Re: Went to the USAF Recruiters today...advice? is this legi
I am going to speak from personal experience. I went into ROTC hoping to become an Air Force pilot. I spent all my time and hard work to try to become a pilot and after I got my slot, I got medically DQ'ed for something small, and was even told that no civilian doctor would diagnose me with it. I got recategorized into Intel and to be honest, I don't enjoy my job, mainly because I have other dreams.
If you enlist, you will not be guaranteed ATC. Not only that, but it is a two year school to become an ATC in the Air Force, and if you don't succeed, you will be recategorized into something like airplane mechanic or security forces. Additionally, everything in the air force is based on the needs of the air force. If you get four choices, and you put ATC first, but you have something like "security forces" or "space and missiles" on your list, and they really need security forces, you may end up getting one of your other choices and not your first choice.
Here is another option, go GUARD. When you go into the guard, you actually interview at the individual unit and they hire you into the specific position. If you get hired by the guard unit, you will still go to the same two year ATC school as the Active Duty guys. Once the school is done, you can "guard bum" if you don't have a day job, and if you like it enough, you can try to interview for an AGR position or even a reserve-tech position, which is a fulltime job with your guard unit. Keep in mind that you most likely will be deployed at one point or another, so if being away from home in austere locations for 6 months at a time doesn't excite you, then be forewarned. Otherwise, there are many great benefits to being in the military, and if you get your job choice, you may end up loving it and making a career out of it. Good luck