Military or Civilian??

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon of what a lot of military guys here said. Sounds like you're mind is made up anyway.

I hate hearing of folks who want to use the military as a stepping stone to an airline career. You are a military officer FIRST, and a pilot second. You have to be committed to a lot more than just flying airplanes or your performance will suffer. And that's not being loyal to the country you swear to serve or the men and women who serve under you.

If life as a pilot is what you want, by all means do whatever you can to achieve it. If being a military officer/enlisted servicemember is not at the forefront of your aspirations, leave the military out of it.
 
The Air Force isn't the only branch that flies! You might want to also consider the Marine Corps. They are the only branch to offer guaranteed air slots to college students and you're not obligated to join until after you graduate and take your commission.

However, being selected for the contract is the easy part. All Marine candidates must attend and pass OCS (Officer Candidate School), which is incredibly challenging both mentally and physically.

I'll be attending it at the end of May and I'd be happy to share more information about the program if you're interested.
 
Just remeber if you go the military route you are a MILITARY OFFICER FIRST. If you dont have a HUGE desire to serve your country and yes put your LIFE in harms way do not choose the military route. Other than that both are fine ways of reaching a commercial aviation career.
 
I don't need any more help on military or civilian stuff.
I'm pretty sure im going civvie.


I am going to major in Sports Medicine and Physical Training at Missouri State University, which is 30 miles away from here and hopefully play soccer there.
I will also do all of my flight training at Pro Flights at the Springfield/Branson Airport there.

As a back up i will be a trainer at a local gym. Sound good? Or not?
 
Ok, i hate this.
Now this guy im talking to tells me thats not a good idea, i should get business or management degree.
:\
 
Major in something that you will enjoy. I was a political science/history major, jtrain was a philosophy degree, Doug Taylor was a film major.

I loved my major and getting up for the classes was easy because I was interested in it. Get the degree in anything outside of aviation and do your flight training on the side.
 
To the OP regarding selection of major:

I'd be curious to know why "the guy you're talking to" disapproves of sport mgmt and instead suggests a business major. Whichever major you select, I suggest working in a related field while you earn the degree. This way you will have work experience to accompany your degree should you apply for jobs related to your major upon completing college. YMMV, but a business degree can be so broad that it does little for you as far as getting a job out of college unless you have related work experience. IMHO, you're on the right track with the Physical Training degree and working as a trainer while you attend college.
Example:
While I was earning my Parks and Rec degree I worked part-time at the local rec center doing various pool jobs(guarding, teaching lessons, managing, pump room ops). During my last year of college, on two separate occasions, my supervisor strongly encouraged me to apply for full-time positions. The second time I applied I received a job offer. Keep in mind, Parks and Rec has always been my "back up", but I'd be happy with it if I was no longer able to fly(ie. health issues). I graduate in two two weeks and I'll be pursuing my Commercial and CFI . I'd say that my backup plan has worked out well so far.
 
DC10FlyBy said:
Hey guys.
What would you suggest? Military vs Civilian?
Click to expand...

I have had people ask me this same questions for a number of years now, and my answer is always the same, and has been echoed by many already.

Do not join the service simply to learn to fly. Period.

It's called "The Service" for a reason, trust me.

It was always easy to tell the "High school to Flight school" aviators from the ones that had transitioned from into aviation. They typically had a much harder time.
 
I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I am looking at all those colleges, Embry, UND, Purdue, Parks. What you are probably going to find on this forum is that people almost unanimously favor an FBO training and a degree in something else. This is because it is good to have a fallback if you get furloughed or cant even find a job with a regional. Another option I have been looking into is going to a school with Aviation, majoring in something else and getting a minor in proffesional flight.
Also, I live in Colorado and know a lot of people who went or currently go to Air Force Academy, and all agree that it is a fairly sucky environment, plus you are not guranteed a pilot slot.
 
if you have any questions about the air force academy just shoot me a PM...
i am about to graduate from there in 20 days
 
frequentflya said:
I am pretty much in the same boat as you. I am looking at all those colleges, Embry, UND, Purdue, Parks. What you are probably going to find on this forum is that people almost unanimously favor an FBO training and a degree in something else. This is because it is good to have a fallback if you get furloughed or cant even find a job with a regional. Another option I have been looking into is going to a school with Aviation, majoring in something else and getting a minor in proffesional flight.
Also, I live in Colorado and know a lot of people who went or currently go to Air Force Academy, and all agree that it is a fairly sucky environment, plus you are not guranteed a pilot slot.
Click to expand...

not near as bad as it used to be...
and everyone who is pilot qualified and wants to be a pilot gets a pilot slot
 
DC10FlyBy said:
Ok, i hate this.
Now this guy im talking to tells me thats not a good idea, i should get business or management degree.
:\
Click to expand...
Do you plan on being in business or management? I understand the idea of a fall back, but why have one in a career field you're uninterested in? It sounds like you're very interested in sports medicine and training, so do that. You can't just look at it from a dollar perspective, you get one life and this is it. If you want money, get an MBA, work for a large company, max your 401(k) and put your savings in a large spread of index funds. Simple. It doesn't seem to me like that's what you want to do. How about instead of that you become an airline pilot who is also a sports expert.
 
Yea, i like the concept.
My mom freaked out in the middle of her class today. haha.
Shes a teacher. and it just popped into her head, PING!!
Computers! something with computers! She texted me during school telling me i need to do something computer related. LOL Shes o into this. haha
Im thinking of computer animation or something like that,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top