definitelymaybe

Hi All - Want to reiterate how much I appreciate the advice and feedback I received on here. It helped with my optimism and preparedness for heading into board interviews. Happy to let all of you know that I had two board interviews, was considered top candidate for both positions, and immediately accepted at one of them (the squadron which was my top choice in this process). I don't want to doxx myself by revealing the role and squadron location. I'm just really excited that my hard work paid off and the respective boards saw my potential to be part of such an amazing organization. It is a non-rated position within the Air National Guard.

This is great input. My job is definitely boring. I won't go into details but the FAANG world isn't glamorous. As far as culture fit issues go I honestly think I would be perfect because I genuinely want to be there and serve. I know that sounds cheesy and Hollywood-ish. I promise it's not. Money is not an issue for me and I'm not in it for the retirement. My biggest regret is that I waited this long to realize what I want to do and I just hope it isn't too late. I have 3 years left and I will keep applying until the last possible second. I was told to not enlist, even though sometimes I want to just because it's a slightly easier path to hit my objective. I think I have a lot to offer and I don't have a huge ego (rare in my industry) and I want to be able to learn from others as well. Fingers crossed I guess?

Haha sometimes I definitely think about quitting my job but I know that reserves/guard is a much better move (and if I get accepted and I love it I an still go AD if I want to). I appreciate the feedback as usual.

I am getting an LOR from a captain (current ANG aviator). Unfortunately I am not heavily connected. I am going for heavies, navigator or RPT and also non-rated. Really just want the opportunity to serve my country. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this is something that I was inspired by a bit later in life.

36 this year.

Trying to get back on topic here -- I neglected to mention something: I have a bit of a criminal record - from 2003. Petty Larceny but dropped to a violation and I had to pay a fine. I was young and stupid. Other than that I have a couple of traffic violations from a year ago (following too closely and failure to merge. I was in traffic on my motorcycle and I wanted to get out of said traffic quickly). I have been a saint since that only thing in 2003. 16 years ago. I'm worried that I'm already too old and they're going to see that when they do a background check and just tell me to not quit my day job, so to speak. Thoughts?

@iRobot i have about 15 hours in a cessna - but haven't taken a lesson since 2014 so I'm a bit out of practice to say the least. I'll be memorizing cards this weekend. I've been doing a lot of googling on TBAS as well to understand the overall structure and requirements of the test. Sounds like half the battle is just being alert and not panicking. I ride a motorcycle so the basic hand/eye coordination and not panicking skills are there hopefully!

@LNGHgreat advice. I'm a little nervous since I've read that playing certain video games helps on the test - this is not one of my hobbies so I have no idea how i'm going to do. In the meantime, I'm memorizing the Parking Lot flashcards and just keeping my fingers crossed for a decent PCSM.

I am taking the TBAS on Wednesday. Given my pilot/nav scores listed above, what would you all consider a competitive PCSM score?

@torqued I really appreciate this insight and it looks like a couple of people agree with you based on upvotes 🙂 I think guard is the right direction to go in as well. While I don't hate my job (hate is a strong word, haha, I would say more like I have been consistently discouraged for a few years now) I do want the opportunity to do something meaningful. I was also strongly told to NOT enlist at my age. My worry is that I will never get any type of commission and I will never get to fulfill my desire to serve the country. I realize there are other ways to give back. The vast majority of people have been extremely encouraging, based on my resume and LORs (with the exception of a few internet strangers to told said some choice things). I'm working on getting signed up for TBAS immediately. I'll begin applying to non-rated positions as soon as I receive my last two LORs and write my personal statement (which is arguably my biggest struggle right now - finding the right words without skewing emotional) Also I WISH recruiters were being annoying with phone calls 🙂 If anything I've been harassing my ANG recruiter (I already had one who was extremely rude to me. My new one is really polite) and it has been an absolute struggle to get anyone to help me network and get me signed up for various things. I'm not enlisting so I'm not on their radar at all. I understand that this is the reality of the situation and if I want anything done I have to do it myself (definitely not the corporate culture that I'm used to!)

@FDNYOldGuy this is great advice, thank you. I'm actually lucky (or not, depending on what type of person you are), to have very few life commitments. I have a job that would allow me to potentially work in a different location if needed. I'm not married and I have no kids so I'm pretty free to roam wherever I want. I am in very good shape for my age - I weightlift 5-6 days per week, I drink socially maybe once a week though I admit I am not the fastest runner. I will ask my recruiter about getting me in for TBAS and also will ask him to sign me up to retake the test as soon as I'm eligible. He informed me after he saw my scores that some recently selected pilots had lower scores than me in some areas. I just had not thought about anything rated, since I figured I was way too old and there was no point in applying. I would be more comfortable with heavies over fighters and am also very open to navigator as well. I will have 3 LORs ready by end of next week (waiting on a 4th one as well). just need to write my personal statement. My LORs are: senior manager at my current employer the comptroller of my home state director of the recreation at the veterans nursing home where i volunteer (have done a ton of volunteer work with veterans over the years, as inspired by my father) air guard captain (pilot - though he is taking his time in getting this together...ugh) I am employed at one of the most sought after tech companies in the world and have a ton of management experience at other well-known companies.

@CharlieHotel47 this is good to know and I feel the same way as your friend - I am not in this for the cool points. I'm pursuing this because I believe in service and hard work and giving back. I have a really great job right now - lots of perks, high salary, laid back. Military is where I think I should be. Guess I just figured that out later than some others.

Haven't taken TBAS yet since I hadn't really considered applying for aviator position, due to my age. You all have encouraged me to try and pursue this anyway! I'm also working on making some connections within the Air Guard to possibly help with my board reviews. I hear solid networking skills are extremely helpful if you're going civilian to officer route. I can pass all the PT stuff easily (though I admit I am not the fastest runner by a long shot) and I got lasik like 6 years ago so my vision is perfect.

Thanks all @N730 - I'd absolutely apply for aviator. Like I said my goal is to serve, I guess I just figured my Pilot score was not high enough. @LNGH I'm going to retake the exam in January and ask one of my more mathematically inclined friends to tutor me. I appreciate your feedback - I'm definitely pushing forward even though the odds are against me. Waiting on my last LOR to come through.

P: 71 N: 80 A: 54 V: 82 Q: 27 Major: Business GPA: 2.97 (my last 4 semesters were a 3.3 average, but I know no one will care about that) Non prior service. Extensive volunteer work with Veterans: job application and resume help, website builds for small business/organizations, nursing home volunteering LORs: Air Force Captain, Senior level Coworker, Director at Volunteer Org, State Comptroller Location: East Coast. Looking at Air Guard or active duty Air Force. I'm open minded. I'm 36 years old, F. I've been wanting to serve my country for several years but life circumstances prevented me from taking on this commitment and responsibility. I know my Quant score is abysmal, and was really unexpected given how much I studied. Was told I could maybe get an age waiver if I wanted to apply for Nav and got accepted. Yes I plan on retaking the test in 5 months. I'm generally going for non-rated positions, and really anything that will accept me. My background is in design technology, digital product and general program management (chief of staff type roles). I have extensive employment experience at one of the FAANG companies, so I would say that my career has so far been very successful from a growth and leadership perspective.