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Becoming a Pilot

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SirCmpwn:
Relevant


--- Quote ---Hi there,

I'm currently 18, and I live in Colorado Springs (very near the Air Force Academy). I'm a military dependent. I work full-time as a web developer, and am very good at what I do, speaking at professional events to crowds four times my age frequently. However, as much as I enjoy and love doing this, I would really love to pilot planes. More specifically, fighter jets. They're small, fast, and awesome, but I would settle for less.

There are some other considerations, which is why I come to AskReddit. I'm currently living on my own, and do not expect generous assistance from my parents. I make around 38k a year, so I obviously don't have much to put away. I can't really save up for a license of some sort, and I cannot afford college. I'm often told that I am very intelligent and I produce quality work for my job, but school never interested me and I didn't make good grades. What means of proving my intellectual integrity are strong enough to realistically substitute for grades? My unweighted GPA was 2.54, and weighted was 2.63.

The obvious solution for me would be the USAFA - not only are they free if you get in, but they provide an easy path to flying fighter jets. The Air Force is generally a pretty tame military branch, with a safe and moderate position in most conflicts. However, without extremely good grades, I stand next to no chance of being accepted into this very selective school. Less so consideration that I've waited nearly a year to attend college for financial considerations.

The alternative at this point would be seeking a private license, which would make flying fighter jets difficult, and be very far outside my financial reach.

Part of my inspiration for flying these planes is my "adopted" brother - a great guy my family sponsored when he was a cadet. He's now a captain and he flies an F-16.

Any redditors care to offer some friendly advice towards meeting my goals?

--- End quote ---

Mike:
Hi SirCmpwn,

you might get better responses in our forum if you actually posted a question in here then have us all link to another site....
not sure about the other guys though but I always get a little jittery with unfamiliar links....

SirCmpwn:
How's that?

Rooster Cruiser:

--- Quote ---The Air Force is generally a pretty tame military branch, with a safe and moderate position in most conflicts.
--- End quote ---

Hello SirCmpwn,

I believe you should bone up on the history of the Air Force before you make such statements as this.  The USAF suffered 10% losses on its bombing raids over Nazi Germany on each mission, which meant that by the end of 10 missions it was likely none of the original crews were still around.  The Air Force only appears safe and moderate until someone starts shooting at you.  In the air, you have no foxhole to dive into to avoid incoming fire!  When an airplane is shot down, that is when things get REALLY hairy for the survivors!  Survival and avoiding capture by the enemy can become very difficult if you also are wounded.

Good luck to you becoming a pilot.  The only way the Air Force or Navy will accept a young person for flight training is if they already have a college degree.  You can start attending a local college and enroll in their ROTC program, or wait until you graduate and then try to get into Officer Candidate School, or OCS.  Either way, a college degree is required.  All pilots in the Air Force are Officers, and require it.

RC

Mike:
I think you're in a pickle there, SirCmpwn.

The way I read your post is, you don't want to go to school and you don't have any money but you want to be a pilot.
Having flown for 20 years and met thousands of pilots I can tell you it won't work that way.

Like Rooster said, you will have to sit down and study, and get your degree, and I want to add make sure your grades are up there as well.
A lot of people want to become pilots, the competition is stiff.

I had to do a lot of things I didn't enjoy on my way to become a pilot. If it was all easy and fun, everybody would be doing this.
Another thing about "school doesn't interest me": What do you think will happen in ROTC and flight school ESPECIALLY in the airforce? More school! and plenty!
I still have to go to school and to education courses that are required for my job and have little to do with aviation (hazmat, organization, leadership, error management, and so forth)

Maybe this sounds harsh but it's the reality of flying. It's an awesome career but you have to work really hard to be in it. There is no sugarcoating it.

I volunteered for one war to make the money for flight school for example. Turned out, that wasn't much fun either and took a year and almost my life to do. Never had money either.
There are ways but you're not gonna get around school......

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