Is Being An Air Force Officer A Good Job/Career?

Question

Currently, I'm a history major at my university. There is a class covering what the Air Force is, Air Force 101 basically. It's getting me thinking about whether I should get involved with the Air Force ROTC program to become an officer. It just seems interesting.

Does anyone have any personal experiences with the Air Force? Suggestions?

Answer 1

To start with the AF kills people and breaks their stuff - if you have issues with that-find another career path, please for your sake and the AF.

It's like any career-it depends; I know that's not what you're looking for.  Being a former aircrew member, my experience with non-rated career fields is limited-though I certainly worked with Intel officers, Maintenance Officers, Weather guys, Combat Controllers, Comm troops etc.  You should ask the AFROTC detachment "ComStaff"-commissioned staff, about their jobs and what they did/do.  I will say that the biggest complaint from officer engineers is "they won't let me do engineering".  Other downsides:  you will work longer hours-on a salary than your civilian counterparts, you will have little/no say in where you go from assignment to assignment (as you gain rank-your preferences will mean more): expect to move every 2-3 years on top frequent deployments/TDYs-depending on your career field.

Pluses:  steady paycheck, you are paid on time-every time (if you've worked for a small company or dotcom you know how great that is).  Free health care for you-and reduced cost health care for your family.  Housing allowances to help defray the cost of living offbase, or "free" on base housing if you're married.  You certainly will work with better and more motivated folks than a typical civilian environment.  Free travel-heck they PAID me to live in Germany TWICE.

If you want to fly, PM me and I'll fill you in on what you need to do.

Answer 2

I am an Air Force Brat and am perusing the United States Air Force as a career as well. There are several ways you can go about getting into the AF. Enlisted. Officer through ROTC, through regular college, or through the OTC training school. Overall it would be your best bet to get involved in the ROTC program if you are thinking about the military. Not only will it prepare you for the MIL. lifestyle, it will also give you incite into what is and will be expected of you when you are inducted into the AF “family.” I was unfortunate in the fact that I did Army ROTC, when I wished to join the Air Force….Stick with one branch and go :D A career in the Air Force is a wonderful experience, with many perks, traveling opportunities,  and exciting job possibilities. However, you must be a dedicated, morally tough, mentally and physically strong person. If you are truly serious about this path, I salute you, and wish you a prosperous journey.  Thank you (as was said before) in advance for serving our country. Heroes are always needed!

Answer 3

as with all things in life, you'll get out of it what you put into it...as an officer, you'll get more pay than enlisted and more leadership will generally be expected of you (depending on your AFSC).  Overall, I would say it could be a very good experience for you.  Joining the ROTC is sort of like Air Force Lite...you can try it out first before going in the military all the way...if you don't like it, you can leave pretty easily.  I would suggest looking at the differen AFSC's available to you and seeing what job would interest you.  Plus, if there is an AF base close to you, go through your local ROTC or AF recruiter to see if you can 'check out' some of the duties and actually talk with an officer in the job that interests you.

Thank you in advance if you decide to serve your country