yaboi1
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Posts posted by yaboi1
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4 hours ago, jazzdude said:
It just comes down to what you want out of life.
If you want to fly military jets, realize there's a limited window to do that.
While you can do med school whenever, realize that the longer you wait, the harder it gets as other commitments enter your life (spouse, kids, retirement/financial planning, etc).
If you went the med school first route: Undergrad by age 22, 4 years med be school puts you at 26, and a typical 3-4 year residency program puts you at age 29-30. So technically feasible to go guard/reserve on the backside. But then you'll need to balance relevancy/currency in your primary medical career with being out of medicine for 2-3 years (likely with a pretty high debt load in the $200-300K range). This also assumes you get picked up for med school on your first look (my brother took 3 years to make the cut). Also, some specialties may be more conducive to gaps in your medical career than others.
If you go the military flying route first and got hired right away: undergrad by age 22, UPT grad by 24, 2-3 years of seasoning at your unit puts you at 27ish. From there, going to med school would mean having a unit that fine with you completely min running participation and flexibility in scheduling for 7-8 years while you get through med school/residency. Or you put in the 10 year commitment with the flying unit, putting you at 34 starting med school and finishing residency around 41 years old before making any real money (again, with about $200-300k in debt at 41). It's attainable, but there's a good bit of financial risk (if you end up in family practice, you may not be able to unload that debt while saving for retirement without living pretty austerely.
It's hard to do both; there are people that do and they are pretty exceptional people.
Another option is the AF pilot physician program, where you become an AF flight doc first and apply for the program. But I think it's less than one a year that gets picked up for the program, but they go through UPT, and maintain basic flying currency while doing aeromedical research.
Another option to consider if you want to do both is fly military, but go the nurse practitioner route instead of MD/DO. No residency requirement, lower bar to entry, less competition to enter programs, and end up doing a lot of the same day to day things as a MD/DO (at least for family practice and similar fields).
I will say that if you want to go the military route, do it because you want to serve while also flying jets. And that you can also serve as a doctor as well if you end up choosing the medical path if you do desire.
Best of luck to you in your decision. But remember, luck and timing are important as well, despite the best laid plans.Yeah med school first and upt after is totally out the window, UPT first and then med school maybe. Maybe space travel is more available in the future and those 2 backgrounds would set me pretty good, but that's a stretch. UPT and then PA school is more attainable since it is only 2 years, with half the debt, and maybe I can get Uncle Sam to pay for some of it. It would be even nicer if I can be a PA as my day-job, haven't heard of anyone doing it tho.
I was looking to serve no matter which options I was taking. Med school then HPSP, PA then be a combat medic (they get high admission rates due to experience), but flying jets and being part of a squadron is a dream.
Thanks a lot for the help boss !
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2 hours ago, Dangerzone said:
You got any flight hours under your belt or at least been on a discovery? Did you serve in the military at all? Those are both kind of critical things to gauge your interest. For me having never flown anything besides a dinkey Cessna 172, being in the air is surreal, being a pilot in control of an airplane thousands of feet or a few hundred feet above the ground is a special experience most people will never be lucky enough to experience. I can’t even imagine what’s it’s like going 600+ kts as a fighter or doing cool mobility/tactical pilot shit. If you played sports growing up, that feeling of we all got a job to do and being a part of a good team with your best buds, that’s the squadron environment, not to mention the sense of enjoyment you get being a part of something bigger than yourself and taking the fight to people that hate America and you’re on the end of the spear helping that 18yr old with a rifle or delivering critical supplies or whatever. But for me it’s mainly the challenge, the camaraderie and team environment, and I love to fly airlines and want to get paid to do it.
No flight hours but my friend has an extra 300 and let's play from time to time (that's what set the fire in the first place). No military experience at all, but if I am focusing on this path I will probably do one of the student programs. The only unit in my state is pretty damn far so I have to get lucky with a summer gig. I played football during high school and man do I miss the atmosphere. I expect the military to be a whole other animal. Camaraderie, prestige, heritage - these are all things that keep rubbing my soul and feel like I would regret if I don't experince.
To be honest the only reasons keeping me from pursing this career are financial and free time. Financial - I don't care to start a family until well into my 30s nor do I care about big houses and fast cars. As long as I got myself a nice truck and my parents can enjoy retirement to the fullest, I will be happy. Free time - I constantly hear about military guys having no free time, long days, yadayadayada. And I have yet to talk with any guard pilots so if anyone wants to comment on their lifestyle, thank you in advance (do you kick the supermodel out of the bed before or after you go to work, do you take the supercar or the bike to work, how many pairs of sunglasses do you own).
2 hours ago, Av8 said:First, you aren't far behind anyone. Any current USAF pilot you've ever met has had to get their degree first and you've got to focus on that right now. Secondly, if you are trying to go active duty, I would join AFROTC ASAP if that is your goal. Once you have passed your sophomore year it becomes much more difficult to commision soon after graduation. As long as you are medically qualified and a pretty good student that is easily the most surefire way (in the current climate) to go. Finally, like Bigred said in the first comment, there is an age limit for flying in the USAF that comes much sooner than your medical career age limit. If you want to find what you really are passionate about, the flying has to be the first thing you try.
Being medically qualified is huge. I think I got the grades and personality to land a job eventually, but if I finally make it to training and the doc tells me my left nut hangs too low to be a pilot and have to work a desk job, I will be CRUSHED. Like I said, my medical career is a safer bet but higher the risk higher the rewards. Doing my time and then transitioning back into medicine is what I am currently leaning towards, but I feel like it would eliminate some of the positives of having a high earning, rewarding career at a relatively young age (that is if I am going the PA route). By the time I am done with my 10 year commitment, I would be in my mid 30s, starting a family ideally, which means there is no time to screw around anymore, and I would be way behind my peers. However, if I do make it, my stories would be legendary and the friendships I gained would last a life time (according to most pilots)
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40 minutes ago, brabus said:
How old are you/where in your med career path are you?
I am a sophomore in college. I say that I am "far" into my path because it is all I've been focused on since high school, building connections with Med and PA schools, doctors, admission committee, spend a lot of money and time into this ... stuff like that. If I were to switch my focus I feel like I would be far behind a lot of people that wanted to do this out of the womb.
8 minutes ago, HuggyU2 said:There is no way to answer this question.
For me, I dropped a lucrative career to go active duty and I'm glad I did.
I know others that hated it.
You will have to think it through. Asking "is it worth it for YOU" is unanswerable by anyone but YOU.
What made you switch ? Where I am at right now, I think that military flying would be worth it especially if I can land a guard spot. But 10 years down the line, I would not want a career with the air lines (maybe only for the money, but no passion involved).
There's absolutely more to the story so I don't expect anyone to tell me what's best for me. I am looking more for personal experiences. Why did you pursue this career ? Why was it all worth it ? Quality or life ? What made so good/bad ? etc.
PS : thank you all for the advice ! they are very helpful ... keep em coming, cheers
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I am on the path to a good and rewarding career, but for the past year I have been debating dropping everything I am doing and try to get hired by a unit. Had a talk with a couple of fighter pilots and told me that it is only worth it if I can't see myself doing anything else.
The adult me says that I should stick with the medical field career I am pursing, save up for an aerobatics plane and go cloud surfing when I want, and I would also have the time to do other things, travel, go camping, just do nothing. But the 20 year old me says tomorrow is never promised, why not go cloud surfing in the best aircrafts ever created and get paid for it, travel, drop some bombs, lift some heavy shit to Jesus himself, and then go to the bar and brag about how cool you are.
On a more serious note, I never felt more excited about something, I am doing better in school, I am researching on my free time. Pre-reqs for my current path feel more like a chore now, but I know that the medical career will be fun and fulfilling.
Is it all worth it or will an RV8 fill my passion? If you were in my spot, would you drop everything and try for a guard/reserve slot ?
I have heard of guard pilots having day jobs as docs, nurses, PAs, paramedics ... but I never really met one.
(also, I am aware of the pilot-physician, flight surgeon, aeromedical PA paths and are taken into consideration)
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I'm gonna try to keep this short and simple. (little side note - I know I am shooting for the stars with those 2 highly competitive positions, I am just looking for advice as to where to put my effort and resources)
I am on my path to PA school. Throughout my college career I made some serious soul searching and decided that PA would give me the best balance of stability, security, and satisfaction in a career. There's a whole another thesis that I could write as to why I want to pursue medicine, but I think most of our reasons are similar : understanding of the human body, making a difference in people's life, etc.
Why do I want to become a military pilot ? I always loved aviation but it seemed more of a hobby than a career. Now every-time I hear a jet going above my head I start thinking if I am making the right choice. It's hard to point to a specific factor - the camaraderie, the once-in-a-lifetime experience, the amazing machines, the stories, ripping through the canyons 500 ft above the ground at god-knows what speed, lifting the heaviest payloads, carrying the most awesome destructive power known to man - y'all know the speech. You get the idea, a more adventurous lifestyle. However, on the long run it is not such a great career in terms of income, security, or lifestyle. Moreover, some fighter pilots warned me against the career and that it is not as fun as it seems. That most of the time is spend doing a desk job.
Options - doing both. I think my salary as PA would be enough to afford aviation for weekend fun. So buying/renting an aerobatics plane could scratch that flying itch . ////or//// I could get lucky with a national guard pilot job, work part time as a pilot, and have my PA career as a day job. Although this is possible, I think this might lead to burnout, losing both flying and medical skills, or being so focused on my profession that I won't enjoy the simpler things in life : camping, building a family, hanging out with friends doing nothing. ////or//// Take it one at a time. Be a pilot first, then go back to school after service. Yet, giving minimum time requirement for pilots is 10 years of service (not sure what it is for guard), going back to school to be a PA might take away some of the pluses that attracted me to the profession in the first place; like a high income and rewarding job at a young age.
Ultimately I am afraid of dying with regret, so I keep bouncing between careers wondering if I am doing too much or if I am even doing enough. The adult in me says to stick with what I started and play it safe with PA school, but the kid in me says tomorrow is not promised and I should be a pilot or I will regret not trying when it's too late.
Thank you in advance for reading my rant and for any advice given !
is it worth dropping everything I am doing for military aviation ?
in General Discussion
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If I were to start rushing units now, do you think I will be taken in consideration with no test scores or no/minimal flight hours ? I want to get my name out there but I also don't want to be a pain to the unit. Getting my flight hours up shouldn't be a problem since that is the fun part (if I can pay for them of course). The AFOQT is what I am worried about since med/PA school have their own brutal standardized tests, so planning and timing is of the essence. The med tests should be taken some time between junior and senior year since that's when my classes will cover most of the material, so I could grind now and take the pilot tests - that way I could cover the minimal requirements and not feel like I am wasting someone's time - or I could wait until my senior where I would be done with all my med stuff and just chilling waiting for any school interviews - but that would set me way back when it comes to rushing units. I also could take the pilot tests now, start rushing, and if I feel like my scores are not good enough, study harder senior year and retake them. I don't know, I am gonna have to do more research on this. What are your guys' take on this ?
I try to take it easy on setting up my future today and let the "calling" come to me instead of chasing it. I always had a plan set before this, as in what I want to do, but this aviation bug really threw me a curve ball so now I feel like I am going nowhere and making no progress. Still, the requirements for both careers are generally the same - get good grades, don't be an ass, and meet people that live your perfect life - so I don't know why I am stressing so much over this.
Thank you all for all the advice ! It has been very helpful