Chances for ANG UPT

[guzowskienator]

 

Ladies & Gents,

 

Been working on this awhile and finally saw the years ticking away on the calendar (about to be 27) so I got my act together.

 

Took the AFOQT two weeks ago:

Pilot 98

Nav 99

AA 82

Verb 83

Quant 72

 

That quantitative score hurt a bit, had several questions not in my study guides. Oh well!

 

Then last Friday I finished my PPL - luckily passed the first time because apparently a checkride is $650 these days.

 

TBAS is scheduled for tomorrow. I think I can get to ~80 flying hours before packets are due and hope that is good enough for a decent PCSM.

 

Finished school in '12 with a BBA in Accounting and Finance. 3.36gpa.

 

Have been working since graduation, have a ton of family in the military (brother and sister are AD AF pilots), and LoRs from Managers and my CFI (no, I don't know any Generals who can write me one). I feel pretty good but I know the competition is stiff these days.

 

Anything else I should be working on to boost my chances?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

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Edited June 1, 2017 by guzowskienator

[gthsd87]

1) Do well on TBAS.

2) Apply quickly and often.

3) Practice interview Q&A.

[John3806]

14 hours ago, guzowskienator said:

 

Ladies & Gents,

 

Been working on this awhile and finally saw the years ticking away on the calendar (about to be 27) so I got my act together.

 

Took the AFOQT two weeks ago:

Pilot 98

Nav 99

AA 82

Verb 83

Quant 72

 

That quantitative score hurt a bit, had several questions not in my study guides. Oh well!

 

Then last Friday I finished my PPL - luckily passed the first time because apparently a checkride is $650 these days.

 

TBAS is scheduled for tomorrow. I think I can get to ~80 flying hours before packets are due and hope that is good enough for a decent PCSM.

 

Finished school in '12 with a BBA in Accounting and Finance. 3.36gpa.

 

Have been working since graduation, have a ton of family in the military (brother and sister are AD AF pilots), and LoRs from Managers and my CFI (no, I don't know any Generals who can write me one). I feel pretty good but I know the competition is stiff these days, especially with the guard babies.

 

Anything else I should be working on to boost my chances?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Unless you bomb the TBAS, your PCSM score will probably be in the 90s (which is highly competitive) with 80+ hours and a 98 on the pilot AFPQT. 

Would I be correct to assume that you are not currently part of the military? If my assumption is correct, I would say that's the biggest obstacle that stands in your way of getting a guard UPT slot. It's no secret that the guard prefers to hire from within which usually means hiring guys with prior enlisted experience. This doesn't mean you won't get hired as I'm sure you know, it just means that you will have to stand out among the folks they already know. 

Have you thought of also applying for the AD board also?

[guzowskienator]

Correct, I am not currently in the military.

When this whole process started a few years ago I wanted to go AD. Since that time, I've had three promotions at work and I really enjoy what I do. I decided to go ANG/reserve so hopefully I can have my cake and eat it too. All that said, if I don't get picked up this year then I'll start applying for AD. At the end of the day, really just want to serve and if I can do that through flying all the better.


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[John3806]

Guzowskienator, you get your PCSM score yet? I know you said you took the TBAS a few days ago. I'm interested as to how long it takes to get a score back. 

[gthsd87]

6 minutes ago, John3806 said:

I'm interested as to how long it takes to get a score back. 

I took my TBAS on a Monday and had the score populated on their website by Wednesday.

[guzowskienator]

It has not posted yet. I assume they're out today as well as Monday. Hoping to get it soon.


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[mb1685]

10 minutes ago, John3806 said:

Guzowskienator, you get your PCSM score yet? I know you said you took the TBAS a few days ago. I'm interested as to how long it takes to get a score back. 

I retook it at the beginning of this month and my score was available the next day. They've also updated my score within 1 or 2 days every time I've submitted flight hour updates. The PCSM office is really fast.

Edited May 26, 2017 by mb1685

[John3806]

3 minutes ago, mb1685 said:

I retook it at the beginning of this month and my score was available the next day. They've also updated my score within 1 or 2 days every time I've submitted flight hour updates. The PCSM office is really fast.

That's good to know. I want to update my hours to as recent as possible before I submit my packet so I'm glad to hear it's not a drawn out process (like some things seem to be in the military). 

[tk1313]

6 minutes ago, mb1685 said:

I retook it at the beginning of this month and my score was available the next day. They've also updated my score within 1 or 2 days every time I've submitted flight hour updates. The PCSM office is really fast.

I've always wondered: Is it exactly identical to the "projected" score you see when you pull your PCSM result?

[gthsd87]

3 minutes ago, tk1313 said:

I've always wondered: Is it exactly identical to the "projected" score you see when you pull your PCSM result?

I wondered that too, but every time I resubmitted with updated hours they were right on "projection" scale.

[guzowskienator]

Are you all using this site? Don't remember entering my initials on the test...

https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/PCSMscores.html


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[mb1685]

12 minutes ago, tk1313 said:

I've always wondered: Is it exactly identical to the "projected" score you see when you pull your PCSM result?

Yep, it's identical.

[John3806]

12 minutes ago, guzowskienator said:

Are you all using this site? Don't remember entering my initials on the test...

https://access.afpc.af.mil/pcsmdmz/PCSMscores.html


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Yep that's the site I use. I think it's the only place to get your PCSM. I don't remember entering my initials when I took the test either but maybe I just forgot about it. 

[BLT135]

Your AFOQT and, most likely TBAS, scores are good. Good scores will not be the reason you get hired by a guard unit. They won't hurt, but I got picked up with scores WAY lower than those. It hurts that you aren't already in the Guard, but dudes get picked up off the streets all the time. The #1 thing you need to do is VISIT squadrons that you are interested in. Get to know people and let them get to know the real you and why you want to be there. If you don't visit, you will be fighting an uphill battle. 

[John3806]

On 5/26/2017 at 9:45 AM, guzowskienator said:

It has not posted yet. I assume they're out today as well as Monday. Hoping to get it soon.


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Guz, what did you end up with for a PCSM? Was I close when I said the 90s? Mid to high 80s maybe? 

[guzowskienator]

Guz, what did you end up with for a PCSM? Was I close when I said the 90s? Mid to high 80s maybe? 

I'm still waiting for a score. Apparently one of the pages didn't get transferred to the scoring center. Hoping they'll resubmit the papers today.


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[guzowskienator]

Finally got my score this afternoon. I'm at a 76 pcsm with 69 flight hours. I can push that to an 81 if I fly 12 more hours. Trying to decide if those 5 points are worth it at $100/hr.


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[John3806]

5 minutes ago, guzowskienator said:

Finally got my score this afternoon. I'm at a 76 pcsm with 69 flight hours. I can push that to an 81 if I fly 12 more hours. Trying to decide if those 5 points are worth it at $100/hr.


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Nice work dude. I've heard of several people get hired at guard units with a lower PCSM so I wouldn't stress about it. Emphasize the whole person concept and you should be fairly competitive. How long until you apply? 

[mb1685]

3 minutes ago, guzowskienator said:

Finally got my score this afternoon. I'm at a 76 pcsm with 69 flight hours. I can push that to an 81 if I fly 12 more hours. Trying to decide if those 5 points are worth it at $100/hr.


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I wouldn't sweat it a ton since it's a decent score, plus the boards will see your hours and probably put more stock in that than your (extrapolated) TBAS performance. But since it's free, I'd still suggest retaking the TBAS when you can, but go ahead and apply to units in the meantime since you have to wait 6 months to retake. I have a lower Pilot score than you (92) and I'm 2 brackets lower than you (21-40 hours) and my PCSM is an 80, so I'm sure you can bump it up quite a bit with a retake.

[guzowskienator]

Nice work dude. I've heard of several people get hired at guard units with a lower PCSM so I wouldn't stress about it. Emphasize the whole person concept and you should be fairly competitive. How long until you apply? 

Thanks. I'm looking to apply over the summer. Currently debating about how wide of a net to cast. Not sure it makes sense to apply to units in locations I don't want to live or on the opposite coast.


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[gthsd87]

5 minutes ago, guzowskienator said:

 

Thanks. I'm looking to apply over the summer. Currently debating about how wide of a net to cast. Not sure it makes sense to apply to units in locations I don't want to live or on the opposite coast.


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Apply to places you want to live, or airframes you would like to fly. But if you have the means, invest time in visiting units to see if you like it, and it shows them who you are. But I'd err on the side of applying everywhere, especially if becoming a pilot is your goal. It is a numbers game; with your age, units are likely going to shy away. So be persistent and get those apps out asap!

[gear3green]

24 minutes ago, gthsd87 said:

Apply to places you want to live, or airframes you would like to fly. But if you have the means, invest time in visiting units to see if you like it, and it shows them who you are. But I'd err on the side of applying everywhere, especially if becoming a pilot is your goal. It is a numbers game; with your age, units are likely going to shy away. So be persistent and get those apps out asap!

I'm in the same boat. It's 27 really that bad? My afoqt is schedule  for July. Wondering if some heavy units in McGuire will take me or if I have a shot at Ft Wayne. 

[gthsd87]

2 minutes ago, gear3green said:

I'm in the same boat. It's 27 really that bad? My afoqt is schedule  for July. Wondering if some heavy units in McGuire will take me or if I have a shot at Ft Wayne. 

It's not preferred, but never self disqualify. Just apply, and elevate the great aspects of your package. I wasn't able to apply until I was 28, and got picked up. It happens, and limited units will exercise exception to policy for age, but you wanna get hired asap. 

[pcarros3]

I'm scheduled to take the AFOQT again here in the next few weeks. I've been studying a lot, using book such as "AFOQT Secrets, Peterson's, and Barron's. The last time I took this was 2010. For those who scored well on AFOQT, any recommendations on more study material I should look into? I've also downloaded other (older) AFOQT tests to practice.