Airline Pilot to ANG???
09-03-2008, 04:15 PM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2007
Position: Heavies
Posts: 1,414
Airline Pilot to ANG???
I am looking into different options as I am young, and the airline thing might not work out, and have always been interested in the military. Have talked to several ANG pilots and said I should give it a shot. Filled out a questionaire on the website, and they said a recruiter would contact me. I am not sure how qualified I am, and I know the selection process is very difficult.....This also might be "backwards?" as many pilots are trying to go military TO the airlines.......
I am
23
Female
Bachelors Degree in Aviation Science, Masters almost done
about 1200 hours 700 Turbojet
Can you apply to different states units? How do you do that? I guess the recruiters will be able to answer most of my questions. Has anyone done this? Is it a good idea?
Thanks
I am
23
Female
Bachelors Degree in Aviation Science, Masters almost done
about 1200 hours 700 Turbojet
Can you apply to different states units? How do you do that? I guess the recruiters will be able to answer most of my questions. Has anyone done this? Is it a good idea?
Thanks
09-03-2008, 04:40 PM
#2
APC's Hired Help
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,231
09-03-2008, 06:28 PM
#3
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Center seat, doing loops to music
Posts: 843
It all depends on what you want to do. If you want to continue pursuing the airline thing, the Guard could prove to be a viable option in so far as allowing you the employment duality. Active Duty would allow you to solve your "financial" situation, as I'm sure as a regional FO you're not just now coincidentally coming to the conclusion that the 121 industry is not what you thought it was going to be when you started flight training, and are looking for better money options while still flying.
The best advice I could give you is to bypass the recruiter thing. It's a dead end. You are looking for an officer position, and a highly sought after one at that. You need to go directly to the hiring sources at every specific unit of interest. That means literally googling your face off and finding phone numbers and e-mail addresses and asking for upcoming pilot boards and deadline dates. You will have to submit application packages to be reviewed by unit members at the particular unit, then interview notices will be sent out. These applications normally consist of your college transcripts, AFOQT test score (the recruiter could help you schedule the test at a nearby ROTC location), letter or recommendation, copies of pilot licenses, resume and letter of intent. Some units will have specific requirements posted but in general that's what an application package looks like. The medical screening exams usually get scheduled after you get accepted by the unit. In the case of the Reserves there used to be a case where u could get medically screened and qualified before being accepted by a unit, but that application option doesn't exist anymore. At any rate, depending on the unit there could be as many as 100+ qualified applications for one or two slots per fiscal year (mostly for the fighter units, but some heavy units are sought after due to location or mission). So it's competitive. You are also encouraged to visit the unit you've applied to, sort of a "rush" process. This can get expensive of course. Other people are encouraged to enlist to get in good with their unit. I don't recommend you do that, you have a degree already and work experience, and though you're 23 you'd be wasting precious time.
What I've mentioned above applied to the Guard/Reserves. In the case of active duty you'd be applying to the OTS (Officer training school) rated boards (pilots are rated positions). You can request to be considered for pilot positions only in whether or not you get into OTS (as opposed to allowing consideration for navigator slots or ABM slots). Once you get accepted you go through training, then pilot training and bid for an airframe on a competitive basis, as opposed to the Guard where you go thru all the training knowing that you'll end up at your unit's airframe (as long as you don't suck).
As to your assumption that going from airline to mil would be "backwards" that assertion is outright laughable. A lot of us Guard/Reserve babies (the term for people who did not go through active duty years as pilots and then requested transfers to the Guard...by the way, very hard thing to do nowadays if you're thinking about that route) spend our time at the unit building flight time as to effectively bypass the regionals to qualify for a major job, but then again some of us consider the 121 gig in general to not be worth it in the first place (can I get an amen...). The reason I bring that up is because once you go thru military flight training, a lot of things will seem simple (working in IFR environment off-station) yet other things will outright humble you. Also 121 flying has no inherent quality to make you stand out in pilot training (particularly tactical and formation flying), so be prepared to be humbled some days.
Good luck, I can tell you as a bum (term for member who is not full time at the unit has no civilian job and spends their whole month scouring for work at the unit, as to effectively make it as full time as a part-time job can get) at my unit I more than double that joke of a 1st year regional payscale and probably make right about what a senior regional FO makes, and I sleep on my own bed every night, don't pay for crash pad/hotel costs, don't pay for commuting misc costs or associated travel food costs on said salary, and a portion of my pay is tax free, all in year one not year 5. This also varies from unit to unit, since money can get tight among other peers trying to do the same thing; others elect to have a regional job and the guard to complement each other, take military leave while on pilot training and accrue seniority while enjoying the active duty paycheck for two years (about the length of time you'll be in cumulative trainining getting paid full time), then come back to the airline as senior FOs or able to hold CA. Then again they might have commute-to-one-or-two jobs and time-off issues in the process of juggling these jobs concurrently. To each their own.
Good luck.
The best advice I could give you is to bypass the recruiter thing. It's a dead end. You are looking for an officer position, and a highly sought after one at that. You need to go directly to the hiring sources at every specific unit of interest. That means literally googling your face off and finding phone numbers and e-mail addresses and asking for upcoming pilot boards and deadline dates. You will have to submit application packages to be reviewed by unit members at the particular unit, then interview notices will be sent out. These applications normally consist of your college transcripts, AFOQT test score (the recruiter could help you schedule the test at a nearby ROTC location), letter or recommendation, copies of pilot licenses, resume and letter of intent. Some units will have specific requirements posted but in general that's what an application package looks like. The medical screening exams usually get scheduled after you get accepted by the unit. In the case of the Reserves there used to be a case where u could get medically screened and qualified before being accepted by a unit, but that application option doesn't exist anymore. At any rate, depending on the unit there could be as many as 100+ qualified applications for one or two slots per fiscal year (mostly for the fighter units, but some heavy units are sought after due to location or mission). So it's competitive. You are also encouraged to visit the unit you've applied to, sort of a "rush" process. This can get expensive of course. Other people are encouraged to enlist to get in good with their unit. I don't recommend you do that, you have a degree already and work experience, and though you're 23 you'd be wasting precious time.
What I've mentioned above applied to the Guard/Reserves. In the case of active duty you'd be applying to the OTS (Officer training school) rated boards (pilots are rated positions). You can request to be considered for pilot positions only in whether or not you get into OTS (as opposed to allowing consideration for navigator slots or ABM slots). Once you get accepted you go through training, then pilot training and bid for an airframe on a competitive basis, as opposed to the Guard where you go thru all the training knowing that you'll end up at your unit's airframe (as long as you don't suck).
As to your assumption that going from airline to mil would be "backwards" that assertion is outright laughable. A lot of us Guard/Reserve babies (the term for people who did not go through active duty years as pilots and then requested transfers to the Guard...by the way, very hard thing to do nowadays if you're thinking about that route) spend our time at the unit building flight time as to effectively bypass the regionals to qualify for a major job, but then again some of us consider the 121 gig in general to not be worth it in the first place (can I get an amen...). The reason I bring that up is because once you go thru military flight training, a lot of things will seem simple (working in IFR environment off-station) yet other things will outright humble you. Also 121 flying has no inherent quality to make you stand out in pilot training (particularly tactical and formation flying), so be prepared to be humbled some days.
Good luck, I can tell you as a bum (term for member who is not full time at the unit has no civilian job and spends their whole month scouring for work at the unit, as to effectively make it as full time as a part-time job can get) at my unit I more than double that joke of a 1st year regional payscale and probably make right about what a senior regional FO makes, and I sleep on my own bed every night, don't pay for crash pad/hotel costs, don't pay for commuting misc costs or associated travel food costs on said salary, and a portion of my pay is tax free, all in year one not year 5. This also varies from unit to unit, since money can get tight among other peers trying to do the same thing; others elect to have a regional job and the guard to complement each other, take military leave while on pilot training and accrue seniority while enjoying the active duty paycheck for two years (about the length of time you'll be in cumulative trainining getting paid full time), then come back to the airline as senior FOs or able to hold CA. Then again they might have commute-to-one-or-two jobs and time-off issues in the process of juggling these jobs concurrently. To each their own.
Good luck.
09-03-2008, 06:28 PM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2006
Position: Left Seat, Toyota Tacoma
Posts: 593
Where do you live and do you have any Guard or Reserve bases nearby?
Getting hired in your hometown is easier than getting hired by a unit across the country. Remember that you're an unknown quantity to that unit, and you'd have to show them that they'd get a return on their investment (sending you through a couple months of officer training school, a year of pilot training, and 3-9 months of follow on aircraft training isn't cheap). If you live in the local area, you'd have an easier time showing the unit that you'd be around to work for them when the time comes.
Good luck!
Getting hired in your hometown is easier than getting hired by a unit across the country. Remember that you're an unknown quantity to that unit, and you'd have to show them that they'd get a return on their investment (sending you through a couple months of officer training school, a year of pilot training, and 3-9 months of follow on aircraft training isn't cheap). If you live in the local area, you'd have an easier time showing the unit that you'd be around to work for them when the time comes.
Good luck!
09-03-2008, 06:35 PM
#5
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2007
Position: Heavies
Posts: 1,414
Pennsylvania, I believe Atlantic City has a unit, and state college??? Syracuse and CT showed up on my search engines... I am in the NYC/NY/PA area, so very close to many units.
I have a bachelors with a 3.5 GPA and will be finished with my masters degree in May..should be a 4.0 GPA... I read they look into that a bit
I have a bachelors with a 3.5 GPA and will be finished with my masters degree in May..should be a 4.0 GPA... I read they look into that a bit
09-03-2008, 06:40 PM
#6
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Center seat, doing loops to music
Posts: 843
Master's GPA...um, no they don't. I have an M.S., and at my interview they were like "you're a smart f$cker or what?" then they chuckled. It doesn't matter and it's not a tie-breaker, sure as heck wasn't why I got one, actually I can't remember why I got one...lol.
As for the OTS (active duty) applications, the AF doesn't average out the GPAs, nor takes the higher of the two. They look at your BS GPA and that's it.
As for the OTS (active duty) applications, the AF doesn't average out the GPAs, nor takes the higher of the two. They look at your BS GPA and that's it.
09-03-2008, 07:08 PM
#7
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2006
Position: Left Seat, Toyota Tacoma
Posts: 593
Pennsylvania, I believe Atlantic City has a unit, and state college??? Syracuse and CT showed up on my search engines... I am in the NYC/NY/PA area, so very close to many units.
I have a bachelors with a 3.5 GPA and will be finished with my masters degree in May..should be a 4.0 GPA... I read they look into that a bit
I have a bachelors with a 3.5 GPA and will be finished with my masters degree in May..should be a 4.0 GPA... I read they look into that a bit
McGuire NJ has a C-17 Reserve unit
Dover DE has a C-17 Reserve unit (I'm currently in Dover)
ACY has an F-16 unit.
I have some contacts in these units. I can't pull any strings and guarantee jobs/interviews or anything like that, but I can at least put you in touch with someone in that unit, and hopefully they could put you in touch with whoever does their hiring boards and let you know what you need to do to apply.
PM me if you'd like more info.
Riddler
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