What is your REAL job?
- Thread starter willsonman
- Start date
TooJung2Die
Master member
Geek or nerd? I kinda prefer nerd.
PsyBorg
Wake up! Time to fly!
Who you kidding.. you never left that computer geek roll you dronin master you!!
Uhhh. I don't get paid for this "Hobby". Quite the opposite, so from the "What's your real job" perspective, yeah, I left it. :-D
LB
dutchmonkey
Well-known member
Hello all i work for a high end lighting company called Hammerton. I have been building and designing lights for 20 years now. I have my hands in every process we do here from blowing/casting/slumping glass, cnc plasma/laser/machining, welding/fabrication, powder coating and solidworks. Before this i was an ASE certified mechanic and a plumber. Here are a couple of lights i have designed and built in the last year.
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Hoomi
Master member
Well, it occupies your time and is a primary responsibility for you, so I'd say it does.
L Edge
Master member
Have you any thoughts as to what you want to do?
OliverW
Legendary member
I'm either going to try and get into the Air Force, ATP, or be an aeronautical engineer.
"Corpse"
Legendary member
Nice! Enlisted or Officer?
Ketchup
4s mini mustang
If I do join I would want to be an officer and fly fighters. Of course I might not even join because if I do I have to serve for 10 years and I don’t want the decision to be a mistake.
"Corpse"
Legendary member
You have to think VERY carefully about what path you take. I almost joined the US Air Force academy and right before I applied I realized the officers life wasn't for me. Godspeed to whatever path you take!
Hoomi
Master member
Remember, also, that to be considered for Officer Training, you must have a degree. The days of being commissioned as an officer based solely on aptitude and/or proven ability are gone. Without a degree, your only path is as enlisted. Pilot training is even more rigorous screening, so if you do have your eyes on that prize, knuckle down and make sure you're doing very well in school. When it comes to pilots, all the branches of the military know they can afford to be picky. There are far more people wanting to be pilots, than there are slots to fill.
TooJung2Die
Master member
I graduated high school in 1970's during the Vietnam War. Nobody was volunteering to join the military at that time, we had the draft. Both my younger brothers signed up in the 1980's. One went to Navy OCS, he had a degree, and became a Flight Officer. The other joined the Air Force and was sent to nuclear missile tech school. Both brothers did very well getting civilian jobs because of their military background and training. The Navy officer did very well working for Oracle Software and the Air Force Tech was an engineer for IBM R&D on the team that designed the Watson. If you are technically minded some of the best training and experience you can get is in the military. Your other best option is a college degree.
Hoomi
Master member
I graduated in 1977, shortly after the Vietnam War. At that time, military enlistment was in a serious slump, as a backlash from the Vietnam years. The perception was that the only people who joined the military were losers with no other prospects. As a result of that, newly inaugurated President Jimmy Carter considered reinstating the Draft, as Pentagon Officials were concerned that military manning was too low to meet a potential situation.
I decided to enlist in the USAF Reserve, figuring if Carter did reinstate the Draft, the worst I would face would be getting activated from Reserve to Active Duty, but I'd already have my Basic and Tech School training. I chose Avionics for my service career, and received training on airborne radar and navigation radios. That training has kept me steadily and gainfully employed pretty much the entire time since, with only a couple of short periods of unemployment early on. I'm currently coming up on 40 years since starting in the factory. Due to corporate sales and mergers, I'm now on my fourth company since starting, but haven't changed jobs.
Carter never reinstated the Draft, but it was still a good choice for me.
Seahunter
Active member
I am pleased that you are considering serving our country. The benefits you can gain from a career in any of the branches of our Armed Forces will far outweigh the benefits you might get going from job to job in the private sector.
I am one of the "old school" having started in the USNR as a seaman recruit and after about 8 years of that , I joined the Coast Guard where I worked my way to a commission as a warrant officer and retired as a CWO-4 at the top of pay scale for my grade, a great retirement with super medical benefits. I highly recommend you pursue your education and get your degree be it private or with an military academy and go for the aviation dreams you have.
I retired in 1981 and enjoy the time I now have to pursue my hobbies. My wife an I have both had numerous hospital stays and the Tricare for life benefit covers everything not covered by Medicare, a cost savings of thousands. Plus travel and seeing the world is Great, I say go for it and give it your best!