I'm having a hard time choosing between full time Air force or AirNG?

Question

I'm a 21 year old female and I know I want to go into the military. I have wanted to since I was 14 years old.

I'm working on loosing a little more weight and getting in better shape before I go to basic.

I keep going back and forth between full time Air Force and Air National Guard. I have about 60 credits in college. I am currently not attending school and I'm working because it's hard for me to get loans without a co-signer (parents are not worthy co-signers) I have an older dependable car and a lot of common sense. I'm not sure what job I would like to do in either case of what I choose.

I do know that I want to finish school, whether I go part time and they pay for it while I do my one weekend a month and two weeks a year, or whether I go full time Air Force and take classes on side.

How do I go about choosing what is best for me? I don't need to be rich but I want to make better decisions than my parents. I want to have good credit and not live so financially stressed that I do not enjoy what I do have.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

If this helps, I was a business major before I had to take a leave of absense to work. I am not sure what I'd like to do out of college.

Answer 1

If your done with school, and just need to pay some loans - go active duty. Why not? You get the full experience, get to see the world, live free, and have money to spend.

If you want to continue with school within your 6 year contract, go reserve. (You can switch to active duty down the line, but I am not sure how easy that is in the Air Force).

Answer 2

You could try ANG for a while, if you'd rather go Active then you can switch...but if you go Active, you've got to finish your contract before making a change.  

Just remember, even if you sign up for 4 years, time will fly!!  Before you know it, you'll be re-enlisting or whatever you want to do.  I'll always encourage active duty...it lets you realize what being committed 24/7 is really all about.  

Good luck, any other questions throw them at me!

Answer 3

if you really want some action go to air force but if you are there to serve chose national guard because in air force you will have a lot of missions and a greater chance of death  

Answer 4

The way the ANG is set up is college centric. You will get 100% tuition paid, GI Bill and Kicker, Student Loan repayment plan, and some jobs are giving a $20,000 bonus! Go to school full-time for 2 more years and be done with it while getting it all paid for. Serve in the Air Force part-time and stay close to home. I did this for 8 straight semesters while in the ANG, it was great and yes, they paid me to go to school. Email me through my profile on here for more info. My wife is in training right now as she joined the ANG in march and just graduated BMT last week.

Answer 5

I had the same question as well. I chose Air Force Reserve, because they allow you to relocate. Though the tuition benifits are better with the Guard, you are mandated to stay in state. Also with the reserve it becomes much easier to go active when and if you so chose.

Answer 6

Only you can make the decision but I would recommend going into the Air Force. It will give you the benefits and a opportunity to get everything together over a few years. I am prior active duty Air Force and it was a great experience. You do not want a Security Forces job if the recruiter says that is the only job available tell him to call you when something else opens up. When you take the ASVAB test make sure to go to the library and study for a week before taking the test so that you can get the best score possible. The higher your score the better chance you will have of getting a job that you want.