Must be 34 to apply???

[ET phone home]

I am 35 and pursuing an airguard or reserve pilot slot, no previous military. I understand to not self eliminate and let them tell me no. But a majority of the job postings state in the requirements that I must be no older than 30 to 34 to apply (depending on the attachment), while some others state no older than 34 by start of upt. Furthermore, the units I call ask me the age question right away, then say no thanks.

So do I only apply to the VERY few that don’t state age requirements, or still send my application package to every unit and hope I don’t piss off a wing because I can’t follow directions. 

Take bogidope for example. Only one out of 15 posts does not say anything about age in the hiring attachments.

I believe I have read every post and haven’t come across this specific question, forgive me if I missed it. I will also continue trying, just looking for some insight. This forum has been very informative and everyone is extremely helpful with your knowledge. I am very thankful, keep it going!

[Metalhead731]

It's going to be hard. It's going to take a lot of time and effort and it will be an uphill battle. But it's not impossible. If you've read through these forums you may have come across the guy that got picked up at 36, so it HAS happened before. Based on your research, do you feel like you can put together a competitive package? Do you have flight time? Good work experience? Scores? GPA? I would say your best odds of getting picked up is to start visiting the units and letting them get to know you. If the unit likes you enough and knows you pretty well they will be more inclined to overlook your age and be willing to go through the work of getting you an age waiver.

 I'm a 30-year-old non-prior and just recently completed my PPL. I've been applying to guard units for over a year now. Had a few interviews but haven't been selected yet, so it's tough even for people within the age bracket. I'm hoping for better luck this year though with the foundation that I started laying last year visiting places. That's the best advice I can give you at this point with my limited experience. Hopefully someone who has been hired can also chime in. Best of luck to you!

Edit: Also, it's probably going to be more difficult now with the Coronavirus issues going on. Most units are not allowing visitations. I'm not sure what the fallout will be as far as pilot sections as a result of this. 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Metalhead731

[brabus]

9/10 times I’d say follow the directions explicitly (attention to detail and all that), but this is a case where you don’t really have anything to lose, other than your time, to send your apps to those “no thanks” units. Our last board we didn’t have a limitation set, but we all had our minds set on 30-31ish being the limit. We ended up interviewing several who were older (I think 34 was the oldest). The first thing that grabbed our attention was the cover letter, which then piqued our curiosity to turn the pages to grades/scores (which were stellar), then to LORs, etc.

Bottom line, a strong cover letter will pull someone in to at least taking an additional 6-9 min to look at the rest of your app. You will have to have a very strong resume, grades, etc. behind that cover letter to have a real chance at an interview. Visiting (when all this BS is over) is likely required to push it over the line to an interview invite.  

 

 

[FDNYOldGuy]

100% what @brabus said: a solid application can overcome the initial hesitation on age. As the old guy @Metalhead731 mentioned, I got a majority of “No,” blanket “Thanks for applying,” emails, and “We don’t know if we can do waivers,” in my journey. But, a couple units gave me an interview and said, “Yes, we’ll run a waiver up for you.” I was 36 when I got picked up (37 by the time I actually hit UPT) and my waiver was cleared when the cutoff was still 30 (changed to 33 when I was in OTS), so it’s entirely possible at your age. 

Put together a solid packet and apply everywhere you’d consider flying. No only means no when they mace you and put a restraining order on you when it comes to applying, so put the time into sending out packets and networking as much as you can. 

Good luck!