Sure, you can bum and buy a house and all those things. Lenders will want to see a few months of pay to establish a trend. It's a tough road, though, and you'll have to be johnny on the spot with whatever the scheduler offers. Temp or full time tech is probably a more palatable solution for you as a young co at the bottom of the O pay scale.
When the economy turns south, it's not so much that the money dries up, but dudes will come out of the woodwork looking for days and there's less per capita. Where in good times there are 3 of you wanting that next trip, in bad times, there are 10 dudes lined up wanting that next Benning TDY. Hopefully the airlines don't furlough next time because then it would be especially ferocious at the ops desk.