What kind of advancement opportunities does an enlistee in the Air Force have?

Question

Without a college degree it's much harder to rank up isn't it?

Answer 1

If you come in to the AF with no college behind you, you come in at E-1 (Airman Basic) If you have a little college you can come in as an E-2 or E-3. If you did JROTC in High School, you can come in at E-2 or E-3 depending (Check with your recruiter for the college and JROTC eligibility)

Assuming you came in at E-1 the Time in Grade (TIG {how long you are at each rank}) is as follows with Time in Service (TIS {how long you are in}) until you get promoted to the next rank:
E-1 - 6 months to get promoted to E-2
E-2 - 10 months (16 mo TIS) to E-3
E-3 - 20 months (36 mo TIS) to E-4
E-4 can also be promoted "Below the Zone" which is early promotion for those that deserve it, very hard to get, but very do-able. BTZ promotes 6 months earlier to E-4 than normal.

Once you hit E-4, the rest of your stripes are earned by testing. Several factors weigh in whether you get selected or not, but two tests are the primary way to earn those points. One test on you Job, and one test on the AF in general. Test cycles are annual. If you were to get promoted to E-5 this year this is how it would work: you would have tested in April/May 06, and in August the promotions are announced. They assign line numbers to everyone that was selected. On Sept 1, 06, they start promoting based on that number and promotions continue on the 1st of each month untill Aug 1, 07 when the last of the selectees from the cycle have been promoted. Typically 1/12 of the total selected get promoted each month, give or take. You would be eligible for promotion to E-6 in 2009.

If you were to get promoted the first time for every cycle you were eligible, you would make E-7 in about 10 years. E-9 in 15 years.

The average time to get promoted is 6-7 years (TIS) to E-5, 12 years (TIS) to E-6, and 16-17 years (TIS) to E-7. The average person retires as an E-6 or E-7 at 20 years.

E-8 and E-9 are promoted by tests and a promotion board. Promotions to these two grades are restricted by law to 3% of the entire enlisted force, and E-9 is 1% of the entire enlisted force.

As far as having college or not, it doesn't matter. It will help to get a degree, atleast an associates, to be competitive for E-8 and E-9. Its not required, but it would be better to have than have not and it is not too difficult to get an education while serving!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Nope. Your first 4 ranks are time in grade anyway, so unless you can get "Below the zone" promotions that is pretty much set. Now when you get to the senior NCO ranks, education is more an issue. If you want to be an officer you will need the degree. No getting around that one.

Answer 3

The Air Force (at least in theory) promotes the slowest. It all depends on your job and how well you perform it. Also, the demand for people to fill higher ranks in your particular job come into play.