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Fun. Our WG/CC's guidance to the SQ/CCs was "There is no guidance, fuck it up and I'll fire you".

So much for peace in the Middle East. The Black Crowes and a Flock of Seagulls had to ruin it for everyone.... Guess that's what it sounds like, when doves cry...

They probably mean that just because you applied first doesn't necessarily mean you will be approved. Your approval hinges on whether or not they want to release you. Assuming they agree with releasing you, then yes, it is first come, first served. If they don't agree with releasing you then it you won't be approved no matter when you raised your hand. BLAB: If you want to get out, then apply at first opportunity to improve your chances. (And if you're worried about tax on your VSP, you're probably not sufficiently motivated to get out).

Free with ads. Stipulation - only guns, booze and porn ads allowed.

FIFY

Excellent post BONE WSO. For all potential VSPers looking at a typical private sector office job (my experience): 1. $100K in the military does not equal $100K in the private sector. A big part of your military compensation is tax free, not to mention free health care. Where as on the outside, expect ~30% federal income tax rate for someone making $100K. On top that, expect to pay at least a few of hundred dollars a month out of pocket for health insurance premium (unless you have TRICARE Reserve Select). I was making $85K for a large corporation and my monthly take home pay was about the same as a 2Lt. 2. As a new employee expect 10-15 Paid Time Off (PTO) days. No annual 30 day leave or unlimited sick days. 3. Civilian HR is far far worse than our very own A1. In my experience, there is much less transparency and accountability in the private sector. Civilian HR is absolutely the most useless dept in a large corporation but they hold a lot of power. 4. Job satisfaction. BONE WSO nailed it (STS). 5. Link to the DFAS Military Compensation calculator. Mil Pay data is outdated but close enough. https://militarypay.defense.gov/pay/calc/index.html

Of course you are. If a man is starving, and someone says "you get to eat boiled, well-done flank steak every Wednesday," the man says "hell yeah." On the other hand, if a man is reasonably well fed, boiled, well-done flank steak every Wednesday is going to get old real quick. We are starving for anything, ANYTHING, that can be considered an improvement. So yes, you will be ok with whatever piece of boiled, well done flank steak is tossed your way.

I'll pile on some with Mappeby, and provide a little general background, first on management consulting, then a little on finance. If you're interested one of the "baseops.net" equivalents for those industries is a site called wallstreetoasis (dot) com. You have to wade through a lot of crap to get good info, but it's certainly there. So consulting is a pretty broad industry. I'll leave aside engineering, environmental, scientific, and the like and focus on business or commercial firms. Mappleby referenced a few companies called McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group. These three together are sometimes referred to as MBB--they're generally considered the top of the heap in the industry. They are primarily known as strategy firms. After that top tier of firms there are a few others that are big names, some do strategy work and others do what is sometimes called implementation consulting, IT consulting, or operational consulting or all of the above. Some examples here would be Booz and Co (not the same as Booz Allen Hamilton--and also not a stand alone firm anymore), Deloitte, PwC, Accenture, AT Kearney, IBM. A lot of big companies also have internal strategy groups that serve much the same function as these types of firms. There are tons of smaller consulting firms out there. Some do strategy work, others are involved in serving financial firms in doing due diligence prior to an investment. As a whole the industry is undergoing a lot of change, with consolidation between the strategy and implementation sides of the business. HBR had an article about that it a few months ago. Those top tier firms generally are structured very much like a pyramid. They recruit heavily from ivy league type colleges for their analysts. Analysts generally stay for a handful of years and move on to another job, or to grad school, or sometimes rarely get promoted to the associate level. Associates are the next layer in the pyramid. Generally these are folks who are recruited out of MBA programs or other grad schools. Competition for associate jobs is intense. Most associates also don't stay longer than a few years. The attraction of consulting is the compensation--associates can start north of 110K with sizeable bonuses--the opportunity to see lots of companies and industries, and having the name of the consulting firm on the resume provides great opportunities for the next job. Downside is a pretty lousy lifestyle: being on the road Mon-Thurs week in and week out. These firms do value a military background, but they also have recruiting practices that are pretty set in stone. Getting in from outside of a campus recruiting system could be tough. The place to start would be finding someone in your network at one of these firms and starting a dialog. I know that PwC and Deloitte also have dedicated military recruiting programs, but I don't know if they're for the consulting arms of those companies or more backoffice roles. You may be able to connect with them at a veteran's career fair like Military MOJO or Hiring our Heroes or the like. There's also something like Deloitte's Core Leadership Program (it'll come up if you google it). Not much else is springing to mind to share. Does all that make sense?

Maryland Shooter Identified: And the liberal media is bummed that this didn't fit the narrative they'd rather report: - A minority - Used a shotgun (Joe Biden's favorite) and not an AR-15 - Doesn't appear to be associated with the evil Tea Party - In a State like Maryland with some of the strictest gun control laws - Shooting occurred in a 'gun free zone' mall I know we were discussing Baltimore earlier, but since I despise Maryland, I thought I would post this as well.

You have to appreciate the irony... A subforum full of "What are my chances" threads about becoming a pilot, and here's a topic about a guy pulling chocks and asking "what are my chances" at a job on the outside. Nothing to see here, AFPC/A-1....

^dogpile. How the fuck do you know that?

How did you know of this reference in the first place...

Dude, you are spot on as to how it has been, but I think times are changing. That's why I said dudes are starting to realize that $25k just isn't what it used to be given the current climate and uncertainty in todays service. Your post is spot on as it was before the Air Force decided to non-continue dudes still on the bonus back in 2011, and before RIFing dudes that were denied VSP who still had ADSCs, and before congress let you know that they are willing to fuck with your retirement AFTER you're already retired...let alone fucking with it while we are still in. Yeah, times are changing and I'm just not sure $25k ($18k take home) is going to be enough to make someone want to stay who was already considering getting out. The dudes who are taking the bonus these days were most likely going to stay anyway. Why wouldn't you take an extra $25k of pay to do what you were going to do anyway. If they didn't offer the bonus at all, I'm pretty certain that most of the 60% that took it last year would stay in the AF. Realistically, the AF is just trying to convince a few of the fence sitters that it is a good deal to stay in. It isn't working anymore...if it was take rates would be increasing instead of decreasing or staying the same. There is a percentage leaving...and there is a reason.

More than the other guy.

But can you really flip a guy shit for waiting outside the dressing room when he passes the time tackling robbers? That takes the situation and flips it. Bonus - the store help couldn't wait to tell wife the story. If he didn't get some later that night, there is no justice. "I though he might hurt you babe and I just snapped.." Cue 1970s funk music.

I agree with everything you said...except your analogy. The Air Force is not locking down a 'best of the best' or 'top talent'...they are locking down a skill-set to perform a mission, no more, no less. I would be curious to see what would happen if the AF decided to not give out a bonus for 2 years...one year for people to be shocked, and one more year to show it wasn't an accident. As as far as commitments go, I bet Big Blue could raise the commitment to 13 years and they'd still not have a problem getting qualified (as well as quality) young guys to accept the service commitment as long as it meant that they get to go to UPT, get paid to fly military aircraft, and even have a chance at flying those super awesome shiny F-22's. Thank about it...how many of us at 17-18 were concerned about a longer commitment (compared to the standard commissioning commitment) as long as it meant we were going to get to fly? Even when it came down to us 22-23 year olds going to UPT, most of us (at least not me and my friends) were not too worried about the 10-year commitment, even when we saw it go from 8 to 10 when we were half way done with ROTC. Are the 22-23 year old kids thinking much differently than we thought 12 years ago? Going to the 10 year commitment was a smart move for the AF. They no longer had to offer excessive bonuses to all the pilots (some guys signed 14 year long bonuses).

Yes. My first test was in December 2010, which I passed. I had to take Level 2 twice (Summer 2011 and Summer 2012). Then passed Level 3 Summer of 2013. Probably the most difficult thing I've ever done educationally. Believe it or not, my educational background is not in finance. (USAFA Human Factors type.) Back in 2010, I wasn't sure I believed the hype behind the airlines hiring, so I set out to gain a second skill set in something that interested me. I'll be retiring in about a year, and still hoping for an airline job, but know I've got other options if that doesn't pan out for some reason.

The -135 fleet wasn't grounded after the horrific Manas crash. If that didn't ground the fleet, what would? Edit: this forum is still doing that stupid double-post thing.