the real one. The hard part is now just telling my parents.
I got high 80s/low 90s when I took mine and I got the choice of pretty much whatever job I want. Score high on the ASVAB, stay in shape, don't tell the doc's ANYTHING that'll mess with your chances of getting in and you'll be straight. And if the parent's don't like it? Oh well. You'll be moving away from them soon enough.
For the ASVAB, do as many study problems for the word knowledge section (synonyms and whatnot) as you can, because even though it seems easy they always seem to throw you off with some weird ass words. Study up on basic college level algebra and geometry. I notice they tend to ask a lot of area and perimeter questions, so know your equations for different geometric shapes. That was really the hardest part for me, I hadn't done geometry in years so the equations were a little fuzzy. But study like crazy, the higher your ASVAB the better chance of getting the job you want (or getting a job at all). If you score a 60+ your recruiter will tell you you're a genius, but you really want to shoot for a 90+.
Start researching jobs now. Recruiters aren't really allowed to help you pick jobs, so you're on your own in that regards. They can give you ideas but they are not supposed to help you actually pick. usmilitary.about.com has a pretty good job listing, though their descriptions are mostly official technobabble. Get a list of as many jobs as possible that you wouldn't mind doing. The more jobs you list when you're at MEPS, the better chance you have of shipping earlier. Keep an open mind, but never list something you wouldn't want to do. Remember, you will be listing your jobs when you go to MEPS for your physical so be prepared.
As for telling your parents, you basically have to sell it to them. Your recruiter may actually be able to help you with this. But remember, in the end you are an adult and can make big decisions like this for yourself. Good luck!
I hear Afghanistan is beautiful this time of year.I love to travel...
You seem scared of your parents tbh.
dont let ' s on here tell you not to join and all the other b.s. i read in this thread. do what you want FOR YOU and YOU ONLY! as far as telling your parents, just walk up to them and say "this is what I am going to do for ME". its time to assert your self as an adult and your own person. thank them for all they have done for you but let them know its time to become your own person. when you graduate BMT, they will be so proud of you its not even funny. plus when you go back home and you see the same people doing the same , you will know then you made the right decision. good luck!
Not scared of them, im just afraid of their reaction, i have good parents, they arent going to be that mad, just dissapointed, and im going to have 6 months of nothing to do, cause thats how long i have to wait till i start basic training, i need to find a job and live with them till then.
What are some good jobs at the air force, from the practice test that i took showed that i qualified for any job that i want, the test felt like a middle school test, im really interested in Mechanics or Intelligene, but what would you guys recommend?
You should tell them sooner rather than later. Your mind is made up and it sounds like you really might be one of those who enjoy the military but just to be courteous to your parents, tell them ASAP and get it over with. Yeah they will be disappointed but I think they'll eventually see this is what you want to do.
Just curious - sure you don't want to go to some party college and have fun for the next 2-3 years? Take easy classes, do what you want, just have fun.
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