Leaderboard

Hey y'all, I was a little more active on here a few years back when applying to guard units but have lurked off & on since then. I live in Houston where, as most are aware, we had some pretty gnarly flooding from Hurricane Harvey. As shitty as the situation has been for so many in the area, it has largely brought out the best in people. My wife and I were lucky enough to be spared from anything serious, but homes just a few blocks away were inundated with floodwater. Watching USCG helicopters snag folks from rooftops just a few streets over was pretty surreal. The other day, I watched a -130 refueling a couple pavehawks directly over my neighborhood. I grew up around AF bases, so seeing aircraft overhead is something I'm pretty used to. Watching them putting in serious work to help save lives was something new entirely. With that said, I'm sure more than a few of you on here have been involved, either directly or indirectly, with rescue, recovery, and aid efforts in response to the storm. On behalf of everyone in Houston and SE Texas, I just wanted to say thanks. If you've ever in the area, let me know and beers are on me.

Moments away from the best time of the year. 48 hours away from one hell of an opening season game. Go Seminoles.

$50 raise?

Again, I'm not sure on the ROTC process regarding how competitive it is but I've seen people get Pilot slots with scores similar to yours. Is there no way you can compete for a Pilot slot with those scores? Or have you already tried and got denied? If you study the right way for at least a month there's no reason you shouldn't be able to improve your scores the 2nd time around now that you know what to expect from the test. I had the same fear as you that I would fail the AFOQT the second time around and when I left the testing room I thought I failed the math portion. It turns out that I improved every composite score, doubled my quant score and bumped my PCSM in the process - I'm now waiting on a class date for OTS/UPT. What I'm trying to say is that realistically the AFOQT is a hard test to fail so I really wouldn't worry about that especially since you already passed once. Don't let fear of failure keep you from shooting for your goal - just prepare the right way leading up to the test, put the work in and you'll be fine.

2! Not to derail this into a PMP thread, but do not go into the exam without knowing this process chart and these formulas cold. I wouldn't have passed if I had done just the Syracuse courseware and not done substantial other prep.

YMMV. I told them I was only available for one location...the one close to my house. Wasn't a problem. Also, when I interviewed folks for Amazon, that was NOT one of the questions I asked. (In fairness, that question might be asked by the recruiter or HR). "Too many 12 hour days"....yup....like every day. Holiday season (Peak) is the worst...16+ hour days 6 days a week, but it's all part of the "wonderful" experience. Big 2 on the PMP. I've found it to be very helpful post-AF. However, I found the Syracuse program to be crap...didn't prep me to pass the exam. Some of it may be my fault for treating it like a CBT, but still. (The exam is no joke...don't expect to pass without a lot of studying). I did a 1-week Boot Camp for $2K. Passed the test first try. Consider the Boot Camp + $500 exam fee + yearly PMI membership to be an investment in yourself. PMP + MBA + military = $$$. (And having Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, etc on your resume/LinkedIn helps a lot as well).

The one gotcha to Amazon is that you have to be willing to relocate to where they want you to live. Retiring AF friend of mine interviewed with them and during the 2nd interview round the first question was, "Are you willing to relocate to where we need you? If you answer no, the interview is over." I spent 23 years putting up with living in places I didn't want to live so Amazon was not for me, plus another retired B-1 WSO who I know got an Amazon ops manager job, quit after a couple of years because he said it was too many 12 hour days. I'd recommend any non-pilots looking for post-AF employment get a PMP program manager certification which can be had for free through Syracuse University Veteran's Transition Program as that seems to be a very common thing to have for transition into the corporate world. You can also take the exact same courseware on AF e-Learning but then you'd have to pay for the $500 test yourself. Got a late start on mine but I wish I had done it as a junior major as I learned a lot of stuff that would have been useful for the AF jobs I had. Hell, I think the AF would probably be better off replacing ACSC DL with a PMP cert course.

Splitting rated officers from the LAF below O-6 would probably negate the need for two tracks. It would alsokeep random MSG clowns from passing over WOs, SEFEs, etc for not checking all the right boxes.

Many businesses will lose money and then fail after a few years. But there does seem to be a point in business where if you a doing a good job and stick with it, word of mouth reaches critical mass and that's where the business will take off. In tech they call this "hockey stick" growth. I'm not in the tech world, but that has definitely been my experience. Stick with it long enough, you'll become and expert in whichever field you're in, and the market will reward you. Best wishes to you man!