Options at 28?

[hockeydork]

Looking for some guidance on best possible foot forward. The cancelling of the AD board was a punch in the nuts, and seeing as they are projecting no more till 2023 I am trying to make a call.

Current situation:

28 years old as of last week. ~90 across the board AFOQT.  

Current engineering gig at a defense contractor. Been doing it for ~6 years but it is not my purpose in life, mostly good people, awesome product, some a*holes like anywhere else, I’d take a bullet for my boss. He punches out in the fall to retire, and seeing management’s recent maneuvers is making me lose faith that I’ll want to be there after he exits.

I’ve got a Masters, dual Aero/Mech engineering degree, commercial multiengine pilot and have been studying for the CFI. I think I can get the CFI done by end of May. I saved a ton of coin by dumping my apartment a couple years ago when my buddy got married and have been living at home with mom and dad & commuting. Not glorious, but I get to spend time with my parents, the girls student loans are almost clear, it’s helping cover cost of flying, so I am financially solid.

Original goal since a kid was always to fly a pointy nose fighter, I am committed to the goal but I am wavering on feasibility at this point. I see these as my options:

A)     Pound every fighter unit with apps for the next 3-6 months, visit anyone who will let me visit, and spend whatever I have to doing it. Pro is I am still in the running; con is I don’t even want to know how many apps those units are about to get hammered with. I am hoping AD will keep working on me with my medical.

B)      Get my CFI, dump my engineering gig & enlist with a fighter unit. Wish I did it two years ago. At 28, this might be a nail in the coffin to actually fly a fighter just because of time. But I would still get to be in a unit, get good at a cool job, serve and help the mission and make good friends. It also leaves a door open to maybe get a bomber slot at some point. I’ve heard of a KC-135 guy making the switch to the bone later in life, so I feel this door will stay viable for a few years longer. My buddy is also a CFI and he just enlisted at a heavy unit and is trying to talk me into following. Says they are really good dudes and part of me is tempted.

C)      Call the NAVY recruiter, take a couple weeks off of work to study for their test, and see if they’ll let me go. Pro: F it, I wanna fly fighters, go big or go home and take any path you can find. Con: More studying, more testing, more wasted time, for who knows what will happen, they could easily close their OCS doors just like the AF did.

D)     Say screw it, get my CFI, get 1500 hours in about a 1.5 years while rolling my engineering gig & than go fly for a regional if they are hiring. Maybe try and enter the game again in a couple years to fly a bomber. Pro, I’ll at least be flying which is what I like doing, and I’ll clean up financially. Con, I want to go to UPT while I’m young, and I’ll always be grumpy if I never serve in some capacity. Money is a tool to find happiness, it won’t buy it. Short of buying an aerobatic airplane, I don't even know what I would want to purchase. 

I do have some medical baggage which complicates things further, and I am assuming waiver denials are about to go through the roof. 

I’ve got em ranked B, C, A, D right now.

[Seadogs]

Why not just try your hand at the NHL? 

[hockeydork]

8 minutes ago, Seadogs said:

Why not just try your hand at the NHL? 

What?

[Seadogs]

If that's too tall of a task, you could try the AHL too. 

[hockeydork]

3 minutes ago, Seadogs said:

If that's too tall of a task, you could try the AHL too. 

My hockey career crashed taxing out to the runway man. I'm just a rec league bum.

[BashiChuni]

A) Marry for money

B) Marry for looks, get wife to set up a OnlyFans, make bank

C) Take all the money you've saved, deposit into Robinhood, buy 1 week expirey options in Gamestop, make millions

 

[BashiChuni]

But seriously only you can answer this obviously. How badly do you want fighters? Will you always regret you didn't go for it? 28 is still young.

If you will regret not trying then go for it. I'd def stay away from the regional airline route though.

[Blue]

Does your home state have a fighter unit?  Or any state that you've called home in the past (if you went to school out of state, or lived out of state for a long period of time)?  Experiences vary, but having a tie to the state seemed to give you at least a small measure of extra consideration from some units.

Looking at your post history, seemed like you applied to some New England units?  Do you have ties to the area?  Did you ever call any of them up to get any kind of feedback on your interviews, or if they'd be open to you trying again?

Also, I did the "engineer at a defense contractor" gig for a bit.  Good experience, but I think I'd go homeless before ever going back.  It's OK to start, but chances are it'll eventually become soul-sucking, if it hasn't already.  One of those things where you either leave as a hero, or stay long enough to become the villain.

[AW91]

Quote

The cancelling of the AD board was a punch in the nuts, and seeing as they are projecting no more till 2023 I am trying to make a call.

where did you see this information?

[brabus]

Option A: The highest probability for getting a fighter slot, but have a back up plan for life if it doesn’t work out.

Option B: Very little chance of flying fighters (age), but if you’re content with serving in a non-flying capacity, go for it. Maybe more chance getting a slot at a heavy unit if that’s where you enlist, but that’s pure conjecture on my part. 

Option C : Doesn’t hurt to look into it. See if they’re offering OCS pilot slots...I’d rather fly fighters in the Navy/Marines than not fly fighters at all. 

Option D : You won’t clean up financially for a LONG time. Getting to CFI is expensive and then you make peanuts, then eventually you get hired by a regional...and make peanuts. Then God only knows how many years later you finally make it to a major. So somewhere in your 40s you’ll start making good money, after a decade+ of humping it for probably less pay than your engineering job. Maybe you get hired for UPT as a 30-something and avoid some of this, but are you content with the aforementioned path if UPT doesn’t work out? Also, very unlikely to get a fighter slot going this route (at your age).

I can’t tell you what to do, but those are my opinions of the options you laid out.

 

 

[FDNYOldGuy]

Can’t speak to the fighters, because I’m a fattyboi and pretty damn stoked about it. Flying is fun

The first thing is to decide whether it’s more important for you to fly pointies, or fly/serve at all. I get the fighter love; most people want that when they’re growing up and heavies certainly don’t have as much glitz and glamour. That said, having seen behind the curtain in my brief time in, there are a LOT of other airframe considerations (lifestyle, flexibility, $$$$, deployments, travel locations, training, currencies, etc.) that are pertinent once you start looking at the forest through the trees.

Only you can decide what’s right, but what I’m getting at is there’s more than just whether you sit in a pointies or heavies seat, so be sure to do your research. 

A big caveat you should think of or look into about your soul crushing defense contractor job: a good portion of them will pay your salary while you’re away in your training pipeline. That’s a nice bump to your 2LT pittance salary while you’re in the pipeline. Not saying be shady d-bag and take the money when you’re 100% never going back, but you also don’t know what the economy will be by the time you’re spit out at the end of the pipeline. COVID Part II: Electric Bugaloo could have the airlines looking like they have for the last year and you could find yourself without many prospects. 

So, keeping your foot on the bag at your current job while you’re in the pipeline might not be the worst idea. Especially when you’re getting paid to do so.

Either way, as said by others, only you can decide. But, good luck with whatever you choose! It’s an awesome ride!

[RocketDriver]

For some context on option A - it is still possible to get picked up at a fighter unit at your age. If it's really your lifelong dream, I wouldn't give up on it yet (provided you have a backup plan as brabus wisely suggested - given your background I don't expect this to be an issue). Also, consider heavies or rotary. You still get to fly awesome airframes and your mission is arguably much more useful to the military overall. 

I was in a similar boat to you - 90s across the board on AFOQT and PCSM, aero eng background, 6+ years at a reputable engineering company. I didn't even send in my first application until I was 28, kept at it aggressively for two years, and was hired in August 2020 to fly single-seat at the ripe old age of 30. If you want it bad enough and can make a good enough impression in your interview, you just may get what you're after. 

[Checksix]

7 minutes ago, RocketDriver said:

For some context on option A - it is still possible to get picked up at a fighter unit at your age. If it's really your lifelong dream, I wouldn't give up on it yet (provided you have a backup plan as brabus wisely suggested - given your background I don't expect this to be an issue). Also, consider heavies or rotary. You still get to fly awesome airframes and your mission is arguably much more useful to the military overall. 

I was in a similar boat to you - 90s across the board on AFOQT and PCSM, aero eng background, 6+ years at a reputable engineering company. I didn't even send in my first application until I was 28, kept at it aggressively for two years, and was hired in August 2020 to fly single-seat at the ripe old age of 30. If you want it bad enough and can make a good enough impression in your interview, you just may get what you're after. 

As a 28 soon to be 29 year old applying and rushing to every fighter board I can this post just made my day! Congratulations, well deserved and couldn’t be happier for you! I know the feeling being an older candidate wondering what your odds are, I’m going to keep pushing so I have no regrets later in life! Can’t wait for covid restrictions to lift so I can start visiting more units. 

[hockeydork]

I appreciate all the posts. Per the official zoom today, AD doesn't expect to send anyone till roughly January 2023. So I guess the answer is to not give up, keep the apps flowing and be as ready as possible to interview if I get one (I just was not in a position to actually win in the couple I had...dead on arrival. I still could have handled it way better). I will also investigate the Navy and get some more info. And even then if those two routes don't yield I'd still have some time to try and go AD. 

If I really stare into my soul, I won't be happy until I've exhausted the pointy option.  It isn't an ego/glitz/glamour thing, while fighters may look impressive at the air shows and steal the attention of the public, a lot of which probably don't know jack about flying anything, that isn't the only driver. I don't know a soul who would care what I fly besides myself. And my parents, bless their souls and intentions, would much rather me be doing something else entirely. It's something about the speed and maneuverability, the complexity of employing weapons in dynamic situations and having an immediate and direct battlefield impact. I do truly respect all types of aviators and the flying they do, and I'll never see one type of pilot as superior to the other (missions may be different but the overall goal will always be the same). I respect anybody who pounds on their craft in order to excel at it, no matter what it is.

I'll keep chasing & flying when I can, and I'll post back with updates as the situation develops.