wanting to join Air Force as officer?

Question

wanting to join Air Force as officer?

Answer 1

There are many things that play a factor into getting in as an officer. It is extremely competitive when it comes to officers. What kind of degree do you have? Technical Degrees are highly preferred. Medical degrees are preferred too. If you have any other degree, it makes it hard to get in. They look at your GPA. If you have below a 3.5, it will make it hard to compete against other applicants. They look at law violations, drug use, age, height and weight, community service, sports, volunteer work, clubs, etc.



The recruiter knows if you would have a competitive package or not. Trust me, if he thinks he has a chance of getting you in as an officer, he would put in the package. If he thinks you dont have a chance being competitive, he will tell you to look into enlisted.



Being enlisted is a good gig. With your education, you will come in at a higher pay grade. Once you complete technical training, you will be awarded an AA degree in applied science because of your previous college experience. They have over 60 different degree programs in applied science.



There are many commissioning programs available to enlisted people with degrees. At your 1 year mark as enlisted, you can apply for a commissioning program and have a good chance of getting accepted. The Air Force is just like any other corporation, they would rather promote from within thier company as opposed to taking in a stranger off the streets.



One thing people tend to forget is that joining the Air Force is not a right or a guarantee. People think they can demand whatever they want and expect the recruiter to bend over backwards to give it to them. The Air Force will tell you the same thing that any major corporation would if you walked in demanding a job. Try to demand a job position with Microsoft, boeing, lockhead Martin, or any of the other high tech companies. They will tell you to take a hike. The Air Force is no different. They are responsible for multi million and billion dollar assets. They arent going to let you do whatever job you want just because you demand them too. If you work with the recruiters, they will work with you. If you give them attitude or demand things, they wont want you in the Air Force.



ADDITIONAL UPDATE:



After your update, I can see why the Officer recruiter told you to look into Enlisted. Your GPA and Degree just arent competive. You wouldnt have a chance against the 3.8-4.0 students with an Electronical Engineering degree and such.



Enlisted would be a good opportunity for you. They have a program that you could apply for at your 1 year mark called the Airmen Education and Commissioning program. It use to be for getting a BA degree but they just opened it up for people with BA to persue a Masters. The program allows you to go to school full time as an AF member. It pays for your tuition, books, housing, and food. They will also pay you just over $1900.00 a month as a E-5 while you attend college. You would have to go to a college with the AFROTC but those are everywhere. They would have you do Officer field training during the summers. Once you graduate with your Masters, you would be an officer in the AF with a masters free of charge.

Answer 2

It depends on what your degree is in. Those with technical degrees (engineering, some science and math fields) are more competitive than those with non-technical degrees. The AF is the most difficult service to get into, however, because it has many more applicants than openings.

Answer 3

You join the Peace Corps and your Air Force career is over!

Answer 4

I went through OTS 5 years ago so what I am telling you may be outdated but there are things you can do. You can sign up for and take the AFOQT (Air Force Officer Qualification Test) without working through a recruiter. I contacted the testing office at the local MEPS and took the test without a recruiter even knowing my name. I then went to them after receiving my scores. I had a 3.5 GPA and a degree in history/education which is of course of no use to the USAF but for the most part they aren't concerned what your degree is in. If you get good enough scores on the different AFOQT sections then that will help you if your package makes it to the selection board. Now the AF just force shaped thousands of officers out so it is very competitive but they are also looking for junior officers to do the jobs of those that are lost to normal commitment attrition. It also helps if you have the ability to get a letter of recommendation from a current military officer or someone in public service whose name carries some weight (congressman, governor etc). I personally would not bank on enlisting and then crossing over to the officer side. First there is a minimum time you have to do whatever job you get on the enlisted side before you can even apply (usually two years after completion of your job training) and then there is no guarantee that you would be accepted (you could have a bad performance report from a supervisor who dislikes you etc). I would get the test done and if you get good scores then approach the officer recruiter with those and insist on them putting a package in for the next board. You never know, the Air Force is standing up this Cyber Command and they may start fattening up the service again. Oh, and get a study guide for the AFOQT because it isn't terribly difficult but it does have some odd sections that if you aren't prepared could sink you. Good luck.

Answer 5

They may be suggesting that you go enlisted and THEN apply to ocs. Officer School does tend to have slightly different procedures for enlisted personal. The bad news is that the AF, and the Navy have been /and continue to downsize so slots at officer school are very hard to come by. (The Navy FYI will accept your application if you have a 2.5+, but they consider a 3.2+ as a minimum.)

Answer 6

Just go in as an enlisted then after a year apply for OTS. You'll make more as an OE-1 than you would as a O-1 anyways.

Answer 7

even with the army you would first enlist, go to basic training, then you would go right from there to OCS where you would immediately be promoted to the rank of E-5 SGT. after you pass OCS then you will be promoted to the rank of 2nd LT, from that point you will go off to your branch school.



talk to some other recruiters ... your getting the shaft

Answer 8

To be an officer in USAF you have to go to the Air Force Academy first. But you can join as an Air Force reserve.

Answer 9

You can't just go in as an officer, The reason is because you have to work your way up. The miliary gives you ranks. You get rankings based on the work you completed. If you come straight out of college and have had no military experience then it is assumed that you do not have knowledge about it. It wouldn't be fair to give someone a high rank and they did nothing to earn that rank.

Answer 10

DO NOT GO ENLISTED. That is crazy. Go officer, if you have a science degree that will help with your career choice. Tell the recruiter that you will be an officer or nothing. DON'T BACK DOWN. Recruiters would rather you be overqualified and enlisted better for them. you can do med tech, pharmacy, lab, or engineering. Or maybe something else, but be an officer. I promise you will regret it otherwise.