Second jobs in the ANG

[Guest Aces-High]

I am wondering what kinds of non flying jobs you reserve guys might have within your units that help support you (and your family) in addition to flight time. Or what jobs do you have outside of the units that allow you time to fly. Or do you find that you get enough flight time to not have to worry about a second job.

In college I majored in International Studies. Basically that consists of politics, economics, history, literature, geography etc. Typically it was more of an analytical work. I would be given a country to study, then forcast how it would react politically, economically etc to the actions of neighboring countries and world events as a whole. Are there any jobs that any of you know of that this type of training would compliment?

Thanks for your help,

Aces

[ 18. August 2004, 23:42: Message edited by: Aces-High ]

[Guest wyhunter]

My unit's ops tempo affords me to get a full monthly paycheck just off of the flight time.

I did take on a Flight Safety Officer position, mostly because I was interested, but also to squeeze out some man days during the tougher months of November and December. I also got qualified as a drop zone officer. Make yourself useful at several things around the squadron. Also, our squadron works off the "line of sight" mentality. They need something done and just look around to see who's available, so I try to be there more often than not when I need days.

There's always stan/eval to bug for man days; also tactics, planning, scheduling, AFORMS, or command post. Just find out who needs stuff done and whore yourself out (excuse the expression). I've been guard bumming for two years and am making way more money than I could with a degree in wildlife management and criminal justice.

Don't know if this is what you were getting at, but hope some of it helps.

[Guest Aces-High]

Yea, that helps, thanks man! I have been told by my unit that it's possible to make a good living simply by flying, but sometimes I wonder what other things are possible if for any reason I don't get my expected hours.

[Guest Cruiser]

Is there anyone out there that flies with the ANG that has a second job that is not flight related?? I'm an engineer and would be interested in continuing in this profession while also flying part-time for the Guard. Is the guard flying schedule too irregular to carry a "regular" 8-5 job?? Would the schedule be insane??

Thanks

[Guest AirGuardian]

We have had a few brokers, accountants, car salesman, police officers, and an ATF agent to name a few other primary career types...

In fact our Ops Group Commander is a Chemical Engineer by trade and lives out of state. He flys with us about twice a month if he's lucky and maintains the engineering aspect as his full-time job. Works for Dow and seems to be doing fine. The extra OG type paperwork slows him down a bit, but he's high strung and strives on! You can manage the 8-5 normal world job, but make sure your employer can handle you being gone here and there to make training sessions/currencies. Employers are supposed to give you time to fulfill these requirements, just make sure you're on orders and always keep a copy to give to the boss! Trust is key, they(civilian sector) normally understand this situation and are very respectful towards it!

[Guest Cruiser]

Thanks for the the info AirGuardian! I appreciate your response. It sounds like ANG would be a great job, now the hard part is getting a pilot slot! I'm just finishing up my degree this spring, and I plan to get my PPL and pursue ANG opportunities after graduation. If you don't mind, I may PM you with more detailed questions in the future. Thanks!

[herkbum]

The majority of our pilots are in aviation related jobs, but we do have a few doctors, lawyers, etc. Most of our navs are in non-aviation related jobs. This stems from the lack of a good nav-related civilian job. Our engineers are navs. No one says your civilian job has to be related to flying, some people like the change of pace.

[Guest pugsley]

I work as an engineer for the federal government. I have heard that some branches of the govt are more helpful than others when it comes to reserve duty, but I was able to get 150 points last year without negatively impacting my job. My boss is very understanding and I am able to go on several dets and long trips each year.

Before I got on with the Federal Govt, I worked for a defense contractor for a year and a half. With that company, the deal I made was that I would average at least 30 hours a week during a pay period. That meant if I took a trip one week, I would work enough the next week to get at least 60 hours in the pay period. (This helped him keep the full time benefits. It is also why I switched to being a civil servant--it is easy to average 30 hours a wek over the year, but working 60 hours after a 10 day trip can really suck. This was a really small company, so it may be easier if you work for a larger company.)

Two paychecks from Uncle Sam is working out great for me so far. (Now if I could just get one of Uncle Sam's civilian flying jobs, things would be even better.)

[ 30. December 2004, 11:01: Message edited by: burro schmidt ]

[Guest theflyboy1]

How does this compare with fighter flying? I am in the same position as cruiser and would like to keep my engineering job when I go part time. I also heard the schedules are different for fighters than for heavies. Any comments on that?

[Guest x-wing]

Is it possible to have a non flying job all while being a pilot in the reserves?

A sort of job that would put my college degree into use.

[Guest AirGuardian]

I thought NY was looking for an ALO position when I looked months ago. Wasn't filled for many, many months. It may be now, but that was an interesting opp...

NAME THE DEGREE? And maybe someone can point you in the right direction...?

Plenty of IMA jobs out there, but then again they're usually full and hard to weed people out of them. Do some work on a Stat tour up in D.C.!!! if you're serious.

Once again, knowing the Degree would help us out here Mr. X!

[PapaJu]

I think he was looking along the lines of "is it possible to drive a desk as a civilian job while being a reserve pilot."

[ 03. July 2005, 21:34: Message edited by: wannaairlift ]

[Guest SnakeT38]

Many many IMA jobs available. The AFRC website

used to have a "help wanted" section for non-flying opps and their traditional flying jobs listed by unit.