Right now I'm in the DEP for the air force. I have a guaranteed job for biomedical equipment technician. From what I heard, it's a great job to have and pays well in the civilian world. I'm thinking of majoring in either electrical engineering or computer science and this job deals electronics so I may gain some knowledge related to what I want to major in. My dilemma is whether or not to enlist first, gain experience, try to earn my associates while in the Air Force on active duty, then either apply for AECP or ASCP and continue school. My other option is get my associates from community college then transfer to a four year university with an ROTC program and join the Air Force as a commissioned officer. Plus I'm not sure exactly how it works to earn an associates in the Air Force (take classes from CCAF or online classes?) and transfer to a four year university. Any opinions or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thanks for taking time to read my drawn out dilemma :)
2007-11-03 15:03:43 · 15 answers · asked by alexandra1288 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Extra info: I enlisted first because I was in a financially unstable situation, but my circumstances have changed and I don't know if it's the best choice to enlist now.
2007-11-03 17:55:30 · update #1
If you just want an Associates and be an Airman, go AF first. You can get an Associates Degree easy from the Community College of the Air Force. After Tech School, you will have earned a lot of credits, maybe even enough for an Associates Degree without any additional schooling.
If you want a Bachelors and plan to be an Officer, go to a 4 year school with ROTC! Don't try to be enlisted and then become an Officer, you'd be better off just taking ROTC!
2007-11-03 15:07:23 · answer #1 · answered by 5c0tt 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You needed to make that decision before you signed. You can drop out of DEP, but the AF does not look at all kindly on that & may not let you back later.
What I would have told you is go guard/reserve and take advantage of the education benefits. At this point, I'm glad you already know about CCAF. Read more about that. Go that route, then start applying for commisisoning programs that let you come out to AFROTC & finish your degree while getting active duty pay. It's competitive, but even if you don't get in you can still be working on your degree & finish up shortly after your enlistment is up. You'll find the enlisted force in the AF is extremely well educated.
2007-11-03 17:22:57 · answer #2 · answered by djack 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Enlist. You can get your AA via the Community College of the Air Force (fully accredited!), get work experience, and get some useful experience toward your potential career as an officer. BTW--if you are serious about going for the commission, make sure that you enlist for a full four years (and extend your enlistment just so you get over four years and one day) so that when you do get commissioned, you get paid on the 'prior enlisted over 4 years' pay table.
In any event, good luck to you.
2007-11-03 15:22:50 · answer #3 · answered by psyop6 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
CCAF grants degrees; it doesn't offer courses itself. The advantage of CCAF is that your basic training and technical training for your AFSC and upgrade training for skill levels apply to your degree. You can take local or correspondence or online courses for the other necessary credits, or use CLEP/DANTES (equivalency exams) to earn the credits.
CCAF makes it relatively easy to complete an associate's degree while on active duty. Whether you want to do that or to pursue your education as a civilian first -- that's really more an issue of whether you can afford it.
2007-11-03 15:11:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The answer is what best suits you. It sounds like you really want to be an officer. The good news is your academic interests include the technical side. If you do enlist, you might want to consider getting your BS while still on active duty and applying to Officer Training School (OTS).
2007-11-04 13:01:39 · answer #5 · answered by genius_parks 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've always recommend doing the military FIRST, and then college. Why? Because once you're in the military, going back to school will be a challenge, because you will have a "been there, done that" attitude, and will get used to the job security and steady paycheck the AF will provide.
2016-04-02 03:26:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get the degree first... if you enlist in the air force and 20 years later you decide you want to do something more with your life, you're screwed... because you don't want to be 40 when you decide to go to college, you want to get your degree and then if you decide that you want to go into the air force... GO FOR IT!!!
2007-11-03 15:13:06 · answer #7 · answered by pop_rox 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Look you are young.
Go into the air force and stay until you retire.
You need too think about retirement so that you can stay focused on your future.
In the long run the air force pays better with better benefits.
2007-11-03 15:16:04 · answer #8 · answered by M 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
There are a lot of considerations: one is with a bachelor's degree, you can join the military as an officer.
Of course, if you join the military, they will pay all or at least part of the tuition...
2007-11-03 15:07:31 · answer #9 · answered by Nothingusefullearnedinschool 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No doubt get your degree once in the service it only becomes harder to do schooling and when your out of the military it will help so much in your career search
2007-11-03 15:07:29 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋