US Air force Academy Day 2024 is on Monday, April 1, 2024: What air force job is the best?

Monday, April 1, 2024 is US Air force Academy Day 2024. United States Air Force Academy - Home United States Air Force

Sponsored Deals

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Firefighter..the us air force has a pretty damn good Firefighting school and force,,..after you get out of the service,,you can apply to any ANY airport fire dept and would get hired no questions (after all the proper channels or political bullshit like in Boston..its who ya know not what ya know at Massport fire dept in Boston airport)..i served on Boston Fire dept for 20 years after 4 years as a firefighter on an aircraft carrier assigned to weapons dept.in the Navy,,the schools were pretty good but nothiong like the air force fire academy..too many unions and and laid off personell in the airplane plant business (like GE or Mcdonald douglass or boeing) or the airlines wont hire now or ever again probably ha ha,,think of your future and the job you can definately get afterwards,,if you planning on being a lifer in the air force,,(and god knows why? you would) then then airplanes and jets are cool,,but learning how to put out those airplanes and jets when on fire or a major crash at a airport..your expertise is crucial..and as ayoung man getting out of the service with 4 years of firefighting experience and all the schooling and training,,you are more qualified than some of the verterans thyat are working for nyears at the fire dept you apply at,,and even if you not go to a airport fire dept(usually the highest paid because it has state and federal money in it)..you can take a civil service exam at a big city or your home town and become a firefigjhter there,,your work schedfdula as a firefighter is great,,24 hour shitfs..24 on,24 off,24 on,,then 5 days off and get paid for 48 hours great for a second job as all us firefighters have..if you choose this rewarding and heroic firled for a job,,also learn to become a EMT..Emergency Medical Technician..so when you apply for a job,,you can not be refused..its stupid to turn away and american veteran with years of experience and training and will save the town or city money on training you since you already a EMT! its a great great great rewarding Job ,,its a Fraternity of only the strong and the brave..

good luck,,

Are you officially in the US air force when you get accepted to the Air Force academy or when you graduate?

The day you go to Colorado you will get an Air Force ID card.

You'll have written orders to appear a month or two in advance of induction day, but most wouldnt' really consider you on active duty until you check in that first day.

Legally... when you sign the contract you are subject to the UCMJ. That happens the first day. You'll sign so many things your signature will be a scribble by the end of the day and you won't remember them all.

Joining US air force questions?

i am going to take your questions a little out of sequence.

- if you are looking at the Air Force Academy: start planning when you are in high school, no later than the beginning of your junior year. you also need to be nominated by your state senator. i don't think you can just 'apply' off the street. Once you enlist (actually go to basic) for active duty, guard, or reserves, the AFA option is pretty much off the table.

- The reserves (like the guard) is a PART TIME job - one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year. No benefits (medical / dental / housing / food) except when you are ON DUTY (and even then, housing and food only on ACTIVE orders)

- full time reserve jobs, M-F (technicians) or AGR (active guard reserve) are very hard to come by and almost always filled from within, NEVER (rarely) from off the street - because there are experience and rank requirements to get those jobs, and off the street it is unlikely to have that.

- BMT is the same. active duty, guard, and reserve all go through Lackland AFB, all for the same length of time.

- college tuition: all 3 offer help at different levels.

- active duty, they cover your tuition while you take classes in your off-duty time. depending on career field you enter, there may be an enlistment bonus, and maybe even a student loan repayment program. that depends on program.

- guard: they might have a tuition assistance program, but the amount they pay may vary on where you go to school, up to a certain amount or percent, and is almost always dependent on the state's legislature funding it. when the state is broke (most are), that percentage is usually adjusted down, if the funding isn't cut completely. i've seen it happen. some may only offer tuition assistance for the first enlistees, or cut it off after a second enlistment. it varies by state.

- reserves: like the guard, they also offer some form of bonus or tuition assitance offer. the difference is that the reserves are federally funded, so if they have TA, that money is usually going to be there. a recruiter can answer that question.

both the guard and reserves will offer 'medical jobs with training'. that's IF they have the jobs available. if you want to be in the medical flight at your local guard or reserve base, and they don't have any medical slots available - then you don't join the medical flight. if they have a job open for an X-ray tech, and not a medic, then you become an X-ray tech.. a lot of guard and reserve units are full - so the jobs available might be slim pickings.

- on active duty: right now the air force is full. they are OVER full. they are getting smaller and will get smaller yet. given that - it is hard to get into the Air Force today with a 'guarantee' for a job you want prior to going to basic. most jobs are filled at basic now. this is a change in philosophy when i first joined. back in 87, there were very few people that went to lackland without a guarantee of what they were going to do after basic. they knew they were going to be an electrician, a church mouse, etc. now most jobs are filled at basic, and the jobs you are given to choose from at basic may not be to your liking. the military today wants people willing to join the SERVICE first, filling any job that the military needs to fill at the time, versus people wanting to fill a certain JOB first - because the bottom line is, the service has a job to do, and they need bodies in jobs. not everyone can be a medic, someone has to wash the bedpans.

i mentioned enlistment bonuses. in general, these bonuses are gone. they are used to entice young people to join the service in times when recruiting is tough because E1 thru E4 pay kind of sucks. in this economic market, high unemployment, etc, recruiting is good - so they don't need to offer the bonuses to get people in the door (supply and demand).

keep in mind - if you go guard or reserve, you WILL NOT be able to go active duty later (with a few exceptions). because of the current ops temp and recruiting environment that isn't likely to change any time soon. Once you are 'prior service' you are damaged goods in their eyes. The exception of course being in a technical science program - if you get your degree in nursing, guarantee you will be able to get an active duty commission when you graduate.

the reserves may work for you, but it will be part time employment, college tuition for the most part will be on you, and their GI bill is different from the active duty version. I think you have to serve at least a year before the guard/reserve GI bill will help you.

consider going active duty. you have your tuition covered, and as you get closer to finishing a degree, look into the AECP and bootstrap programs to finish college and come back as an officer.

good luck!